2 Corinthians 3:16

When it. The Greek may also be translated, “when he.” “It” would refer to the “heart” of v. 15, and “he” to the individual Jew who listened to the reading of the law of Moses in the synagogue. The obstacle to spiritual vision lies with the individual himself, not with God. Paul is not teaching that the whole nation of Israel is to be saved en masse (see Rom. 9:6–8; see on ch. 11:26).

Shall turn. Gr. epistrephō, “to turn about,” “to return,” here, as commonly in the NT (see Matt. 13:15; Luke 22:32; Acts 3:19; etc.), “to be converted.” When truly converted, men will discern that both OT and NT bear witness to Christ (Luke 24:27; John 5:39; 15:26, 27; 16:13, 14). But like the unbelieving Jews of NT times, some modern Christians, their understanding veiled, see no more in the OT than a system of rites and ceremonies.

The vail. As Moses removed the veil when he went again into the presence of Jehovah (Ex. 34:34), spiritual blindness and unbelief will be removed from the minds and hearts of those who are truly converted. When the Jew, led by the Spirit, came to believe on Christ, the veil, which had obscured his vision of the everlasting covenant, and which had thus perverted his being, was removed. He was then able to see the true significance of the Jewish economy and to realize that Christ, in His own person and work, constituted the very heart of the sacrificial system and of the entire law of Moses.

Only as men find Christ in the Scriptures, whether OT or NT, are they reading its message aright. Only when men commit themselves in full obedience to the will of God are they prepared to understand His Word and interpret it correctly (see on Matt. 7:21–27).