Matthew 13:17

“For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”

And what is more they are especially privileged because of the time in which they live. Many in the past had looked forward with yearning to this day and had not seen it. The great prophets, and the lesser prophets, and all truly righteous men had longed to see what they were seeing now, and to hear what they were hearing now. They had longed for the Kingly Rule of Heaven to come. They had longed for the Coming One. They had longed for the consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25). But they had never seen the fulfilment of these things. They had lived and died in hope, never receiving (Hebrews 11:39). That was a privilege left to be enjoyed by those who now heard and responded to His words, the fulfilment of all their prophecies. Jesus could have made no stronger claim to uniqueness. He is depicting Himself as the fulfilment of all that the prophets had promised (compare Matthew 5:17).

This was a concept that Jesus repeated on a number of occasions (compare Luke 10:23 where it is in a totally different context), for Jesus' teaching was consistently repetitive, and He wanted the disciples to learn the lesson well.