“For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
My Notes
What Does Acts 28:27 Mean?
"For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Paul quotes Isaiah 6:9-10 — the same passage Jesus quoted to explain why He spoke in parables (Matthew 13:14-15). The description traces a THREE-ORGAN FAILURE: the heart has grown FAT (dull, calloused), the ears hear HEAVILY (sluggishly, barely), and the eyes have been CLOSED (deliberately, by their own action). The heart, ears, and eyes have all failed — and the failure prevents conversion and healing.
The phrase "the heart of this people is waxed gross" (epachynthē gar hē kardia tou laou toutou — the heart of this people has been made thick/fat) describes SPIRITUAL OBESITY of the heart: the heart has accumulated so much insulating material that it can't FEEL anymore. The sensitivity is gone. The responsiveness is dead. The heart that should be tender is now THICK — calloused, padded, impervious to penetration.
The "lest they should see... hear... understand... be converted... and I should heal them" traces the CHAIN that the dullness PREVENTS: seeing → hearing → understanding → conversion → healing. Each link depends on the previous one. The chain starts with SEEING and ends with HEALING. Break any link and the chain fails. The dullness breaks EVERY link simultaneously.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What organ has gone dull — and is it blocking the healing God wants to give?
- 2.What does the heart being 'waxed gross' (accumulated callousness) teach about gradual spiritual insensitivity?
- 3.How does the eyes being SELF-CLOSED (not God-closed) describe the responsibility for spiritual blindness?
- 4.What would seeing, hearing, and understanding PRODUCE in your life if the chain weren't broken?
Devotional
Fat hearts. Dull ears. Closed eyes. The three-organ failure that prevents the five-step chain: see, hear, understand, convert, heal. Every organ has failed. Every link is broken. The people CAN'T receive because they've made themselves UNABLE — and the inability prevents the healing God wants to give.
The 'heart waxed gross' is spiritual FAT — insulation that prevents feeling: the heart that was once responsive has become THICK. The callous has grown through repeated ignoring, sustained refusal, years of choosing not to feel what God's word should make you feel. The thickness isn't natural. It's ACCUMULATED — layer by layer, refusal by refusal, until the heart can't feel what touches it.
The 'ears dull of hearing' and 'eyes have they closed' add the SENSORY failures: the ears hear HEAVILY — the sound arrives but the processing is sluggish. The eyes have been CLOSED — and note: THEY closed them. The blindness is SELF-INFLICTED. The deafness is CHOSEN. The eyes could see. They were shut from the inside. The ears could hear. They were dulled by decision.
The 'lest they should... be converted, and I should heal them' reveals what the dullness PREVENTS: God WANTS to heal. The healing is AVAILABLE. The conversion would produce it. But the conversion requires understanding. The understanding requires hearing. The hearing requires seeing. And the seeing, hearing, and understanding are ALL blocked by the fat heart, the dull ears, and the closed eyes. The healing that God offers is BLOCKED by the patient.
What organ — heart, ears, or eyes — has gone dull in your life, blocking the healing God wants to give?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For the heart of this people is waxed gross,.... Or fat; stupefied with notions of carnal and temporal things, and…
Saying ... - See this passage explained in the Mat 13:14 note, and Joh 12:39-40 notes.
We have here a short account of a long conference which Paul had with the Jews at Rome about the Christian religion.…
and should be converted [R. V."and should turn again"] The new rendering is to be preferred on account of the restricted…