“Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.”

Then he called the crowd to him and said, ¹  “Listen and understand.

Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand.

Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will listen carefully ¹  yet will never understand, you will look closely ²  yet will never comprehend.

When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ¹  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ²  this is the seed sown along the path.

But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” ¹ 

For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ ¹