14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
Moses’ decision to use a veil to hide the glory of God proved to be prophetic of the future. As Israel was unwilling to accept the glory of who God is, so the same was true of people in Paul’s day.
But [emphatic] their minds were blinded [hardened].
Israel was blinded to the truth because they had hard hearts. The Greek word for “blinded” means to harden, to thicken. It was used in referring to the hardening of the arteries. Their problem went far beyond understanding; it was a heart issue. They could not see and did not want to leave their sinful condition (He 3:8, 15; 4:7). Jews still had hardened hearts in Stephen’s (Ac 7:51) and in Paul’s day.
As Jews sat in their synagogues and heard prophecies of the coming Messiah, they did not believe what they heard about Him in the Old Testament. A hard heart is always the result of rejection of divine truth. This always hides the glory of God.
For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament [Covenant],
Even in Paul’s day, Jews were still hard to the truth. When they read the Law, they closed their hearts to Old Testament Scripture (Ac 28:26-27; Ro 15:21). Subsequent generations of Jews persisted in rejecting the New Covenant. A veil of the Jews’ own making hinders them from seeing the truth.
Israel, as a nation in Moses’ day, failed to respond to the true nature of the glory on his face. That same hardness existed in the Jews of Paul’s day. They failed to see that his glory was transient. The Old Covenant was only designed to point to Christ.
because the veil is taken away in Christ.
Only Christ can remove the veil over the human heart. The types and symbols of the Mosaic Covenant are not clear apart from Christ. Christian ministry unveils the full glory of God in Christ. It is not until Christ came that people could understand that the glory of Moses was the prefigured glory of Christ. Only by belief in Christ does the hardness of heart go away.
PRINCIPLE:
The Christian today lives under the administration of grace.
APPLICATION:
Christians today who live under Old Testament administration are out of joint because they put themselves under “the ministration of death” and “condemnation” (2 Co 3:7-9). The Law could condemn, but it could not give life; it could not save. It was “passing away” because it was temporary and not permanent.
In the administration of grace, the Holy Spirit is the enabling Agent who gives liberty and power to live the Christian life. We have this power into eternity.
