Matthew 13:16,17

In Mk. (Mark 4:13) Jesus reproaches the disciples for their ignorance; here He congratulates them on their faculty of seeing and hearing (spiritually). ὑμῶν : in emphatic position, suggesting contrast between disciples and the multitude. μακάριοι, vide on chap. Matthew 5:3. ὅτι βλ., because, not for what, they see. ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω : introducing an important statement. προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι, same combination as in Matthew 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. (Luke 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,” Matthew 4:19; “Salt of the Earth,” “City on a Hill,” Matthew 5:13-14; “Two Builders,” Matthew 7:24-27; “Whole need not a Physician,” Matthew 9:12; “New Garment and New Wine,” Matthew 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.