“But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Corinthians 3:14 Mean?
Paul describes a veil that has been hanging over the reading of Scripture for centuries — and identifies the one thing that removes it. "But their minds were blinded" — the Greek (eporōthē) means hardened, petrified, turned to stone. The minds of those who heard Moses weren't confused. They were calcified. The inability to see wasn't a lack of information. It was a condition of the organ that processes information.
"For until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament" — the veil Moses wore over his face (Exodus 34:33-35) becomes a metaphor for a veil over understanding. When the Old Testament is read, the veil remains. The words are heard. The content is processed. But the meaning — the fact that every page points to Christ — is hidden behind a covering that the reader can't remove by their own effort.
"Which vail is done away in Christ" — the removal mechanism is named: Christ. The veil doesn't come off through better study, deeper scholarship, or more disciplined reading. It comes off in Christ — through relationship with the person the entire Old Testament is about. When someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (v. 16). The turning produces the seeing. The seeing couldn't produce the turning.
The verse explains why intelligent, devout people can read the same Bible and miss its center. The veil isn't intellectual. It's spiritual. And the only thing that removes it is the one the veil hides.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you ever read the Bible and felt a veil — processing the words without seeing Christ in them? What changed when the veil lifted?
- 2.Paul says the veil is removed 'in Christ,' not through study. How does that change your approach to understanding Scripture?
- 3.The veil is spiritual, not intellectual. Where have you seen highly knowledgeable people miss the center of what they're reading?
- 4.If your Bible reading feels flat or opaque right now, could the issue be a veil rather than a lack of information? What would 'turning to the Lord' look like for you?
Devotional
They read the same words. They miss the same person. And the veil has been there since Moses.
Paul is explaining something every Christian who has talked to a Jewish friend, or anyone who reads the Bible without seeing Christ, has experienced: how can someone read these words and not see Him? The prophecies. The types. The sacrifices. The lamb, the servant, the king, the priest — it's all there. And yet the veil remains.
The veil isn't ignorance. Paul says their minds were hardened — petrified, turned to stone. The people reading Moses aren't stupid. They're devout. They study. They memorize. They argue over details with more rigor than most Christians bring to the New Testament. And the veil stays. Because the veil isn't an information problem. It's a spiritual condition. You can have perfect knowledge of the text and zero perception of the person the text is about.
"Which vail is done away in Christ." The removal happens in one place: in Christ. Not in a better commentary. Not in a Greek word study. Not in a theology degree. In Christ. When someone turns to the Lord — when the relationship begins — the veil comes off (v. 16). And suddenly the same words that were always on the page become transparent. Moses was always writing about Jesus. The reader just couldn't see it.
This applies beyond Judaism. Anyone can read the Bible with a veil — reading the words without seeing the person. If your Bible reading feels flat, opaque, routine — if you're processing information without encountering Christ — the solution isn't more study. It's a turning. Turn to the Lord. The veil comes off in relationship, not in research.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But their minds were blinded,.... This confirms the sense given of the foregoing verse, and shows, that not the…
But their minds were blinded - The word used here (πωρόω pōroō) means rather to harden; to make hard like stone; and…
But their minds were blinded - By resting in the letter, shutting their eyes against the light that was granted to them,…
In these verses the apostle draws two inferences from what he had said about the Old and New Testament: -
I. Concerning…
But their minds were blinded They neither obeyed the Law when it was given, nor would cease to obey it when it was…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture