<p>4:21 <i>And he began to say to them: Today has this scripture been fulfilled in your hearing</i>- It was fulfilled &quot;today&quot; in that it was on that day that He chose to remove the mask He had worn before His neighbours, and reveal Himself for who He was- the Messiah.</p><p>Some prophecies are fulfilled according to the acceptance of their fulfilment by believers, and therefore have their fulfilments in different ways at different times. Thus for those who received it, Malachi&rsquo;s &lsquo;Elijah&rsquo; prophecies were fulfilled in John the Baptist, for those who accepted him (Mt. 11:14). The implication is that for those who didn&rsquo;t, those prophecies weren&rsquo;t fulfilled. He didn&rsquo;t mean that His reading those words in a synagogue had fulfilled them. He speaks of &ldquo;your ears&rdquo; or &quot;hearing&quot; as standing for &lsquo;your correct perception / understanding&rsquo; in Mt. 13:16. What He was surely saying was that for those of them who perceived who He was, Isaiah&rsquo;s words were ringing true. For those who rejected Him, of course, they weren&rsquo;t fulfilled, and therefore their complete, universal acceptance&nbsp;/ fulfilment would be delayed until a future day; just as it was with the &lsquo;Elijah&rsquo; prophecy. &nbsp;</p>