Luke 9:43-45 NIV And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men." 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
Why did Jesus hid the meaning from them?
My opinion only.
B1 We need God to give us understanding of what He says, even if it is plain.
B2 The time was not right.
B3 Jesus is a prophet, which helps authenticate His testimony of who He is.
Humans are described in Scriptures as
B1 Dead in sins
C1 This was our condition before placing faith into the Lord Jesus. Ephesians 2:1 NIV As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.
C2 God makes us alive. Colossians 2:13 NIV When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.
B2 Sold to sins
C1 A verse: Isaiah 50:1 AFV Thus says the LORD, "Where is your mother's bill of divorce, with which I have put her away? Or to which of My creditors have I sold you? Behold, you yourselves were sold for your iniquities, and your mother is put away for your transgressions.
C2 The meaning of this verse applies to Israel, but the principle is “sold for your sins.” Gill writes: behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves; or, "are sold"; they were sold for them, or delivered up into the hands of their enemies on account of them; they had sold themselves to work wickedness, and therefore it was but just that they should be sold, and become slaves:
B3 Enslaved to sin Titus 3:3 NIV At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
B4 Blind
C1 2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
C2 Ephesians 4:17-19 NIV So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
B5 Helpless Romans 5:6 NLT When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
B6 Before the work of God, when He initiates salvation, we are unable to understand.
There is a right time for understanding
B1 Messiah came at the right time: Romans 5:6 NLT When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
B2 When God initiates salvation and opens our understanding (the truth) of our sins and spiritual condition, He gives the command to obey the Gospel at the right time. 2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation.
B3 A right time for everything to be under the authority of Messiah: Ephesians 1:10 NLT And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
B4 Jesus will be revealed at the right time. 1 Timothy 6:15 NLT For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
The meaning was hidden in my opinion because it was not the right time to understand it. Jesus wanted the message known but it was not time for the disciples to understand. Without Jesus giving the understanding, these things are not understood. 1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
In summary, sin blinds spiritual truth, so the meaning was hidden. It also appears that it was not the right time, so the meaning was hidden. Both humans and God had a role in not understanding the meaning.
God is the one who opens our eyes. Luke 24:44-45 NIV He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
Others
B1 Difficult Bible Passages: Luke 9:45 by Muehlenberg
B2 College Press Commentary:
But the disciples did not understand what Jesus said to them. How could grown men not understand a statement as straightforward, unmysterious, plain and brief as, “The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise”? The fact of death, even violent death at the hands of enemies is a common experience to mankind. Resurrection from the dead is not! This may be the reason they could not understand it. But Luke goes on to say that what Jesus said was “concealed” from them and they could not perceive it. The Greek word parakekalummenon means “to cover with a veil.” The Greek verb is in the perfect tense indicating that the veiling had taken place previous to this statement and was continuing to veil their thinking. This same Greek word is used in 2Co. 3:12-18; 2Co. 4:3 where it is talking about the veiled revelation concerning the messianic age in the Old Testament and that the devil uses this, along with man’s unbelief, to hide the gospel. It was not God who concealed from the minds of the apostles the understanding about the-Messiah’s death and resurrection, for the Prophets predicted it (Isa. 53:1-12, etc.). It was not Jesus who concealed His death and resurrection from the Twelve, for He predicted it very plainly four times (Luk. 9:22; Luk. 9:44; Mat. 20:17-19; Mat. 26:1-2). It was the apostles themselves, choosing not to believe Jesus about His death, who were concealing the meaning of His teaching, (see Mat. 16:21-23; Mar. 8:31-33). What the Lord says is perceived only if man is willing to let His word find a place in his heart (cf. Joh. 7:17; Joh. 8:37; Joh. 8:45, etc.). The parable of the soils illustrates this (see our comments on Luk. 8:1 ff.). The disciples deliberately resisted any thinking about this subject (the death of the Messiah) because it “distressed” them (Mat. 17:23) and it was a subject about which they were “afraid” (Mar. 9:32; Luk. 9:45) to seek any more information. Let all followers of Jesus of all ages take warning from the spiritual failure of the Twelve here. It is a betrayal of Christian discipleship to reject any teaching of the New Testament with the a priori that it does not conform to human experience. What Jesus commands and promises is accepted by faith in Who He Is!
B3 Applebury in College Press: But they understood not this saying.—There seemed to be no place in their thinking for the cross. They had their minds centered on the kind of kingdom that they wanted Him to establish—an earthly kingdom. They were afraid to ask what He meant, lest it be the end of their dream. See Luke 24:21.
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