Matthew 13:14

“By the working of the Word of Christ, we slowly bear fruit in the Church to the glory of God.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. the parable of the sower: Mt 13:3-23.

“For those who stay "outside", everything remains enigmatic.” — Catechism footnote: Mk 4:11; cf. Mt 13:10-15.

“From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. Mk 1:16-20; 3:13-19; Mt 13:10-17; Lk 10:17-20; 22:28-30.

“But blessed are your eyes, which see the things that ye see; and your ears, which hear what ye do hear.”” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 11–16; Isa. vi. 10.

“And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying;” and so on, down to the words, “Therefore every scribe which is instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 1–52.

“But if, in return for good seed and good rain, you bring forth not fruit but thorns, the seed will not be blamed, nor will the rain be in fault; but for thorns due fire is prepared.” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 3–25.

““For in them is fulfilled,” saith He, “the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.”” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 14. See Is. vi. 9, 10.

“May he not reply to us in the words of the Saviour: “I have one mode of speech for those that are without and another for those that are within; the crowds hear my parables, but their interpretation is for my disciples alone”?” — editor's note: Matt. xiii. 10–17.

The disciples understanding that the things which were spoken by the Lord to the people were obscure, desired to hint to Him that He should not speak in parables to them. “And his disciples came to him, and said, Why…

Wherein it is worthy admiration, that the disciples who desire to learn of Him, know when they ought to ask Him, for they do not this before the multitude. This Matthew declares, when he says, “And they came to him;”…

We must enquire how they could come to Him at that time when Jesus was sitting in the ship; we may understand that they had at the first entered into the ship, and standing there, made this enquiry of Him.

The Evangelist therefore says, came to him, to express that they eagerly enquired of Him; or they might indeed approach Him bodily, though the space between them was small.

And observe moreover their goodness, how great their thought for others, that they enquire about what concerns others, before what relates to themselves. For they say not, ‘Why speakest thou to us in parables?’ but…

To you, I say, who adhere to Me, and believe in Me. By the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, He intends the Gospel doctrine. “To them,” that is, to them that are without, and who would not believe on Him, the Scribes…

In saying this, He does not imply any necessity or fate, but shews at once, that they, to whom it is not given, are the cause of all their own miseries, and yet that the knowledge of the Divine mysteries is the gift…

He that has a desire to read, shall have given to him power to understand, and whoso has not desire to read, that understanding which by the bounty of nature he seems to have, even that shall be taken from him. Or,…

Or, To the Apostles who believe in Christ there is given, but from the Jews who believed not on the Son of God there is taken away, even whatever good they might seem to have by nature. For they cannot understand any…

For the Jews not having faith, have lost also the Law which they had; and Gospel faith has the perfect gift, inasmuch as if received it enriches with new fruit, if rejected it subtracts from the riches of ancient…

But that what He had said might be made more manifest He adds, “Therefore speak I unto them in parables, because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” Had this been a natural…

And it should be noted, that not only what He spake, but also what He did, were parables, that is, signs of things spiritual, which He clearly shews when He says, “That seeing they may not see;” but words are heard…

This He says of those who were standing on the shore, and separated from Jesus, and who because of the dashing of the waves, heard not distinctly what was said.

And that they should not say, He slanders us as an enemy, He brings forward the Prophet declaring the same opinion, as it follows, “Thai there might be fulfilled in them the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, With the…

That is; With the hearing ye shall hear words, but shall not understand the hidden meaning of those words; seeing ye shall see My flesh indeed, but shall not discern the divinity.

This He said because they had taken away their own sight and hearing, shutting their eyes, and hardening their hearts. For not only did they not hear at all, but they heard obtusely, as it follows, “The heart of this…

The heart of the Jews is made gross with the grossness of wickedness, and through the abundance of their sins they hear hardly the Lord’s words, because they have received them ungratefully.

And that we should not suppose that this grossness of the heart and heaviness of the ears is of nature, and not of choice, He adds the fruit of their own wilfulness, “For they have shut their eyes.”

Herein He points out how extreme their wickedness, how determined their aversion. Again to draw them towards Him, He adds, “And be converted, and 1 should heal them;” which shews that if they would be converted, they…

Otherwise; “They have shut their eyes lest they should see with their eyes,” that is, themselves were the cause that God shut their eyes. For another Evangelist says, “He hath blinded their eyes.” But is this to the…

In all the clauses the word ‘not’ must be understood; thus; That they should not see with their eyes, and should not hear with their ears, and should not understand with their heart, and should not be converted, and…

So then the eyes of them that see, and will not believe, are miserable, but your eyes are blessed; whence it follows, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.”

If we had not read above that invitation to his hearers to understand, when the Saviour said, “He that hath ears to hear let him hear,” we might here suppose that the eyes and ears which are now blessed are those of…

The mind is called an eye, because it is intently directed upon what is set before it to understand it; and an ear, because it learns from the teaching of another.

Or, He is speaking of the blessedness of the Apostolic times, to whose eyes and ears it was permitted to see and to hear the salvation of God, many Prophets and just men having desired to see and to hear that which…

This place seems to be contradicted by what is said elsewhere. “Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.” [John 8:56]

Also Isaiah and Micah, and many other Prophets, saw the glory of the Lord; and were thence called ‘seers.’

But He said not, ‘The Prophets and the just men,’ but “many;” for out of the whole number, it may be that some saw, and others saw not. But as this is a perilous interpretation, that we should seem to be making a…

These things then which the Apostles saw and heard, are such as His presence, His voice, His teaching. And in this He sets them before not the evil only, but even before the good, pronouncing them more blessed than…

Matthew 13:14 and Acts 28:26 share the same wording (16 words).

Cited together in John Chrysostom on Matthew 13:10–17 (Catena Aurea).

Cited together in John Chrysostom on Matthew 13:10–17 (3) (Catena Aurea).

Cited together in John Chrysostom on Matthew 13:10–17 (4) (Catena Aurea).

Cited together in Augustine of Hippo on Matthew 13:10–17 (Catena Aurea).

Cited together in Against Heresies IV.29.

Cited together in Against Heresies IV.29.

Cited together in Against Heresies IV.29.

Cited together in Against Heresies IV.29.

Cited together in Against Heresies IV.29.

Cited together in Remigius of Auxerre on Matthew 13:10–17 (2) (Catena Aurea).

Cited together in John Chrysostom on Matthew 13:10–17 (5) (Catena Aurea).

Cited together in Against Heresies IV.29.