The Meaning of Matthew 13:17 Explained

Matthew 13:17

KJV: For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

YLT: for verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men did desire to see that which ye look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which ye hear, and they did not hear.

Darby: for verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which ye behold and did not see them, and to hear the things which ye hear and did not hear them.

ASV: For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  verily  I say  unto you,  That  many  prophets  and  righteous  [men] have desired  to see  [those things] which  ye see,  and  have  not  seen  [them]; and  to hear  [those things] which  ye hear,  and  have  not  heard  [them]. 

What does Matthew 13:17 Mean?

Study Notes

prophets
The O.T. prophets saw in blended vision the rejection and crucifixion of the King (see "Christ, sacrifice,) Genesis 4:4 , and also His glory as David's Son. See Scofield " Zechariah 12:8 ", but "what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow," was not revealed to them--only that the vision was not for themselves. 1 Peter 1:10-12 . That revelation Christ makes in these parables. A period of time is to intervene between His sufferings and His glory. That interval is occupied with the "mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" here described.
righteous Righteousness.
offering
Sacrifice, Summary"
(1) The first intimation of sacrifice is Genesis 3:21 the "coats of skins" having obviously come from slain animals. The first clear instance of sacrifice is Genesis 4:4 explained in Hebrews 11:4 . Abel's righteousness was the result of his sacrifice, not of his character.
(2) Before the giving of the law the head of the family was the family priest. By the law an order of priests was established who alone could offer sacrifices. Those sacrifices were "shadows," types, expressing variously the guilt and need of the offerer in reference to God, and all pointing to Christ and fulfilled in Him.
(3) As foreshadowed by the types and explained by the N.T., the sacrifice of Christ is
penal Galatians 3:13 ; 2 Corinthians 5:21
substitutional Leviticus 1:4 ; Isaiah 53:5 ; Isaiah 53:6 ; 2 Corinthians 5:21 ; 1 Peter 2:24
voluntary Genesis 22:9 ; John 10:18
redemptive Galatians 3:13 ; Ephesians 1:7 ; 1 Corinthians 6:20
propitiatory Romans 3:25
reconciling 2 Corinthians 5:18 ; 2 Corinthians 5:19 ; Colossians 1:21 ; Colossians 1:22
efficacious John 12:32 ; John 12:33 ; Romans 5:9 ; Romans 5:10 ; 2 Corinthians 5:21 ; Ephesians 2:13 ; Hebrews 9:11 ; Hebrews 9:12 ; Hebrews 9:26 ; Hebrews 10:10-17 ; 1 John 1:7 ; Revelation 1:5
and revelatory John 3:16 ; 1 John 4:9 ; 1 John 4:10 .
sin Sin. (See Scofield " Romans 3:23 ") .
righteousness
Righteousness here, and in the passages which refer to Romans 10:10 , means that righteousness of God which is judicially reckoned to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; believers are the righteous.
(See Scofield " Romans 3:21 ") .

Context Summary

Matthew 13:10-23 - Teaching For The Teachable
Jesus defended His use of parables. He said that He carefully avoided stating the truths of the Kingdom too plainly, so as not to increase the condemnation of those who could not or would not accept them. But where the disciples cared to penetrate below the husk of the story or parable, they would reach the kernel of heavenly significance. It is given to meek and teachable hearts to know the secrets of God. Let us draw near to the great teacher, the Holy Spirit, asking Him to make us know the kernel and heart of the Word of God. See 1 Corinthians 2:6, etc.
Note these points in our Lord's explanation of His parable: (1.) Beware of the evil one, who comes surreptitiously as soon as the sermon is over. (2.) The joy of the young convert must be distinguished from that of the superficial hearer. It is joy in Christ, rather than in the novelty and beauty of the words about Christ. (3.) Expect tribulation where the gospel is faithfully proclaimed. (4.) The cares of poverty hinder as well as the riches of wealth. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 13

1  The parable of the sower and the seed;
18  the explanation of it
24  The parable of the weeds;
31  of the mustard seed;
33  of the leaven;
36  explanation of the parable of the weeds
44  The parable of the hidden treasure;
45  of the pearl;
47  of the drag net cast into the sea
53  Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country

What do the individual words in Matthew 13:17 mean?

Truly for I say to you that many prophets and righteous [men] longed to see what you see not saw to hear you hear heard
ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πολλοὶ προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν βλέπετε οὐκ εἶδαν ἀκοῦσαι ἀκούετε ἤκουσαν

ἀμὴν  Truly 
Parse: Hebrew Word
Root: ἀμήν  
Sense: firm.
λέγω  I  say 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
ὑμῖν  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
πολλοὶ  many 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: πολύς  
Sense: many, much, large.
προφῆται  prophets 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: προφήτης  
Sense: in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things.
δίκαιοι  righteous  [men] 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: δίκαιος  
Sense: righteous, observing divine laws.
ἐπεθύμησαν  longed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἐπιθυμέω  
Sense: to turn upon a thing.
ἰδεῖν  to  see 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
βλέπετε  you  see 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: βλέπω  
Sense: to see, discern, of the bodily eye.
εἶδαν  saw 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
ἀκοῦσαι  to  hear 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
ἀκούετε  you  hear 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
ἤκουσαν  heard 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.