Eyes that See and Ears that Hear

Patrick Henry asks his fellow Virginians, “Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?” The idea of having eyes, but not seeing and having ears but not hearing can be found throughout both the Old and New Testaments in passages such as Jesus alluding to ISAIAH 6:9-10 in MATTHEW 13:13-15 or the Apostle Paul referring to DEUTERONOMY 29:4 and ISAIAH 29:10 in ROMANS 11:8. Perhaps the clearest statements came from Jesus as He spoke about the crowds in MATTHEW 13:13-15 and, in a different circumstance, of his own disciples in MARK 8:18.