even that which he has shall be taken away (Matt. 13:12).

To the Apostles, who left all earthly things for Christ and followed Him, and thereby revealed faith in Him and a sincere desire to follow His teaching, — through this it became possible for them to perceive what others, without faith and desire, hearing do not hear, and seeing do not see and do not understand; To them

it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Words —

He that hath shall be given, and shall be multiplied, but he that hath not, that which hath shall be taken away from him;

But if these same people begin to read the word of God without preconceived thoughts and read it with faith and a sincere desire to understand it, then they will undoubtedly understand it; understanding will be given to them; and the more they are imbued with the greatness of this word, the more this understanding will increase in them, the brighter and clearer will be the divine truth for them; then

Blessed will be their

eyes that, seeing,

they are seen, and

ears that, hearing,

they hear (Matt. 13:16).

Many Old Testament prophets

they desired to see (Matt. 13:17) what they prophesied; many righteous people wanted to see the fulfillment of their expectations of the coming of the Messiah and to hear Him; but they did not see Him or hear Him.

Blessed are your eyes that see, and your ears that they hear (Matt. 13:16).

Unfortunately, at that time even Jesus' closest disciples, His Apostles, were not yet fully aware of what they had seen and heard. According to the Evangelist Mark, they apparently found it difficult to understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, since Christ asked them: