Are You Seeing and Are You Hearing?
September 15th 2025
Isaiah's Commission (Isaiah 6:8-10 ESV)
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
This passage in Isaiah describes Isaiah's commission from the Lord—his mission to the people of Israel.
As many know, Isaiah 53 contains the famous prophecy of Jesus the Son of God, who was sent by the Lord to die for our sins. Ultimately, this is the message Isaiah was commissioned to deliver: the coming of the Messiah.
The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53:4-6 ESV)
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
This sounds remarkably like what happened to Jesus. When you read the entire chapter of Isaiah 53, the picture becomes even clearer. If you are familiar with the life of Jesus (as any scholarly Christian should be), you can see how closely His life and death align with this prophecy.
Returning to the Message in Isaiah 6
Let’s go back and re-read the core message God gave Isaiah to deliver:
“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’”
“Keep on hearing, but do not understand”
What might God have meant by “hearing”?
Isaiah’s message was that a Messiah would come and bear our sins to bring us peace with God. Approximately 700–800 years later, Jesus of Nazareth was born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem. He grew up to fulfill that prophecy as our Savior—dying for our sins as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
His promise is clear: through faith in Him, your sins are forgiven. You are made at peace with God through His sacrifice—through Him being pierced on the cross for our transgressions.
What kind of culture do we live in today? Many of us experience constant noise and information overload. How much of the “information” we consume is simply garbage? What are we hearing from God, yet failing to understand?
(I’ll return to this thought shortly.)
“Keep on seeing, but do not perceive”
This part of the passage connects closely to what the Apostle Paul writes in Romans:
Romans 1:19-20 (ESV)
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
We often take for granted the sunshine, the trees, the breeze, the rain, and all living creatures. These are gifts from God, created for us to enjoy. But do we honor the Creator? Do we give thanks to Him? Many do not perceive these things as coming from God at all—let alone thank Him.
Are you perceiving?
Isaiah 6:10 – The Hardening Described
10 Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.
Many people today have heard the message of Jesus. You may have even seen videos about Him on social media and scrolled past (or perhaps watched them). You have now heard at least part of the message above—if not, consider reading one of the Gospels. (Mark is the shortest if you want to start quickly.)
If you have heard the message, do you understand it in your heart?
The healing God offers is found in Jesus Christ. Through His sacrifice, you are healed from your transgressions. Through faith in Him—not by literal sight, but by perceiving His divine nature in creation—and through heartfelt belief in His sacrifice, true healing comes.
To bring it full circle:
- Is your heart dull to the love of God shown in that sacrifice?
- Are your ears heavy when you hear the message of Jesus?
- Are your eyes blind to His creation and all the gifts of life He gives?
Many today hear the message of Jesus and reject it for personal reasons—whether intellectual, moral, or otherwise. I would argue that many do not understand the message as deeply as God desires us to.
A Final Word from Jesus (Matthew 5:44-46 ESV)
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
May this truth resonate with you today.