14 But their minds were made hard: for to this very day at the reading of the old agreement the same veil is still unlifted; though it is taken away in Christ.
But if our good news is veiled, it is veiled from those who are on the way to destruction: Because the god of this world has made blind the minds of those who have not faith, so that the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not be shining on them.
For it is my desire, brothers, that this secret may be clear to you, so that you may not have pride in your knowledge, that Israel has been made hard in part, till all the Gentiles have come in;
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; And that having the eyes of your heart full of light, you may have knowledge of what is the hope of his purpose, what is the wealth of the glory of his heritage in the saints, And how unlimited is his power to us who have faith, as is seen in the working of the strength of his power, By which he made Christ come back from the dead, and gave him a place at his right hand in heaven,
Seeing that it is God who said, Let light be shining out of the dark, who has put in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
And Jesus made answer and said to him, A blessing on you, Simon Bar-jonah: because this knowledge has not come to you from flesh and blood, but from my Father in heaven.
What then? That which Israel was searching for he did not get, but those of the selection got it and the rest were made hard. As it was said in the holy Writings, God gave them a spirit of sleep, eyes which might not see, and ears which have no hearing, to this day. And David says, Let their table be made a net for taking them, and a stone in their way, and a punishment: Let their eyes be made dark so that they may not see, and let their back be bent down at all times.
I have come as a light into the world, so that no one who has faith in me will go on living in the dark.
He has made their eyes blind, and their hearts hard; for fear that they might see with their eyes and get knowledge with their hearts, and be changed, and I might make them well.
And Jesus said, I came into this world to be a judge, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. These words came to the ears of the Pharisees who were with him and they said to him, Are we, then, blind? Jesus said to them, If you were blind you would have no sin: but now that you say, We see; your sin is there still.
Then again Jesus said to them, I am the light of the world; he who comes with me will not be walking in the dark but will have the light of life.
And he said to them, These are the words which I said to you when I was still with you, how it was necessary for all the things which are in the writings of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms about me, to be put into effect. Then he made the holy Writings clear to their minds. And he said to them, So it is in the Writings that the Christ would undergo death, and come back to life again on the third day;
And he said, O foolish men! how slow you are to give belief to what the prophets have said. Was it not necessary for the Christ to go through these things, and to come into his glory? And he made clear to them all the things in the Writings, from Moses and from all the prophets, which had to do with himself.
And he took with him the twelve and said to them, Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things which were said by the prophets will be done to the Son of man. For he will be given up to the Gentiles, and will be made sport of and put to shame: And he will be given cruel blows and put to death, and on the third day he will come back to life. But they did not take in the sense of any of these words, and what he said was not clear to them, and their minds were not able to see it.
For this reason I put things into the form of stories; because they see without seeing, and give ear without hearing, and the sense is not clear to them. And for them the words of Isaiah have come true, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you: For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well.
But if your eye is evil, all your body will be dark. If then the light which is in you is dark, how dark it will be!
Give ear now to this, O foolish people without sense; who have eyes but see nothing, and ears without the power of hearing:
His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dogs without tongues, unable to make a sound; stretched out dreaming, loving sleep.
They have no knowledge or wisdom; for he has put a veil over their eyes, so that they may not see; and on their hearts, so that they may not give attention.
Give ear, you whose ears are shut; and let your eyes be open, you blind, so that you may see. Who is blind, but my servant? who has his ears stopped, but he whom I send? who is blind as my true one, or who has his ears shut like the Lord's servant? Seeing much, but keeping nothing in mind; his ears are open, but there is no hearing.
Even if you are kind to the evil-doer, he will not go after righteousness; even in the land of the upright he will still go on in his wrongdoing, and will not see the glory of the Lord. Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see: let them see ... yes, your haters will be burned up in the fire. Lord, you will give us peace: for all our works are the outcome of your purpose.
And in this mountain he will put an end to the shade covering the face of all peoples, and the veil which is stretched over all nations.
Let their eyes be blind so that they may not see; let their bodies for ever be shaking.
Son of man, you are living among an uncontrolled people, who have eyes to see but see not, and ears for hearing but they do not give ear; for they are an uncontrolled people.
Go to this people and say, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you: For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
The apostle makes an apology for his seeming to commend himself, and is careful not to assume too much to himself, but to ascribe all praise unto God (v. 1-5). He then draws a comparison between the Old Testament and the New, and shows the excellency of the later above the former (v. 6-11), whence he infers what is the duty of gospel ministers, and the advantage of those who live under the gospel above those who lived under the law (v. 12-18).
2Cr 3:1-5
In these verses,
2Cr 3:6-11
Here the apostle makes a comparison between the Old Testament and the New, the law of Moses and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and values himself and his fellow-labourers by this, that they were able ministers of the New Testament, that God had made them so, v. 6. This he does in answer to the accusations of false teachers, who magnify greatly the law of Moses.
2Cr 3:12-18
In these verses the apostle draws two inferences from what he had said about the Old and New Testament:-