The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. 12 To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ 14 Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. 15 Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.’
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. 17 Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
After presenting the Parable of the Sower, Jesus’ disciples approach Him with a sincere question: “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (v. 10). This moment opens a deeper layer of His teaching—not just about the content of the parables, but about the very nature of divine revelation and the mystery of the human heart.
Jesus responds that He speaks in parables because “knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted” (v. 11). On the surface, this may seem exclusionary, but Jesus is not arbitrarily withholding truth. Rather, He is describing a spiritual principle: grace must be met with openness, and revelation demands a response. The parables function as a form of mercy—they conceal divine truth from those who harden their hearts while revealing it to those who are humble, seeking, and receptive.
To conceal truth from the resistant is not cruelty, but compassion. For if truth is proclaimed to those who have already closed their hearts, it may only provoke greater rebellion and deepen their guilt. In such cases, veiling truth is an act of divine restraint, preserving the possibility of future conversion rather than inviting immediate condemnation. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3:17). A hidden truth is not a denied truth. It lingers as a seed awaiting softer soil.
Quoting Isaiah 6:9-10, Jesus explains that many people “look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand” (v. 13). This is not merely about physical hearing, but about the disposition of the soul. As the prophets before Him experienced, Jesus encounters a generation dulled by pride and religious complacency—those who fulfill the external requirements of religion but refuse the inner transformation God desires. Their inability to understand is not because the truth is too obscure, but because they have chosen not to see.
Yet to the disciples, Jesus says: “Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear” (v. 16). He is not praising their intellect but their willingness. The blessing lies in their openness to the mystery of the Kingdom unfolding before them. What prophets and righteous ones longed to see—God’s reign breaking into the world through the person of Christ—they now behold.
Throughout salvation history, God’s Word has always been proclaimed with the expectation of a response. Moses exhorted Israel to “listen and live” (cf. Deut. 30:19-20). The psalmist prayed, “Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Ps 95:7-8). In the New Testament, this theme continues: Jesus is the Living Word, and faith comes through hearing (cf. Rom 10:17). But hearing alone is not enough. As Hebrews warns, “The message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united in faith with those who listened” (Heb 4:2).
The parables, then, are not riddles designed to frustrate, but veiled invitations. They call each listener to come closer, to inquire, to be transformed. When the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” they modeled the very attitude that opens the heart to divine truth. They were not content with hearing—they wanted to understand. So too must we come to God’s Word with a spirit of reverent questioning. To ask why is not to doubt, but to desire wisdom. And to all who seek with humility, Jesus still reveals the hidden Kingdom.
Lord Jesus, give us eyes that truly see and ears that truly hear. Remove the hardness from our hearts, that we may receive Your Word with joy and bear fruit for Your Kingdom. May we never take for granted the grace of knowing You, but respond daily with love, obedience, and gratitude. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Bernard Orchard et al. (1953), commentary on Matthew 13.
- The Navarre Bible: St. Matthew, Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre (2008), commentary on Mt 13:10-17.
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al. (2018), commentary on Mt 13.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§546, 2613.
- St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew, Homily 45.
- Isaiah 6:9–10; Psalm 95:7–8; Deuteronomy 30:19–20; Romans 10:17; Hebrews 4:2.
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