hearts’ (John 12:40). Paul lamented that when his fellow Jews read the Old Testament, ‘a veil covers their hearts’ (2 Corinthians 3:15). There was a deep-rooted mental blockage, a stubborn resistance to the truth, which prevented their acceptance of Jesus as Messiah. The heart is also the seat of reason. When Jesus knew that certain religious teachers thought it blasphemous of him to say that he could forgive sins, he asked them, ‘Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?’ (Matthew 9:4).