Matthew 13:10-17 (NLT)
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” 11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets[the mysteries] of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.

Luke 7:1-10(NIV)
7 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”

The links above have the entire passages. Like all scripture, it’s worth the read….

I wonder what the Jewish leaders were thinking when the Centurion told them, with conviction, to go to Christ and have Him heal his slave. The leaders then go to Christ with a story that the Centurion “deserves to have you do this because he loves our nation”. Here are the Jewish leaders being commanded by the man who controlled their “freedom”, who controlled their city, who controlled the comfort of their lives, to go to Christ with a request of healing. Christ made Capernaum a center of His ministry, so I’m confident the religious leaders were well aware of who He was, what He claimed, and what He did, and what the “official response” to Him was.

One minute they are furiously plotting against Him, the next they are forced to go to Him.

And of course, Christ delivers. I wonder what the next steps of the religious leaders were? How did they see this and not believe? A while later, Christ condemns Capernaum because of their non-belief, so we know what happened.

Isn’t it amazing that we look, but we don’t really see.
   We hear, but we don’t really listen or understand?

We have the opportunity to take the scales from our eyes and the cotton from our ears. “16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.” Matthew 13:16-17

It’s here for us. Seek. Question. He’ll deliver.