Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 13:17

"For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not." — Matthew 13:17 (ASV)

Many prophets and righteous men — The prophets of Israel were emphatically “men of desires.” They saw from a distance the glory of the kingdom of the latter days. Each stood, as it were, on a Pisgah height and looked on the vision of a land that he was not to enter.

The words have not seen them seem to stand in verbal contradiction to John 8:56, where Jesus says, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day. However, it is clear the difference is merely verbal. There is a joy in looking at a distant prospect that does not exclude—and indeed, rather implies—the desire to reach what appears so glorious even from afar. This feeling is identical to the searching diligently described in 1 Peter 1:10 and the desire for a better country in Hebrews 11:16.