When they didn’t agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had spoken one word, “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,
saying, ‘Go to this people and say, in hearing, you will hear, but will in no way understand. In seeing, you will see, but will in no way perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown callous. Their ears are dull of hearing. Their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, then I would heal them.’
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv25–26 25. And when they could not The malice and…
25. And when they could not The malice and frowardness of the unfaithful is the cause of this, that Christ, who is our peace, and the only bond of holy unity, is an occasion of dissension, and doth cause those to go together by the ears who were friends before. For, behold, when the Jews come together to hear Paul, they think all one thing; and speak all one thing; they do all profess that they embrace the law of Moses. So soon as they hear the doctrine of reconciliation, there ariseth dissension among them, so that they are divided. And yet for all this we must not think that the preaching of the gospel is the cause of discord; but that privy displeasure, which lurked before in their malicious minds, doth then break out; and as the brightness of the sun doth not color things otherwise than they were, but doth plainly show the difference, which was none so long as it was dark. Therefore, seeing God doth illuminate his elect peculiarly, and faith is not common to all men, let us remember that it cannot be but that, so soon as Christ cometh abroad, there will be a division among men. But then let us call to mind that which Simon foretold of him, that he shall be a sign which shall be spoken against, that the thoughts of many hearts may be disclosed (Luke 2:34, 35) and that unbelief which striveth against God is the mother of dissension.
After that Paul. At the first he went about to allure them meekly and gently; now, so soon as he espieth their obstinacy, he inveigheth sharply, and doth severely denounce the judgment of God. For the rebellious must be handled thus, whose pride cannot be tamed with plain doctrine. The same order must we keep; we must gently govern those who are apt to be taught and gentle, but we must cite the stubborn unto God’s judgment-seat. Whereas he bringeth in rather the Holy Ghost speaking than the prophet, it maketh to the credit of the oracle. For seeing God requireth that he alone be heard, doctrine cannot otherwise be of authority, than if we know that it did proceed from him, and that it did not issue out of man’s brain. Again, he declareth therewithal that the stubbornness of one age only is not there noted, but that the oracle of the Spirit is extended unto the time to come.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv26–27 The unbelievers do willingly resist the truth, and yet…
The unbelievers do willingly resist the truth, and yet not by chance.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv25–27 25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they…
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Ver. 25. And when they agreed not] They jarred. It is a metaphor from musical instruments that make no harmony, ασυμφωνοι.
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Had spoken one word] A terrible stinging word, that would stick in their souls and flesh, as the envenomed arrows of the Almighty, throughout all eternity.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv25–27 They agreed not among themselves; thus Christ came to…
They agreed not among themselves; thus Christ came to send fire on the earth, Luk 12:49; not that the gospel does this in itself; for it is the gospel of peace, Eph 6:15, not only betwixt God and man, but betwixt man and man; and if its precepts were observed, love, meekness, and goodness would banish all hatred, pride, and contention out of the hearts and lives of men; but this arises out of the corruption that is in man, and from the evil one that sows his tares amongst us.
After that Paul had spoken one word; Paul spake this eminent and remarkable word, or sentence, that they might (if possible) be pricked in their hearts at the hearing of God’s judgments denounced against them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v25 The obstinate infidelity and unreasonable unbelief which was found…
The obstinate infidelity and unreasonable unbelief which was found among the Jews under the apostle’s preaching, was no doubt a great grief of heart unto him; but at their departure he tells them, that they would not be persuaded that this unbelief of theirs was what the prophet Esaias had long before punctually foretold, That hearing they will not see; having contracted such a wilful hardness, blindness, and deafness, as will not suffer them to hearken to any counsel which may end to their conversion and salvation.
Here note, That though the present unbelief of the obstinate Jews to whom the apostle now preached, was long before foretold by the prophets of God; yet the prophets’ prediction was no cause of their unbelief, or that which laid them under an impossibility of believing; but the fault lay in their own obstinate wills; with respect to which, by the just judgment of God, they were blinded and hardened. When sinners close their eyes wilfully, and say, They will not see.
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Deus non deserit nisi deserentem; the Jews had forsaken God, and now God forsakes them. But the apostle tells them, that upon this refusal of theirs he was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and that they would hear it, and gladly receive it, The salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it. Act 28:29
Where observe, the epithet or title given to the gospel, The salvation of God.
1. It is styled salvation, because it makes a tender and universal offer of life and salvation unto lost sinners.
2. It is called the salvation of God, because it is a salvation of his providing and contriving, of his revealing and discovering. It is his by way of patefaction and discovery; his by way of power and efficacy; The salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv25–27 And when they agreed not among themselves,.... One part…
And when they agreed not among themselves,.... One part believing what was said, and the other disbelieving; and such a division is the usual effect of the Gospel ministry; see Luk 12:51. Or this may be understood of the unbelieving party, who though they agreed in the main that Jesus was not the Messiah, yet might have different sentiments of the apostle; of the manner of his reasoning, and the nature of his proofs and arguments; and of some things which he delivered, which some might assent to, and others deny; as the Pharisees and Sadducees in the sanhedrim at Jerusalem disagreed about the doctrine of the resurrection: and the rather this may be thought to be the sense, because they not only departed, when very likely those that believed might stay longer, but because at their departure the apostle says something very cutting and stinging, and which he would not say in common of them all, of the believers; and besides, they are afterwards said to reason among themselves, Act 28:29.
They departed; from the apostle's lodging to their own houses, or to some other place, where they could call over, and debate among themselves, the things they had heard:
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after that Paul had spoken one word; a very remarkable one, and full to the purpose, and which he gave them just at parting with them:
well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers; the passage referred to is in Isa 6:9, which the prophet Isaiah delivered under the influence and by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, being moved by him, as all the holy men of God were; and which was very appropriate, not only to the Jewish fathers in the times of Isaiah, but to their posterity in succeeding ages, in the times of Christ and his apostles; see Mat 13:10; and were exceeding applicable to the present unbelieving Jews, who had been disputing with the apostle, and were now departing from him, in unbelief: and from hence it appears, that since it was the Holy Ghost that spake by Isaiah the prophet, and he that spoke to him and by him, was the Adon, Jehovah, and Lord of hosts, as is clear from Isa 6:1; it follows, that the Holy Ghost is a divine person, truly God, and equal with the Father and the Son.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv25–26 Well spake the Holy Ghost to your fathers -…
Well spake the Holy Ghost to your fathers - Which is equally applicable to you.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv25–26 Verse 25. Agreed not among themselves] It seems that…
Verse 25. Agreed not among themselves] It seems that a controversy arose between the Jews themselves, in consequence of some believing, and others disbelieving; and the two parties contested together; and, in respect to the unbelieving party, the apostle quoted the following passage from Isa 6:9.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv25–26 Had spoken one word - One solemn declaration, reminding…
Had spoken one word - One solemn declaration, reminding them that it was the characteristic of the nation to reject the testimony of God, and that it was to be expected. It was the last warning which we know Paul to have delivered to his countrymen the Jews.
Well spake - Or he spoke the truth; he justly described the character of the Jewish people. The passage here quoted was as applicable in the time of Paul as of Isaiah.
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The Holy Ghost - A full proof of the inspiration of Isaiah.
By Esaias - By Isaiah, Isa 6:9-10.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv25–26 when they--the Jews.
when they--the Jews.
agreed not among themselves--the discussion having passed into one between the two parties into which the visitors were now divided, respecting the arguments and conclusions of the apostle.
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they departed--the material of discussion being felt by both parties to be exhausted.
after Paul had spoken one word--one solemn parting testimony, from those Scriptures regarded by both alike as "the Holy Ghost speaking" to Israel.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv25–27 25. One word—One final utterance of sorrow and rebuke.
25. One word—One final utterance of sorrow and rebuke.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv25–27 25. agreed not among themselves] This may have been…
25. agreed not among themselves] This may have been the real cause of their inaction in the matter of the Apostle’s trial. He would not have been without a party of supporters among their own body.
unto our [R. V. your] fathers] The change of pronoun has the support of the oldest MSS., and is more in accord with the spirit in which St Paul is speaking. He would wish to distinguish these obstinate Jews from himself and others who received the words of the Old Testament as fulfilled in Jesus.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv25–26 (25) After that Paul had spoken one word.—The tone…
(25) After that Paul had spoken one word.—The tone of vehement indignation implies a patience almost exhausted by the long contest with prejudice and unbelief. He cannot refrain from reproducing the conviction which he had already expressed in the Epistle to the Romans, that “blindness in part had happened unto Israel,” that a remnant only were faithful, and that “the rest were hardened” (Rom_11:7-25).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v26 Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand.
Act_28:26-27
Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand.
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Judicial hardness
The passage from which the apostle quotes is Isa_6:1-13, where the prophet received a special commission and was forewarned that he would address his message to a hardened, unbelieving people--the effect of the message on the peoples minds is described as if it were the express design of the message. It would be easy to adduce other examples, in which the prophets are said to do that which they predict. The passage is quoted--
1. In Mat_13:14, to illustrate the design of the parabolic mode of instruction which the Saviour adopted. By this application of the passage we learn that it not merely foretold the unbelief of the Jews, but its judicial consequence. Slighted privileges were to be diminished. Despised instructions were to be rendered more obscure (cf. Mar_4:12; Luk_8:10)
.
2. In Joh_12:37-41, where the Jews having, disregarded the miracles of Christ it is said, Therefore they could not believe, because Esaias had said again, He hath blinded their eyes. It cannot mean that the prediction prevented their believing; but that it could not have been falsified by fact. Yet the additional idea of judicial abandonment seems to be conveyed. Not merely is the message, in just retribution, obscure; but the unbelieving mind is left to its perversity, which is equivalent to judicial hardening.
3. In Rom_11:7-8. There the unbelieving Jews are said to be blinded; and God is said to have given them the spirit of slumber. Here we discover, also, the sentiment of judicial abandonment issuing in hardened unbelief. The text--
I. Describes the character of such as are the subjects of judicial hardness. Note--
1. The examples of this sad and guilty state Chat we may learn what are its characteristics.
(1) Take--
(a) The Israelites of the prophets day. It was the lot of Isaiah to prophesy during the period of Israels degeneracy. From the time of Solomon the worship of God had begun to be polluted by idolatry, which now had become prevalent. At this juncture Isaiah was raised up, but though his lips were touched with the living coal, his messages fell upon rebellious ears. Their hearts were hardened. The prophet retired, saying, Who hath believed our report? At length the threatened judgment came; idolatrous Judah was carried captive into Assyria.
(b) Pass on to the times of Jesus. Kings and prophets desired to see His day, and died without the sight. How hallowed was His ministry! how privileged were His auditors! Who could hear Him, and not be convinced? Alas! even from Him the people turned away in hardened unbelief, and then they crucified Him.
(c) Next came the apostles with their offer of a full salvation, but many believed not. Their prejudices were inveterate.
(d) The spirit Of the ancient Jews has descended upon their descendants (2Co_3:14-15; Rom_11:10).
(2) After this examination of instances, we see the principal elements of judicial hardness. It is in one word--spiritual stupidity. While sufficiently perspicacious in regard to everything worldly, they were blind, and deaf, and insensible to Divine things. In characterising such a state of mind, I must point out--
(a) Its perversity. Evidence might amount to demonstration; they would not believe.
(b) Its prejudice. They scarcely deigned to examine, because they had already formed their conclusion.
(c) Its wilfulness. Though the gleamings of conviction might glance on their minds they would not yield to it.
(d) Its infatuation. That which had been long, repeatedly, and resolutely rejected seemed at last unworthy of a moments investigation.
(e) Its obstinate malignity.
2. Having, by an induction of Scripture instances, ascertained the elements of judicial hardness, we may now apply the test to living character.
(1) Ignorance is one form of it. Not a few who attend an evangelical ministry find all its messages a parable. They are not obtuse in intellectual faculty, yet the gospel of Christ is to them an unintelligible mystery. You go to them determined that, at least, they shall not mistake your meaning, you speak to them as little children; but, after all, they know not whereof you affirm.
(2) Error is another form. Scepticism is but a form of judicial hardness. The truth is distasteful; the mind, preoccupied with its own distaste, turns away from evidence, and eagerly seizes on difficulty and objection.
(3) But the form which is most prevalent is the unbelief or insensibility of orthodoxy. Its subjects are persons who are not ignorant of the doctrines we preach, nor disposed to deny them. Yet they come and go at ease, whilst living without God in the world. Is not this a case of amazing stupidity? It is as if the dead should come forth from their graves, and clothe themselves anew in the habiliments of this world, and with eyes unclosed, and ears unstopped, should sit in this place, beholding and listening, yet uniting, with the recovery of sensation, a soulless insensibility to the purport of all which they should see and hear.
II. Exhibits the righteous retribution involved in the case of judicial hardness.
1. This will appear, when you observe how mercy, slighted, becomes the means of developing depravity. Had no prophet arisen in Judah, we might have mourned the seduction of the idolatrous tribes, rather than have denounced their criminality. When judgment at length descended upon them, no plea was left them, for ample warning had been given, and had tended but to demonstrate their perversity (2Ch_36:14-16). When Jesus was upon earth the unbelief of the Jews demonstrated the hardness of their hearts and became an aggravation of guilt (Joh_15:22-24). When apostles conveyed the gospel to their countrymen, and they rejected the message, those heralds of mercy shook off the very dust of their feet as a witness against them (Luk_10:12). In every age the faithful ministers of Christ have to say, We are the savour of death unto death, etc. (2Co_2:15-16). Thus does mercy itself become the occasion of demonstrating depravity. It is not, however, the cause of that aggravated depravity, although it becomes the means of developing it. For judgment, said the Saviour, I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. Their blindness was not, however, the effect of the light; the light was but the occasion of demonstrating it. It is thus that Jesus Himself expounds His own words (Joh_9:39; Joh_9:41).
2. When mercy has thus been slighted and insulted it may be withdrawn; the hardened hearer may be removed beyond the sound of the gospel; and he that trifled with impression may be debarred of the means of impression. God may say to His minister, Thou shalt be dumb, etc. (Eze_3:26).
3. But the more ordinary course of Divine retribution is to leave the hardened heart to its own hardness. Hence, as the hardening of our nature is the consequence of Divine withdrawment, God is Himself said to harden the heart. And God has but to abandon us to ourselves, and then the most fearful characteristics will be developed. My Spirit shall not always strive with man (Gen_6:3; 1Th_5:19; Heb_10:29). The soul from which God has withdrawn is like the barren soil on which no rain descends, ever becoming more sterile; like the body from which life has passed, every day yielding more and more to corruption.
4. Under such a state the soul is becoming daily more meet for wrath. It is, in itself, the most fearful token of wrath ever to be experienced. It is death to the soul, the commencement of death eternal, even in this world. But the doom is not yet sealed. For the text--
III. Constitutes an alarm calculated to awaken from the slumbers of judicial hardness. The whole dispensation of Divine government towards us is a dispensation of mercy. Even the severest denunciations of wrath are uttered in merciful warning, and the flames of the pit are made a beacon to arrest our attention and awaken our alarms. When the prophet was sent to the people of Israel, it was that he might arouse them. After Jesus had wept over Jerusalem as lost He charged His disciples to begin their ministry at Jerusalem. When Paul described the hardness and abandonment of the Jews he did so that he might save some of them (Rom_11:14). And in the case of our text he called back the unbelieving Jews to say this one word, with the hope that the faithful warning he gave them might haply be the means of awakening them. (J. Ely.)
Realisation
At this moment when I am beginning to preach there are many persons dying. There is the last breath, the last sharp pang, the last sore struggle, and now they are dead. Let us follow the course their souls have taken; and think that, in this minute, some souls are entering heaven. Now, even now, some are enjoying the beatific vision of Christ. And at this moment also some who were living when I began to speak to you are now in woe, feeling for the first time what is meant by losing the soul. But why is it that this tremendous fact does not strike us more forcibly? If we saw one drowning man, that sight would disturb our waking hours and haunt our sleep. And why should it be, then, that the thought of a matter incomparably more striking and weighty should wake in us no feeling that will last? It is that hearing we can hear and not understand, and seeing we can see and not perceive. The monster evil of our fallen nature is this want of power to realise spiritual things. The misery is that we know such things are, but cannot make it seem as if they were. We know that Moses and the prophets are enough if men would but hear them; we know that Christ, lifted up from the earth, exerts a force that ought to draw all men to Him; yet men will not hear, and will not come, and will not be saved. And will nothing serve to waken men up from this sleep of ruin? Do not we sometimes think, like the rich man in woe, that if one went to them from the dead men would repent? Ah, but what could he tell them that they do not know already? It is no news that the wicked shall be turned into hell, and that is the sum of what he could say. I shall point out some of the leading truths and realities in regard to which our souls are affected by this wretched dulness of perception.
I. The constant presence and inspection of God. Every man knows, and is ready to acknowledge, that God is everywhere, and therefore of course is here; but is there one man in a million who will venture to say he realises what is meant by this? Unless you feel the presence of God just as forcibly as if the flames of Sinai shone on your face, or the still small voice that spoke to Elijah fell thrilling on your ear, you are hearing without understanding, and seeing while you do not perceive. And if it be that even in this solemn place, and with all the advantage of having your thoughts specially directed to the subject your minds labour in vain to bring it home to them that God is here as much as you, how little realised must have been the thought that He was your constant Companion in the long hours of common life. Now, why should this be? If some dimly seen form, a being from another world, should haunt your steps, you think that that would be something whose presence you would feel as something real and true. And why, then, should it be, that the constant presence of the Infinite Spirit should be so often forgot, and so faintly felt when it is remembered best? A man whose blood would be chilled and his tongue palsied by even the suspicion of the presence of an apparition of a human being, hears us tell with absolutely no emotion how there is beside him forever the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible. And the only explanation is that to believe a thing and to realise it are wide as the poles asunder.
II. The reality of the future life. Almost every man will confess that all the millions who have lived on this earth are living yet; and that he him self, when he dies, will be only going into another world. But the vast majority of those who profess to believe all this do not realise it. Their conduct proves this. Very many live as if they were to live on earth forever. Think of the worldly prudent man who is content to wear away the best years of his life in constant toil and pinching privation, that he may surround his declining years with comfort. And think you that this prudent man would live on without making the least provision for life hereafter, if he really felt, what he professes to believe, that after-years in this world are not half so sure to come to him, as endless ages are in a state of being for which earthly riches make no provision? Or, think of the regardless sinner who goes on in the path of guilt and shame, though he has read of the worm that never dies and the fire that is never quenched, and though he never doubts that these things are somewhere. Yes, he believes it, but he does not feel it; he hears without understanding, and he sees without perceiving. For, if he could call up the black picture of the place of woe, would he live one hour more in the path which must lead thither?
III. A need of a saving interest in Christ. This seems a simple thing. A man perishing for thirst knows thoroughly his need of that water which will quench it; and every sinful creatures need of the Saviour is just as pressing and as real. Ask any thoughtful professing Christian what it is he most needs. It requires no deliberation to answer such a question. Many firings are desirable, but one thing is needful; and that is a saving interest in Christ. Well, then, if a thing be truly felt to be the thing we most need, there are two consequences which will follow--the desire we feel for that thing so needful, and the exertion we put forth to gain it, will be incomparably greater than we ever felt or put forth in the case of anything else. Is all this so? Let me ask what you have been most earnestly desiring for the last few days? The thing you most need? If not, then you have not realised your need of the Saviour. If you feel that you are more anxious to get on in life, then you are not realising that need. Again, look back and consider what it is you have spent most pains on. Most of us have worked hard in our day. Did we work hardest to get the one thing needful? Or is it not rather true that we have spent the best part of our strength upon our worldly affairs; and given only jaded powers, and any odd scraps of time to doing that which we profess to believe is the great thing we have to do on earth? (A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv25–27 25-28. From what follows, we have reason to suppose…
25-28. From what follows, we have reason to suppose that the unbelieving party gave some unbecoming expression to their sentiments. (25) " And disagreeing among themselves, they dispersed, Paul saying one word: Well did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, (26) saying, Go to this people and say, With hearing you will hear and will not understand, and seeing, you will see and not perceive; (27) for the heart of this people has become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should turn, and I should heal them. (28) Be it known to you, therefore, that the salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it. " The purpose of henceforth turning to the Gentiles, implied in the last remark, indicates that far the larger portion of his hearers rejected the gospel.
The quotation from Isaiah furnishes the true explanation of the failure of the gospel to effect the salvation of all who hear it fully proclaimed. The theory that the human soul must be regenerated by an immediate influence of the Holy Spirit, or that the Spirit must impart a special force to the Word in individual cases, before the gospel can be received, is an attempt to explain this matter; but it is not consistent with the explanation here given by Paul. Upon those theories, when a part of Paul's hearers went away unbelievers, the reason was that they had not enjoyed a divine influence which was granted to the others. On Paul's theory, however, the Lord had done as much for the one party as for the other; and the reason why one party were not believers was because, unlike the others, their ears were dull of hearing, and their eyes were closed. Neither was this condition superinduced without their own volition; for they are expressly charged with closing their own eyes. As they closed them voluntarily, they could have kept them open. Had they done so, it is implied that the process would have been reversed. They would have seen the truth; seeing it to be the truth, they would have given it a respectful hearing; hearing they would have understood it, and would have turned to the Lord that they might be healed. This was precisely the experience of the party who believed. They had themselves once been gross of heart and dull of hearing, and had closed their eyes against the truth as presented by previous preachers in Rome; but now they opened their eyes to what Paul presented, and the consequence was, they turned to the Lord. We conclude, therefore, that the power of the gospel is sufficient for the conversion of all who will see and hear. For this reason, it is sent to all in the same words; all who hear enjoy the same divine influence, and those only are lost who wilfully refuse to hear the truth, or obstinately resist it. In this arrangement there is no respect of persons with God, nor can any man attribute his final ruin to a withholding of saving influences on the part of the Holy Spirit.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v25 A word from Isaiah applied:
A word from Isaiah applied:
v. 25. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
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v. 26. saying, Go unto this people and say, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and not perceive;
v. 27. for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
v. 28. Be it known, therefore, unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
v. 29. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
It was at this point in the discussion, when some were being persuaded by Paul’s words, yielding to the conviction of God’s Word, and others continued in their disbelief, and when they could not come to an agreement among themselves, that Paul reminded them of a word of the Prophet Isaiah, chap. 6:9-10, which caused the meeting to disperse without a definite conclusion in regard to the matter. He referred to the prophecy concerning self-hardening followed by hardening on the part of God. Isaiah had received the express command to go to the Jews of his day and tell them that they would, literally, hear with their hearing, and yet not understand; that they would see with their eyes upon the Word, and yet receive no impression on their mind. And the reason for that judgment was that the heart of the people had become callous, unfeeling, and the spiritual hearing of their ears had become difficult, and their eyes were prevented from seeing. Therefore the Lord had given them up to the hardness of their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, be converted, and the Lord heal them. This terrible judgment upon the stubborn Jews had begun in the time of Isaiah, it had been threatened in the days of the Savior, Mat 13:14-15; Mar 4:12; Luk 8:10, and it was now about to be carried out in its final terrible curse. And they would have no one to blame for the terrible results of their enmity toward Christ and God but themselves. Formally and solemnly Paul announces to the assembled Jews this consequence of their resistance and the course which he would be compelled to adopt henceforth. He wanted to have it known, to be understood by them, that the salvation of God, in the Gospel of the Messiah, was now sent to the Gentiles, and they would hear and accept its glorious news. Note that even these last words are spoken not merely to condemn, but also to lead to repentance. It was like showing to the Jews the horrible yawning abyss at whose edge they were standing, having deliberately closed their eyes and ears against every warning. And some results seem to have attended this last warning, if the text here is correct, for when Paul said these words, they left his quarters, discussing the matter among themselves with great vehemence. If the interest thus aroused only leads to a careful searching of Scriptures, a person may feel well rewarded for even such apparently fruitless discussions.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25, 27 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
As the Jewish leaders were ready to leave, Paul quotes the Old Testament scriptures that were appropriate for this time.
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General Information:
Here the word "they" refers to the Jewish leaders in Rome. (See: Acts 28:17)
General Information:
The word "your" refers to the people to whom Paul had been speaking. In verse 26, Paul begins to quote the prophet Isaiah.
after Paul had spoken this one word
Here "word" stands for a message or statement. AT: "after Paul had said one more thing" or "after Paul had made this statement" (See: Metonymy)
The Holy Spirit spoke well through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers. He said, 'Go to this people and say, "By hearing you will hear, but not understand; and seeing you will see, but will not perceive
This has quotations within quotations. You can translate one of the inner quotations as an indirect quotation, or you can translate two of the inner quotations as indirect quotations. AT: "The Holy Spirit spoke well through Isaiah the prophet to your forefathers when the Spirit told Isaiah to tell them that they will hear but will not understand; and they will see but they will not perceive" (See: Quotes Within Quotes)
By hearing you will hear ... and seeing you will see
The words "hear" and "see" are repeated for emphasis. "You will listen carefully ... and you will look intently"
but not understand ... but will not perceive
Both of these phrases mean basically the same thing. They emphasize that the Jewish people will not understand God's plan. (See: Parallelism)
translationWords
Paul
word
Holy Spirit
Isaiah
prophet
ancestor
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v25 28:25-28 Paul parted with scriptural words of warning that…
28:25-28 Paul parted with scriptural words of warning that are often used in the New Testament to explain the Jewish rejection of the gospel (cp. Matt 13:14-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:38-40; see Rom 11:1-12, 25-32).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.