2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 3.
The Glory of the New Testament Ministry. 2 Cor. 3, 1–18
The effect of the two ministries: V.14. But their minds were blinded; for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ. V.15. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. V.16. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
That the people of Israel were the guilty ones, and not Moses, appears from the next words: But blinded were their minds; their power of thinking had become callous, hardened. It was impossible for them to gain a clear knowledge of the important matters which they should have known for their salvation. The entire history of the journey through the wilderness is an account of wonderful, patient mercy on the part of God and of stubborn resistance on the part of the children of Israel. And therefore, in a way, the sentence of hardening was carried out in its beginnings even in the wilderness.
And that is not all: For to the present day the same veil remains unlifted at their reading of the Old Testament, for it is only done away in Christ. The apostle says of the Jews of his time what has remained practically unchanged to this day: there is still a veil upon the hearts of the children of Israel, which prevents their seeing the evanescence of the Old Testament. They will not acknowledge that the age before Christ was one of preparation, of type and prophecy only. They will not turn to the Lord to be granted an open vision, to recognize Christ as the Savior of the world. To this very day, whenever Moses is read in their synagogs, the veil lies upon their hearts.
And yet it remains true, and should be remembered in all the missionary work upon the children of Abraham according to the flesh, that at whatever time Israel shall turn to the Lord, the veil will be taken away. If they will but turn to Christ in true conversion and accept Him as the promised Messiah, then they will be given the open vision to understand the entire Old Testament in the light of the New, prophecy in the light of fulfillment.
The apostle is not speaking of a single event, as if all the Jews would at one time turn to the true Lord and their Savior Jesus Christ, but of the individual instances, no matter how often they occur in the time of the, New Covenant, Rom. 11, 26, when God takes away the veil from the heart of some member of the Jewish race, when He takes away the pride of false understanding and of self-righteousness and brings about the right knowledge of sin, thus leading the way to Christ the Savior.
“Paul teaches 2 Cor. 3, 15 f. the veil that covered the face of Moses cannot be removed except by faith in Christ, by which the Holy Ghost is received” (Apologia. Conc. Trigl., 159; cp. Form. Conc. 955).
Note that the writings of Moses and the entire Old Testament are here referred to as a well-known collection, as a single book.