Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Jesus Tells His Disciples He Uses Parables To Both Hide And Reveal The Truth

¹⁰ And having come to Him, the disciples said to Him, “For what reason are You speaking to them in parables?” ¹¹ And the One, having responded, said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know^[a] the mysteries^[b] of the kingdom of the heavens. But it has not been given to those ones. ¹² For whoever has— it will be given to him, and he will be caused to abound. But whoever does not have— even what he has will be taken-away from him. ¹³ For this reason I am speaking to them in parables— because while seeing, they are not seeing; and while hearing, they are not hearing, nor understanding. ¹⁴ And the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled in them, the one^[c] saying [in Isa 6:9-10]: ‘In hearing, you will hear and by no means understand. And while seeing, you will see and by no means perceive. ¹⁵ For the heart of this people became dull^[d], and they hardly^[e] heard with their ears, and they closed their eyes that^[f] they might not ever see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand in their heart and turn-back, and I shall heal^[g] them’. ¹⁶ But blessed^[h] are your eyes because they are seeing, and your ears, because they are hearing. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous ones desired to experience^[i] the things which you are seeing, and they did not experience them, and to hear the things which you are hearing, and they did not hear them.