But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.”
19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”
20 And Isaiah boldly says,
“I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”
21 But concerning Israel he says,
“All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, 8 as it is written:
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.”
9 And David says:
“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.” Romans 10:18-11:10
Why did Jesus speak in parables?
"He told them, 'The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’" Mark 4:10
It appears from this passage in Mark that this hardening of the heart spoken of by Paul in Romans 10,11 didn't make it impossible to repent and become part of the remnant of Jews, like Paul, to be saved. It appears that their hardening of their hearts, aided by Satan, keeps them from accepting the truth.
We all understand this to a certain degree. Let's say in the area of some doctrine that's debatable like Women's role in the church. There are two camps, egalitarian which believe there is no difference in roles and complementarian which believe there is. Mike Winger, a Bible commentator on social media with a million followers published probably 50 hours of content where he studied the issue starting from no preconceived notion (if that's truly possible) and conclusively stated complementarianism is correct. Did he convince any egalitarians that he was right? I sincerely doubt it. In fact, I doubt if any even listened to it knowing his conclusion ahead of time. What am I saying? You could quote Isa.53 to a Jew who is convinced that to believe in Jesus is to forsake one's Jewish roots, and it would be falling on deaf ears. Like a parable recited by Jesus, to dig below the surface and strive to find the truth is non-negotiable. Don't bother me with facts, my mind is already made up!
What is the conclusion? Don't get disappointed by those who reject the gospel or be discouraged to the point where you give up. I must admit that I've been discouraged with our medical mission trips to the Philippines. Hundreds have prayed to receive Christ and baptized, yet when I return, the Church is still the same size. It appears to me these are phony salvations. Like Elijah saying, there are no believers, yet there is a remnant being saved and even if there is only one genuine convert, it is worth it. The road is narrow and few find it yet a remnant do. Keep sharing and praying that God would bind Satan's influence and open their minds to understand and receive the gospel that can save their souls.
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