Luke 9:45

45 But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.

Luke 9:45 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:45

But they understood not this saying
What was meant by being betrayed into the hands of men, and by his being put to death; they knew not, how these things could possibly be, for they could not by any means reconcile them with the notions they had of a temporal Redeemer, and victorious Messiah:

and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not;
the true meaning of this saying was hid from their understanding, which was veiled with the above notion of the worldly grandeur of the Messiah, that they did not take it in;

and they feared to ask him of that saying,
of the meaning of it; imagining that he had a secret mystical meaning in it, which they could not reach; lest he should reproach them with their dulness and stupidity; or should rebuke them with the like sharpness and severity he had reproved Peter not long ago, upon the same head.

Luke 9:45 In-Context

43 All the people were amazed at the mighty power of God. The people were still marveling at everything Jesus was doing, when he said to his disciples,
44 "Don't forget what I am about to tell you! The Son of Man is going to be handed over to the power of human beings."
45 But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.
46 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.
47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side,
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.