You Have Eyes But Do Not See

Isaiah 6 paints one of the most awe-inspiring portraits of divine majesty in all of Scripture. The prophet writes,
“I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1).
Angelic beings cry out in thunderous chorus:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

Isaiah’s immediate response to this overwhelming vision isn’t delight, but dread. He cries,
“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips . . . for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5).
In that moment of trembling honesty, one of the seraphim flies to him with a burning coal and touches his lips, symbolizing the removal of guilt and the atonement of sin.

This vision sets the stage for Isaiah’s commission. And that commission is nothing short of staggering:

“Go, and say to this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’” (Isaiah 6:9)

Isaiah was not sent to a people eager to hear from God. He was sent to preach to those who would see without seeing and hear without understanding. God’s Word would not soften their hearts it would confirm their blindness.

Prophets to a Deaf and Blind People

Isaiah’s call wasn’t unique. He was joining a long line of God’s messengers Moses, Jeremiah, Ezekiel who were called to speak to hard-hearted people. And those people were not ignorant in the intellectual sense. Their condition was spiritual: they had eyes, but did not see; ears, but did not hear.

This theme runs throughout the Old Testament, especially in God’s critique of idolatry:

“They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. . . . Those who make them become like them.” (Psalm 115:5–8)

Israel had become like the lifeless idols they worshiped unresponsive, spiritually numb. It wasn’t just that they wouldn’t hear God. They couldn’t.

Jesus and the Deafness of His Generation

It’s no wonder, then, that Isaiah 6 becomes one of the most quoted passages in the New Testament. Jesus cites it in all four Gospels to explain why He teaches in parables not to confuse, but to expose the spiritual state of His hearers:

“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” (Matthew 13:14)

The problem wasn’t that Jesus was unclear. The problem was that the people were blind. They saw His miracles. They heard His teaching. But their hearts were dull. Their ears were heavy. Their eyes were shut.

And just like the prophets before Him, Jesus was maligned, rejected, and ultimately crucified. His rejection fulfilled not only prophecy but a larger biblical pattern one that continues even today.

From Rejection to Revelation

But Jesus wasn’t just another prophet rejected by His people. He was and is the glorious God-in-the-flesh. John tells us plainly:

“Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke of Him.” (John 12:41)

Isaiah’s vision of the Lord high and lifted up was not only a glimpse of heavenly majesty it was a foreshadowing of the exalted Christ. And the very people who rejected Him fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy to the letter. They saw but did not see. They heard but did not understand.

Yet Jesus didn’t come merely to announce judgment He came to bring salvation. Isaiah also foretold a time when “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped” (Isaiah 35:5). That day arrived with Jesus.

His miracles were more than displays of power they were parables in action. When He opened blind eyes and deaf ears, He was showing that the long-awaited restoration had come. Not just physically, but spiritually. The Son of God was granting sight to the blind of soul.

Blessed Are Your Eyes

To His disciples to those who truly listened Jesus said:

“Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” (Matthew 13:16)

Not everyone walked away blind. Not everyone turned deaf. Some saw. Some heard. Some believed.

And the same is true today.

The gospel is still going out and still dividing the crowd. Some hear and ignore. Some see and scoff. But others by God’s grace hear and believe. They’re drawn by the light of Christ. Their hearts awaken. Their spiritual senses come alive.

So, Do You See?

The question is simple. Do you see without seeing? Do you hear without hearing?

You may have sat in church for years. You may have memorized verses, sung hymns, even led Bible studies. But have your eyes truly been opened to the glory of Jesus Christ?

The spiritually blind cannot make themselves see. Just as Jesus opened the eyes of the physically blind, He must open our hearts. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6:

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Only God can open your eyes. But once He does, the veil is lifted. The dullness disappears. The Word comes alive. You see the Savior for who He really is and you will never be the same.

Look and Listen Today

Don’t be like those who heard the words of life and turned away unmoved. Don’t merely see without perceiving.

Ask God to give you eyes to see and ears to hear. And then do what Jesus calls every awakened heart to do:

Look to Him. Listen to Him.
Follow Him. Trust Him.
And bear fruit that lasts.

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