Matthew 13:10-17
10 And his disciples came and said to him: Why speakest thou to them in parables?
11 Who answered and said to them: Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given. 12 For he that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath. 13 Therefore do I speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And the prophecy of Isaias is fulfilled in them, who saith: By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. 15 For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. 17 For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them.
Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel are harsh. For centuries, the Jews had persecuted and killed the prophets, turned constantly to idol worship and foreign Gods, and now the scribes and Pharisees had turned the religion revealed to them by the prophets into a burdensome and legalistic system. The heart of the true religion was “love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.” The emphasis had become on sacrifice, not mercy. So, our Lord teaches through parables and reveals Himself subtly, fulfilling the prophesies of the Messiah in the Scriptures. The Jews would have to search the Scriptures and search their hearts to understand His teachings and to develop faith in Him.
But, Jesus words were not just to the Jews. Notice that He reveals the meaning of His parables to His Holy Apostles. “Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given.” Jesus taught His Apostles and Disciples in a unique and exclusive way. To no one else on earth did He explain His words and reveal Himself as God. As Saint John tells us, only a few of Jesus’ parables and teachings are explained in the Bible. The vast majority of what He revealed to His Apostles is not recorded in the Bible, especially what He taught them following the Resurrection.
Two Jehovah’s Witnesses just came to my door. They were nice, sincere elderly women. They asked if they could read a passage of Scripture to me, so I said that would be fine. I thanked them and they left me with a pamphlet that was full of heretical and false teaching. You see the Jehovah’s Witnesses take the Bible as their sole authority, but deny the divinity of Christ! Just as The Jews could hear the words of Jesus but could not understand them, millions of sincere Protestants read the Bible but do not understand it. There is only one truth, and one correct interpretation of the Scriptures. Yet, there are around 50,000 Protestant denominations each of which disagree with each other on matters of doctrine and theology, and all of which reject the Catholic Church.
Nowhere does the Bible state that all who read it will understand it. But, Jesus constantly guarantees that His Apostles will be guided into full understanding by the Holy Spirit. He commands them to form a Church and to teach in His stead saying, “those who hear you hear me and those who reject you reject Him who sent me.” It is the Catholic Church that gave us the Bible and guarantees it to be true through the authority of Christ. Jehovah’s Witnesses are confounded when you quote Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, “All authority under Heaven and Earth has been given to me,” and really any passage that speaks of His authority, His divinity and the establishment of His Church. Yet, they claim to base all of their beliefs on the literal interpretation of the Bible. Such confusion and error is sad, but it is certainly nothing new.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July - December, 2026 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRGY1D15
A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January - June, 2026 It is also available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GDK16N45
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Yes, indeed!!!!!
So well explained and beautiful as usual.