Luke 9:45Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Now our Lord in condescension to their infirmities and governing them with a kind of economy, did not permit them to understand what was said of the cross; as it follows, But they understood not.

Every thing that Jesus did claimed admiration from all men for a peculiar and divine light reflected upon each of His works, according to the Psalms, honour and majesty wilt thou lay upon him. (Ps. 21:5.) Although all indeed marvelled at those things which He did, He however addresses what follows, not to all, but to His disciples; as it is said, But while they wondered every one, &c. He had shewn His glory on the mount to His disciples, and after this delivered a man from an evil spirit, but it was necessary for Him to undergo His passion for our salvation.

The focus of the Word is not on anguish and death but rather on resurrection. This is mentioned at the conclusion of the thirty-fifth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew, so take a moment to consider what is expressed there.

But it is not clearly expressed by whom He is to be delivered, for one says, that He is to be delivered up by Judas, another by the devil; but Paul says, that God the Father delivered Him up for us all; (Rom. 8:32.) but Judas, as he delivered Him up for money, did it traitorously, the Father for His mercies’ sake.

While all thus were wondering at the miracles, He foretels His passion. For miracles do not save, but the cross conveys the benefit. Hence he adds, For the Son of man shall he delivered into the hands of men.

This ignorance of the disciples proceeds not so much from slowness of understanding as from affection, for since they were yet carnal and ignorant of the mystery of the cross, they could not believe that He whom they thought to be really God would suffer death. And because they were often accustomed to hear Him speak by figure, they thought that He meant figuratively something else, by what He said of His betrayal.

Had He presented the teaching of the cross to His disciples, who were not ready, they would have struggled to grasp it, especially given that even the Apostles, despite their preparation, found it challenging to understand. As it is written, ‘they could not understand this word, for it was hidden from them, that they should not perceive it’ (Luke 9:45). The difficulty of listening to Him and accepting His message would have been immense.

The Lord, having departed from the crowd, proceeded on His path in silence. He devoted more time to His disciples, periodically reiterating that the Son of Man would be betrayed into mortal hands, that He would suffer death, and that He would rise again on the third day following His death. The disciples remained confused by His words. When they learned of this grim fate, they felt sorrowful but hesitated to inquire further about its meaning and the reasons for such necessity.

Following the occurrences on the Mount of Transfiguration and at its base, Christ, as described by Mark, traveled through Galilee while wishing to keep His movements concealed from others. Thus, His journey through Galilee remained discreet and secretive. The term "Гαρ" in verse 31 serves to explain why Jesus chose not to walk publicly during this time; He aimed to focus entirely on His disciples, preparing them for the trials He would soon face, including His suffering and death. It is clear from subsequent Gospel narratives (Matt. 19, Mk. 10, Lk. 9:51) that this journey marked His final time in Galilee before heading to Judea. The Lord makes a second prediction of His suffering to His followers (Mk. 8:31-32).

Despite this, they still failed to grasp His message and hesitated to inquire further. Their reluctance to abandon their aspirations of reestablishing the kingdom of Israel made them too fearful to seek clarification from their Master regarding the specifics of His afflictions, as they dreaded the possibility of encountering even more distressing truths.

They failed to grasp this statement, and in order to prevent them from comprehending it fully, it was concealed from them. However, they felt apprehensive about inquiring with Him regarding this message.

As Jesus Christ made His way from the Mount of Transfiguration to Capernaum, He sought to keep His identity concealed from the crowds while traveling through Galilee. During this journey, He reiterated to His disciples the foretelling of His impending suffering in Jerusalem, intending for them to understand that they should not view His suffering as reluctant, but rather to prepare them for the reality of what was to come, ensuring they wouldn't be caught off guard by His forthcoming trials. He urged them to truly listen and grasp that all He said would indeed occur: the Son of Man would be handed over to people, they would put Him to death, but on the third day, He would rise again.