Blessed are the eyes...

God's dealing with the whole human race started with the creation of man and woman and ended with the descendants of the survivors of the Deluge.

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God then chose to restrict his revelation to a small group, and eventually to one nation—to Abraham and his descendants.

Salvation history started with them. In times past in partial and various ways, God spoke to the Israelite ancestors through the prophets (Heb 1:1). Through the prophets, God revealed that in the vicissitudes of history, God would not abandon his people. They spoke of a future when God would deliver his people from their enemies and assure them of salvation.

Through the ups and downs of Israel’s experience, people looked forward to a time when God would visit his people and bring them peace. This would be the time of the Messiah.

This is the time of which Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel: what many prophets and kings desired to see, but did not see it, and to hear, but did not hear it (v 24).