-July 14, 2022
Good morning, happy Thursday,
“But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
(Matthew 13:16-17).
John 1:10-12 says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” The religious leaders, the scribes, and the rabbis were the ones who knew the Scriptures and should have been the first to follow Him, instead they hated Him and refused Him. Instead tax collectors, harlots, and the common people of the day embraced and followed Him.
The Lord Jesus in this passage of Matthew 13 quoted from the prophet Isaiah and noted it was fulfilled at that time. The people of Israel had eyes, but they did not see, and ears, but they did not hear. Their hearts were unaffected by His coming into the world as their Messiah. When they should have received Him joyfully, instead they rejected Him flatly, in spite of the fact that He fulfilled all the OT Scriptures. The truth was right in front of them, yet they could not recognize Him. They were blind and deaf spiritually.
Everything in the OT pointed to Jesus. The law spoke Him, as did the psalms, and the prophets. The disciples were so privileged to see Him with their eyes, hear Him with their ears, and believe in in Him with their hearts. They were twelve ordinary men, just like us, yet through Jesus and by His name and power, they turned the world upside down. Their eyes and ears were indeed blessed. Simeon who had God’s promise that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ, was in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought in Jesus to be circumcised. He saw Him and held Him in his arms.
Jesus tells that many prophets and righteous men of old desired to see what they saw and to hear what they heard and did not; this included such illustrious company such as Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel just to name a few of them. Their prophecies pointed to Him but they did not see or hear Him in this world.
But what of us? We have not seen Him with our natural eyes nor have we heard Him with our natural ears, yet we have believed. Jesus told Thomas after His resurrection, in John 20:29, “…Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are among the blessed. Peter wrote, “Whom having not seen you love. Though you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).
The disciples were with Jesus for three years, and what a blessed privilege it was, but we along with them will be with Him for all eternity. We will see Him and be like Him. for we shall see Him as He is. We are so blessed, incredibly blessed! Dear brothers and sisters, let us rejoice today with joy inexpressible and full of glory!
Have a blessed day seeing and hearing Jesus by faith. We can’t wait to see Him face to face in heaven above. Stay safe and healthy.
With blessed eyes and ears wide open,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 