But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
16. blessed are your eyes ] The disciples have discernment to understand the explanation which would be thrown away on the uninstructed multitude.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 16. But blessed are your eyes] Ye improve the light which God has given you; and you receive an increase of heavenly wisdom by every miracle and by every sermon.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Luke repeateth this passage, Luk 10:23, but not as annexed to this parable.
Blessed are your eyes; the eyes of your bodies and of your minds. With the eyes of your bodies you have seen the promised Messias, come in the flesh; and you have seen the works which I have done, confirming me to be the Messiah: and with the eyes of your minds you have understood and believed.
For many prophets and righteous men (Luke adds, kings)
have desired to see those things which ye see, &c. From the very first giving out of the promise of Christ to Adam, upon the fall, Gen 3:15, there was in believers an expectation of the Messiah, who being so great a good, so infinite a blessing to mankind, they could not but have a desire (if God had so pleased) to have seen him. But we are told that Abraham saw Christs day and rejoiced. And Simeons and Annas expectation of him, mentioned Luk 2:34-38, lets us know that other pious souls had such desires. Our Saviour blesseth his disciples, that they had seen with the eyes of their bodies, what others had only seen afar off by the eyes of their minds, Heb 11:13.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. But blessed are your eyes, forthey see; and your cars, for they hearthat is, “Happy ye,whose eyes and ears, voluntarily and gladly opened, are drinking inthe light divine.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But blessed are your eyes, for they see,…. Which is to be understood both of corporal and intellectual sight: it was their happiness to see Christ in the flesh, and converse with him in person, be eyewitnesses of his majesty, and see with their own eyes the miracles performed by him, the proofs and attestations of those doctrines they were to publish to all the world; and it was still their greater happiness, that they saw his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth: many saw him in the flesh, as they did, with their bodily eyes, but saw no beauty, nor comeliness in him, nothing amiable and desirable in him; but these saw his personal and transcendent glories, as the Son of God, his fulness as mediator, his suitableness as a Saviour and Redeemer, and all the characters of the Messiah in him; and so believed, and were sure that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God: they saw Christ, not in the promise, as Abraham, and other patriarchs did; nor through types and shadows, as the saints of the Old Testament did; to them it was given to know and understand the mysteries of grace, respecting the person, offices, obedience, sufferings, and death of Christ.
And your ears, for they hear. This also must be understood of corporal and intellectual hearing, another branch of their present happiness. They heard the words of truth from the lips of that great prophet Moses said should rise up among them, like unto him, whom they should hear: they heard, with their own ears, a voice from heaven, declaring him to be the beloved Son of God, in whom he was well pleased. They heard the Gospel preached by him, not only so as to be affected with it, and give their assent to it, but also to understand it spiritually, and experimentally, and to bring forth the fruit of it; and so were that sort of hearers, signified by the good ground in the parable Christ had just delivered. The forms of speech, in which the happiness of the disciples is here expressed, seem to be in common use with the Jews, when they would extol the peculiar attainments of a man, especially in matters of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Thus, it being told R. Jochanan ben Zaccai of some persons that had expounded the work of Mercavah, that is, the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophecy, and the mysterious passages in it, and what befell them, expressed himself thus concerning them n;
“blessed are you, and blessed are your children,
, “and blessed are the eyes that so see”.”
And elsewhere o mention being made of a book of secrets delivered to Solomon, and which he had understanding of, it is said,
“emvv Nzwaw harv Nye yrva, “blessed is the eye that sees, and the ear that hears”, and the heart that understands, and causes to understand, the wisdom of it.”
n T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 14. 2. o Sepher Raziel, fol. 34. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Blessed are your eyes ( ). A beatitude for the disciples in contrast with the Pharisees. Note position of “Happy” here also as in the Beatitudes in Mt 5.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “But blessed are your eyes, for they see:” (humon de makarioi hoi iphthalmoi hoti blepousin) “Then blessed (are) your eyes because they see,” or spiritually prosper. Jesus was speaking directly to His church disciples, who He then referred to as the “Kingdom of heaven,” Mat 13:10-11. And had also called “The Light of the world,” and the “Salt of the earth,” Mat 5:13-16.
2) “And your ears, for they hear.” (kai ta ota humon hot! akouousin) “And your ears because they hear.” Both their sight or perception and their hearing or heeding what both John the Baptist and He had preached brought them to a state or condition that was here declared to be a blessed or spiritually prosperous one. It was one to be commended, far above that of the Messiah-rejecting Jews, as a whole, Joh 1:11; Act 1:21-22; Joh 15:14; Joh 15:16; Joh 15:27; Joh 16:33.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Mat 13:16
. But blessed are your eyes. Luke appears to represent this statement as having been spoken at another time; but this is easily explained, for in that passage he throws together a variety of our Lord’s sayings, without attending to the order of dates. We shall, therefore, follow the text of Matthew, who explains more clearly the circumstances from which Christ took occasion to utter these words. Having formerly reminded them of the extraordinary favor which they had received, in being separated by our Lord from the common people, and familiarly admitted to the mysteries of his kingdom, he now magnifies that grace by another comparison, which is, that they excel ancient Prophets and holy Kings This is a far loftier distinction than to be preferred to an unbelieving multitude. Christ does not mean any kind of hearing, or the mere beholding of the flesh, but pronounces their eyes to be blessed, because they perceive in him a glory which is worthy of the only-begotten Son of God, so as to acknowledge him as the Redeemer; because they perceive shining in him the lively image of God, by which they obtain salvation and perfect happiness; and because in them is fulfilled what had been spoken by the Prophets, that those who have been truly and perfectly taught by the Lord (Isa 54:13) do not need to learn every man from his neighbor, (Jer 31:34.)
This furnishes a reply to an objection that might be drawn from another saying of Christ, that
blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed, (Joh 20:29😉
for there he describes that kind of seeing which Thomas desired in consequence of his gross apprehension. (190) But that seeing, of which Christ now speaks, has been enjoyed by believers in every age in common with the Apostles. We do not see Christ, and yet we see him; we do not hear Christ, and yet we hear him: for in the Gospel we behold him, as Paul says,
face to face, so as to be transformed into his image, (2Co 3:18😉
and the perfection of wisdom, righteousness, and life, which was formerly exhibited in him, shines there continually.
(190) “ Selon son apprehension carnale et grossiere;” — “according to his carnal and gross apprehension.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) Blessed are your eyes.The words are spoken to the small company of disciples in the boat. They were not as the multitude. They might see but dimly, and be slow of heart to understand, but, at least, they had eyes that looked for light, and ears that were open to the divine voice.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. Blessed are your eyes You have loved the teacher and accepted the truth. They see Your blessed eyes see not only the outside shell of truth, but the inner kernel. They hear Not only the literal narrative of the parable, but its secret meaning. And that hidden meaning is the very substance of divine wisdom. It reveals the truths of the Messiah’s kingdom of grace on earth and of glory in heaven. It opens the truths of the Old Testament to the mind, and explains the mysteries dimly seen by the ancient prophets.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.”
There are, however, those who do see and hear, and they do so because they are ‘God-blessed’ ones, that is, because their ‘eyes’ have been blessed by God. It is God Who had made them see and hear. And because He has stepped in to bless them they have responded. They are those whom His Father has drawn to Him (Joh 6:44). And thus they parallel those described in the beatitudes as ‘God-blessed ones’. They are what they are because God has blessed them. And that is why they see and hear.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The blessedness of Christ’s followers:
v. 16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
v. 17. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. The full and true happiness is that of having eyes and ears opened by the benign mercy of Jesus. Not only were the outward members of the disciples’ bodies blessed for being witnesses of the fulfillment of the Old Testament, of seeing Him and being in constant, intimate communion with Him, to whom the whole ancient covenant pointed forward, whom the prophets and the righteous people from Eve and Jacob to Malachi and Simeon had longed to behold, but the eyes of their understanding were enlightened by His power. They knew Jesus as their Savior, and were happy in this knowledge.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 13:16-17 . ] stands first for sake of emphasis, and in contrast to the stupid multitude.
] Personification of the faculty of sight. Luk 11:27 ; Act 5:9 ; Isa 52:7 .
] The thought underlying this (and keeping in view Mat 13:13 ; Mat 13:15 ) may be stated thus: your intellect, as regards the apprehension of divine truth, is not unreceptive and obtuse, but susceptible and active.
] justifies the congratulation on the ground of the important nature of the matter in question.
] Upright , holy men of old. Comp. Mat 10:41 , Mat 23:29 , also , Mat 27:52 .
, . . .] the , Mat 13:11 ; Heb 11:13 ; Heb 11:39 . The vision of Abraham, Joh 8:56 , is foreign to the present passage, from the fact of its not having been seen during his life in the body.
The in Mat 13:16 was equivalent to, to be capable of seeing , while here it means simply to see . Comp. note on Joh 9:39 . But there is no ground for supposing that Matthew has mixed up two distinct discourses (de Wette).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Ver. 16. But blessed are your eyes, &c. ] Demaratus of Corinth was wont to say, that those Grecians lost a great part of the comfort of their lives, that had not seen great Alexander sitting on Darius’s throne. St Austin wished but to have seen three sights, Romam in flore, Paulum in ore, Christum in corpore, Rome in the flourish, Paul in the pulpit, Christ in the flesh.
And your ears, for they hear ] The turtle’s voice, the joyful sound, the lively oracles, the precious promises of the word, therefore called “the word” by a specialty, because our ears should listen after no other word but that. Origen chides his hearers for nothing so much as for this, that they came so seldom to hear God’s word; and that when they came, they heard it so carelessly, recte iudicans, saith Erasmus, hinc esse praecipuum pietatis profectum ant defectum, as one that well knew that men’s growth in grace is according to their heed in hearing.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
16, 17. ] See ref. Prov. These verses occur again in a different connexion, and with the form of expression slightly varied, Luk 10:23-24 . It was a saying likely to be repeated. There it is . . : and for we have . On the fact that prophets, &c. desired to see those things, see 2Sa 23:5 ; Job 19:23-27 ; also Exo 4:13 , and Luk 2:29-32 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 13:16-17 . In Mk. (Mar 4:13 ) Jesus reproaches the disciples for their ignorance; here He congratulates them on their faculty of seeing and hearing (spiritually). : in emphatic position, suggesting contrast between disciples and the multitude. , vide on chap. Mat 5:3 . ., because, not for what , they see. : introducing an important statement. , same combination as in Mat 10:41 . The felicity now consists in the things seen and heard. The perceiving senses and the things to be perceived imply each other, neither by themselves yield enjoyment. This passage is given by Lk. (Luk 10:23-24 ) in a more suitable connection (report on their mission by the Seventy). Here it creates an exaggerated impression as to the extent of the new departure. The parabolic teaching of Jesus, as exemplified in the Sower and other parables here collected, was not an absolutely new feature. He had always been speaking more or less in parables (“Fishers of Men,” Mat 4:19 ; “Salt of the Earth,” “City on a Hill,” Mat 5:13-14 ; “Two Builders,” Mat 7:24-27 ; “Whole need not a Physician,” Mat 9:12 ; “New Garment and New Wine,” Mat 9:16-17 , etc.). Some of the parables in this connection, the Treasure and the Pearl , e.g. , may be gems preserved from some otherwise forgotten synagogue discourses, say those delivered in the preaching tour through Galilee.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
blessed = happy, as in Mat 5:3, &c.
your eyes . . . your ears = ye. “Eyes” and “ears” being put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), App-6, for the persons themselves.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
16, 17.] See ref. Prov. These verses occur again in a different connexion, and with the form of expression slightly varied, Luk 10:23-24. It was a saying likely to be repeated. There it is . . : and for we have . On the fact that prophets, &c. desired to see those things, see 2Sa 23:5; Job 19:23-27; also Exo 4:13, and Luk 2:29-32.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 13:16. -, eyes-ears) i.e. those of your body, above the saints of the Old Testament; those of your soul, above the people now present. Their eyes and ears were the subject of which blessedness could be predicated.[611]
[611] Subjectum quo beatitudinis.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mat 5:3-11, Mat 16:17, Luk 2:29, Luk 2:30, Luk 10:23, Luk 10:24, Joh 20:29, Act 26:18, 2Co 4:6, Eph 1:17, Eph 1:18
Reciprocal: Lev 3:3 – the fat 2Ch 24:19 – but they would Son 8:1 – that thou Isa 18:3 – see ye Isa 55:3 – hear Mat 13:9 – General Mat 13:13 – General Mar 4:11 – Unto you Luk 7:28 – but 1Pe 3:10 – see
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
BLESSED EYES AND BLESSED EARS
Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:16
The senses of sight and hearing are avenues of knowledge and of pleasure. The capacity and disposition to receive heavenly illumination and intelligence, satisfaction and communion, are accordingly admirably set forth by a reference to these higher senses.
I. The vision and the voice. (a) What the first disciples saw and heard. When Christ was here, His disciples saw Him fresh from His baptism and temptation, performing miracles before wondering spectators, transfigured, tried and crucified, risen, and ascending! They heard his teaching on the Mount, His parables, His reproaches of Pharisees, His encouragements to sinners, His discourse in the upper chamber, His cry on Calvary, His final benediction. They beheld His glory; they knew that never man spake like this man! And after the descent of the Spirit, they witnessed the advance of His kingdom, and heard the tribute of adoring love. (b) What we see and hear. We may have seen and heard more of Jesus than even His contemporaries, for we have the enjoined testimony of many. And we see Christ as rendered in the life of His people, and of the new humanity.
II. The spiritual sight and ear.In order that the visible and audible may be apprehended, there are needed the faculty, the cultivation and exercise of the faculty, and the opportunity. In the ministry of Christ were those who were lacking in one or other of these. There were those like Simeon, the centurion, St. Peter, etc., who had them all. So now, there are needed the gift of the enlightening and quickening Spirit. Those who seek and obtain this both see and hear the things of Christ, and Christ Himself.
III. The blessedness of true beholders and hearers.Happiness arises upon the exercise of God-given faculties upon God-given objects. In Jesus Christ and His salvation we have the highest objects of the hearts vision and hearing.
Illustration
A little child was playing on a headland over the sea. There was a blind sailor sitting on the cliff close by. The child gave the old man a telescope, and bade him sweep the far horizon and tell him with the glass what ships he saw. The poor old man could only turn sadly towards the child. The telescope was useless because his sight was gone. Even so it is with the things of Christ. Wonderful pictures are to be seen, but our eyes must be opened by Gods Spirit, or we shall see nothing.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
3:16
The disciples were willing to use their opportunities for obtaining information and hence were pronounced as blessed of the Lord. That was why they were admitted into the explanation of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, while the multitudes were not permitted to receive anything but the unexplained parables.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 13:16. But blessed are your eyes. Your is emphatic; your eyes, blessed are they, etc.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here our Saviour pronounces such of his disciples and followers blessed, who received the truths of the gospel so far as they were already taught them: he assures them that they shall receive farther light and fuller measures of spiritual illumination: Blessed are your eyes, for they see.
Learn, That such as have received the least measures of spiritual knowledge and saving illumination, and do improve it, are in a happy and blessed condition; for as they are capable of further measures of divine knowledge, so shall they be partakers of them.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 13:16-17. But blessed are your eyes, &c. For you both see and hear, and understand. You have not only greater opportunities of instruction than others, but you both know how to prize, and are concerned to improve them. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets Who prophesied of the coming of the Messiah; and righteous men To whom God familiarly showed himself, and made known his will, as he did to Abraham and the patriarchs; and many kings, Luk 10:24; from whose seed the Messiah was to spring, and whose kingdoms and persons were types of him and his kingdom, have desired to see Before their eyes, those things which ye thus see, and have not seen them, they only seeing them afar off in the promises made to them concerning these days. See Heb 11:13; and 1Pe 1:11-12.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
13:16 {3} But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
(3) The condition of the Church under and since Christ, is better than it was in the time of the fathers under the law.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The believing disciples were blessed for this reason. They saw not just what their unbelieving contemporaries could not see but what many prophets and righteous people of bygone years longed to see but could not. Jesus referred to Old Testament prophets and believers who wanted more revelation about the kingdom than they had. Jesus’ claim to be able to reveal more than the Old Testament prophets knew was a claim to being more than a prophet. Only God could do what He claimed to be doing.
". . . in Rabbinic opinion revelation of God’s mysteries would only be granted to those who were righteous or learned." [Note: Edersheim, 1:597.]
As the unbelievers in Jesus’ day were the spiritual descendants of the unbelievers in Isaiah’s day, so the disciples were the sons of the prophets. Likewise Jesus was the Son of God.