13. This is why I use these stories to teach the people: They see, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really hear or understand.
14. So they show that what Isaiah said about them is true: ‘You people will listen and listen, but you will not understand. You will look and look, but you will not really see.
15. Yes, the minds of these people are now closed. They have ears, but they don’t listen. They have eyes, but they refuse to see. If their minds were not closed, they might see with their eyes; they might hear with their ears; they might understand with their minds. Then they might turn back to me and be healed.’ Isaiah 6:9-10
16. But God has blessed you. You understand what you see with your eyes. And you understand what you hear with your ears.
17. I can assure you, many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you now see. But they did not see it. And many prophets and godly people wanted to hear what you now hear. But they did not hear it.
18. “So listen to the meaning of that story about the farmer: