Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.' But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.

Matthew 13:13-16

The prophesy here in Isaiah shows us that there are people who will certainly choose to not listen and not hear. People can be a part of the multitudes, and they can even be following the crowds, and still not be a disciple. What is the difference? It is a choice on the hearer’s part to not listen and receive, just as this prophecy declares.

“For the hearts of this people have grown dull.” The word dull literally means to make thick, to make fat, or to fatten. Metaphorically it means to make stupid and to render the soul dull or callous.

Have you ever said, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” or “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen”? When you say that, what you are really saying is that person has fattened their heart in such a way that they have dulled their senses and they don’t realize how dumb it was.

You may be reading this today and you are angry at God, but that is one of the worst things you could do. It means that you have chosen to fatten up your heart, which isn’t good for you. You’ve chosen to make it thick, to make it callous, which then makes you dull to spiritual things.

May today we make the choice to not allow our hearts to grow dull to the things of the Lord, but be those that choose to hear and see from the Lord.