Ministry & MissionModerate
Speaking in Parables, Hidden Wisdom
Written: ~740 BC→Fulfilled: ~AD 28-30
Isaiah's hardening oracle was fulfilled in the people's inability to understand Jesus's parables.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 6:9-10
"He said, "Go and tell this people: 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.""
New Testament Fulfillment
Matthew 13:13-15
"This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand." In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "You will be ever hearing but never understanding.""
Commentary
Jesus explicitly quotes Isaiah 6:9-10 to explain why he speaks in parables. The parables both reveal and conceal: they reveal truth to those with open hearts and conceal it from those who are hardened. This is the fulfillment of Isaiah's commission to preach to a people who would not understand.