ISAIAH 6:9-10
in the New Testament
Why Isaiah 6:9-10?
This passage is used in the New
Testament to state the purpose of
the parables…
…and parables are Jesus’ primary
teaching tools!
Isaiah 6:9-10
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And [God] said, “Go and say to this people:
‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep looking, but do not understand.’
Make the mind of this people dull, and stop
their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they
may not look with their eyes, and listen
with their ears, and comprehend with their
minds, and turn and be healed.” (NRSV)
So where do we find it in the New Testament?
Mark 4:10-12
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When [Jesus] was alone, those who were
around him along with the twelve asked him
about the parables. And he said to them, “To
you has been given the secret of the kingdom
of God, but for those outside, everything
comes in parables; in order that ‘they may
indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed
listen, but not understand; so that they may
not turn again and be forgiven.’” (NRSV)
Mark 4:10-12
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Isaiah and Mark were speaking to similar audiences
“The passage may have been composed after many
people to whom the word had been proclaimed had
rejected it. This discouraging situation is made
bearable by interpreting it in terms of an
authoritative text and by accepting it as a part of the
divine plan.” (Hermeneia: Mark, 249)
Ultimately affirms that God’s plan is sovereign, even
if God’s people do not respond
Mark 4:10-12
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Do the parables “serve to harden outsiders”
(Beale & Carson, 151)?
Beale & Carson connect this passage to Mark
3:23 (“How can Satan cast out Satan?”) and state
that these together “indicate that the
eschatological division of Israel has begin, and it
all turns on one’s response to Jesus” (155)
Matthew 13:13-15
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The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing
they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen,
nor do they understand.’ With them indeed is
fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ‘You will
indeed listen, but never understand, and you will
indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s
heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of
hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they
might not look with their eyes, and listen with their
ears, and understand with their heart and turn – and
I would heal them.’ (NRSV)
Matthew 13:13-15
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Focuses on Israel’s “lack of seeing” (Hermeneia:
Matthew 8-20, 247)
Matthew’s use of μήποτε (“so that”) “maintains
Israel’s guilt and not God’s predestination. If
Israel were to repent, then God would truly heal
it!” (247)
Matthew does not want to let human beings off
the hook for hearing God’s word (Beale &
Carson, 46)
Romans 11:7-8
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What then? Israel failed to obtain
what it was seeking. The elect
obtained it, but the rest were
hardened, as it is written, “God gave
them a sluggish spirit, eyes that
would not see and ears that would
not hear, down to this very day.”
(NRSV)
Romans 11:7-8
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More in line with what Mark says
“Hope of future redemption” (Beale & Carson, 670)
If God brought about the inability to see and hear,
can’t God remove it as well? (ibid)
“Because Israel’s heart is hardened, the eschaton is
delayed, giving opportunity for the good news to go
out to the Gentiles. The hardened heart, therefore,
far from indicating failure, reveals God’s wisdom in
bringing about a universal salvation.” (To Seek and
Not Perceive, 89)
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Isaiah & Mark
Isaiah, Mark & Matthew
Isaiah, Mark, Matthew &
Romans
Isaiah, Mark & Romans
Isaiah, Matthew & Romans
Isaiah & Romans
OR
Throw Luke and/or John in there
somewhere
So many options, so few pages…
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My Questions
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Isaiah & Mark
o
Isaiah, Mark,
Matthew &
Romans
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o
Isaiah, Mark &
Romans
o
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Is there value in looking only at
Mark?
What are the benefits of comparing
just the Gospel texts to one
another?
Is it more valuable to present two
different uses of the text or similar
uses in two different passages?
If looking at two different uses: What
are the ramifications of each?
 If looking at two similar uses: Why do
these sources agree?
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