Did the Lord Blind the Jews?

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It is imperative that we understand that Jesus didn’t teach in parables until his second year of public ministry. During his first year, his speech was clear, very plain, and should have been understood by everyone. Indeed, on the very first day of his public ministry, when he stood up to read in his hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:16), Jesus read from Isaiah 11 saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…” and claiming he was able to administer the office of Messiah (Luke 4:18-19), he added: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). There was nothing dark or mysterious about his speech at that time. Jesus was very clear in his claim. Nevertheless, the response he received from the rulers of the synagogue and the people with them was: they rose up to seize him and thought to cast him off a nearby cliff (Luke 4:29).