Surprisingly, Jesus did not make following him easy, nor was his gospel simple to understand. He spoke in parables so that only those whose eyes and ears were open to receive God's word could understand. Our Lord explained to the disciples, I teach in parables because "they look, but they don't really see. They hear, but they don't really listen or understand. This {dullness} fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, 'When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend." (Matthew 13:13-14, NLT).