Matthew 13:15

The Reason For The Parables

¹⁴ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will hear and keep on hearing, but never understand;
And you will look and keep on looking, but never comprehend;
¹⁵ 
For this nation’s heart has grown hard,
And with their ears they hardly hear,
And they have [tightly] closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart, and turn [to Me]
And I would heal them [spiritually].’ ¹⁶ But blessed [spiritually aware, and favored by God] are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

Dull of Hearing

With the Heart

O God

Hebrews 5:11

Concerning this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull and sluggish in [your spiritual] hearing and disinclined to listen.

Psalm 119:70

Their heart is insensitive like fat [their minds are dull and brutal],
But I delight in Your law.

Zechariah 7:11

But they refused to listen and pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder [stiffening themselves in resistance] and stopped up their ears.

John 8:43-44

Why do you misunderstand what I am saying? It is because [your spiritual ears are deaf and] you are unable to hear [the truth of] My word.

2 Timothy 4:4

and will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions [and will accept the unacceptable].

Isaiah 6:10

“Make the heart of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”

Isaiah 29:10-12

For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep.
He has closed your eyes, [you who are] the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, [you who are] the seers.

Isaiah 44:20

That kind of man (the idolater) feeds on ashes [and is satisfied with ashes]! A deceived mind has led him astray, so that he cannot save himself, or ask, “Is this thing [that I am holding] in my right hand not a lie?”

Isaiah 57:18

“I have seen his [willful] ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him [also] and will restore comfort to him and to those who mourn for him,

Jeremiah 3:22

“Return, O faithless sons,” [says the Lord],
“I will heal your unfaithfulness.”
[They answer] “Behold, we come to You,
For You are the Lord our God.

Jeremiah 17:14

Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.

Jeremiah 33:6

Behold, [in the restored Jerusalem] I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace (prosperity, security, stability) and truth.

Hosea 14:4

I will heal their apostasy and faithlessness;
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from Israel.

Malachi 4:2

But for you who fear My name [with awe-filled reverence] the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go forward and leap [joyfully] like calves [released] from the stall.

Mark 4:12

so that they will continually look but not see, and they will continually hear but not understand, otherwise they might turn [from their rejection of the truth] and be forgiven.”

Acts 3:19

So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day];

Acts 7:57

But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and together rushed at him [considering him guilty of blasphemy].

2 Thessalonians 2:10-11

and by unlimited seduction to evil and with all the deception of wickedness for those who are perishing, because they did not welcome the love of the truth [of the gospel] so as to be saved [they were spiritually blind, and rejected the truth that would have saved them].

2 Timothy 2:25-26

He must correct those who are in opposition with courtesy and gentleness in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and be led to the knowledge of the truth [accurately understanding and welcoming it],

Hebrews 6:4-6

For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit,

Revelation 22:2

in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.