Matthew 13:15-16
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The verse highlights a tragic paradox: God's intention in Jesus' teaching was to heal, but the people's deliberate hardness of heart, dull ears, and closed eyes actively prevented this healing from happening. Their resistance wasn't an absence of understanding, but a conscious choice to avoid seeing, hearing, and comprehending, lest it lead them to conversion and divine restoration.
For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is explaining why he speaks in parables, telling his disciples that this is how a prophecy from Isaiah is being fulfilled. This verse explains that the people's hearts have grown insensitive, their ears are dull, and they have deliberately closed their eyes. This self-imposed blindness prevents them from understanding, repenting, and receiving God's healing.
Have you ever wondered why some people seem determined not to understand, even when the truth is right in front of them? Jesus explains it's not just a lack of hearing, but a deliberate closing off.
Jesus quotes Isaiah, describing a spiritual deafness and blindness that's self-imposed. It's not that people can't hear or see, but that their hearts have become 'gross' – dull, insensitive, and hardened. This isn't a passive state; it's an active closing of their eyes and ears.
God's ultimate desire is to heal us, but Jesus reveals a profound reason why some remain sick – they refuse the very thing that would make them well.
The verse culminates in a striking paradox: the people have closed their eyes and ears God cannot heal them. This reveals a deep-seated resistance to God's restorative power.
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Understand the original words
kardia · Greek Noun
The center of the human personality, encompassing the intellect, the will, the emotions, and the moral conscience. It is the seat of spiritual life or, when hardened, the seat of rebellion against God.
epistrephō · Greek Verb
To change one's mind and life's direction, resulting in a turning away from sin and a turning toward God. It is a necessary prerequisite for salvation and spiritual restoration.
iaomai · Greek Verb
The divine act of restoring spiritual or physical health. In a spiritual context, it signifies the forgiveness of sins and the reconciliation of the soul to God.
makarios · Greek Adjective
In a biblical context, this denotes a state of spiritual privilege, favor, or divine approval bestowed by God upon an individual, often resulting in joy or spiritual insight.
Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9-10 here, applying it to his own ministry. This ancient prophecy describes a spiritual deafness and blindness that prevents people from understanding and repenting, even when God clearly speaks and acts. The 'historical context' is that Jesus is observing this very pattern in the people around him.
c. 740 BC
Prophecy of Isaiah
The prophet Isaiah receives a vision and a message from God concerning Israel's spiritual blindness and the consequences of their disobedience.
c. 740-701 BC
Assyrian Captivity of Northern Israel
During Isaiah's ministry, the Northern Kingdom of Israel is conquered and exiled by the Assyrian Empire, a stark fulfillment of prophetic warnings.
587-586 BC
Babylonian Exile of Judah
The Southern Kingdom of Judah, after repeated warnings, is conquered by Babylon, its Temple destroyed, and many of its people exiled, leading to a period of national crisis and reflection.
c. 30 BC - 10 AD
Herod the Great's Reign
Herod the Great rules Judea under Roman authority, a time of political tension and religious expectation, setting the stage for Jesus' ministry.
c. AD 27-30— this verse
Jesus' Public Ministry in Galilee
Jesus begins teaching and performing miracles throughout Galilee, proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven and calling people to repentance.
c. AD 30-33
Jesus' Ministry in Jerusalem
Jesus' ministry intensifies in Jerusalem, where his message is often met with rejection and opposition from the religious authorities.
This verse is a direct quotation, showing how Jesus is fulfilling the prophecy spoken by Isaiah centuries earlier about the people's hardened hearts and closed ears.
John 12:40This passage also references Isaiah 6:10, highlighting the consistent theme of spiritual blindness and deafness among those who reject God's message, even when presented by Jesus.
Acts 28:26-27Paul quotes Isaiah 6:10 in his explanation to the Jewish leaders in Rome, demonstrating that this prophecy of hardened hearts and closed ears continued to apply to them even in the face of the Gospel.
Romans 11:8This verse further illustrates the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, explaining that God gave them a spirit of stupor, closing their eyes and ears, so they would not understand or turn back to Him.
Hebrews 4:2This passage warns believers about the danger of having a dull hearing, drawing a parallel to the Israelites in the wilderness whose message was not beneficial because it was not mixed with faith in their hearts.
clarkeMatthew 13:15: "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."
Heart is waxed gross - Επαχυνθη, is become fat - inattentive stupid, insensible. They hear heavily with their ears - are half asleep while the salvation of God is preached unto them. Their eyes they have clos…
pulpitMatthew 13:15: "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."
Verse 15. - For this people's heart is waxed gross. There are two ways of understanding this verse as it comes here. (1) It states the reason why God pronounced the judgment of ver. 14. The people's heart had…
The verse highlights a tragic paradox: God's intention in Jesus' teaching was to heal, but the people's deliberate hardness of heart, dull ears, and closed eyes actively prevented this healing from happening. Their resistance wasn't an absence of understanding, but a conscious choice to avoid seeing, hearing, and comprehending, lest it lead them to conversion and divine restoration.
Jesus is explaining why he speaks in parables, telling his disciples that this is how a prophecy from Isaiah is being fulfilled. This verse explains that the people's hearts have grown insensitive, their ears are dull, and they have deliberately closed their eyes. This self-imposed blindness prevents them from understanding, repenting, and receiving God's healing.
Jesus is explaining why he speaks in parables, telling his disciples that this is how a prophecy from Isaiah is being fulfilled. This verse explains that the people's hearts have grown insensitive, their ears are dull, and they have deliberately closed their eyes. This self-imposed blindness prevents them from understanding, repenting, and receiving God's healing.
"For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hear…" — The verse highlights a tragic paradox: God's intention in Jesus' teaching was to heal, but the people's deliberate hardness of heart, dull ears, and closed eyes actively prevented this healing from h…
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Last reviewed October 2026
