Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ ”

--Parallel verses:
II Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬-‭6‬
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Many experiments have been done over the years involving animals to see how they respond and learn over time. The classic mouse and the maze experiment comes to mind. In this experiment they have cheese at the end of the maze and after a few times of going through the maze, the mice learn which routes not to take and find the cheese much faster.

Another famous animal experiment involves a scientist named Pavlov and a dog. Pavlov would ring a bell and then after a set time of waiting, feed the dog. Later he started to ring the bell, but did not feed the dog. The dog would salivate, anticipating the food.

These experiments on instinct and the learning of animals show their limited logic and reason. Also, animals do not have souls and cannot know God on a heart-level. Sadly, some humans think only about the here and now, in some ways akin to animal instinct. They hear and see, but their minds are not developed to perceive and understand God’s spiritual truths.

Jesus references this here, by quoting some Old Testament passages: “ever seeing, never perceiving” and “ever hearing and never understanding”. As the cross-reference in II Corinthians details: the god of this age — that is the Devil — has blinded the minds of unbelievers. They cannot see clearly the light of the gospel of Christ.

So my job is to point these people to Jesus. To live in such a way that they see my broken, weak self, but also see the glory of God working in me.

Lord, help me to be humble and love those who are seeking a Savior. May your truth shine through me. Teach me to get out of your way and let you work through me. Fill me with your grace and truth I pray!