<p>9:45 <i>But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying</i>- They were rebuked later for being so slow to understand. A refusal to understand has a psychological basis. They didn't want to understand the predictions of His death because it meant death with Him, in essence if not in practice. So they would rather it just were not true. In response, God &quot;hid&quot; the understanding from them. We are confirmed in whichever way we wish to go in.</p><p>The Lord&rsquo;s teaching about the cross was &ldquo;hid from them&rdquo; (Lk. 9:45), much to the Lord&rsquo;s distress. And yet in prayer to the Father, He rejoices that these things are not hid from them (Lk. 10:21,23). This is a picture of the Lord&rsquo;s present mediation for us in prayer- speaking of us as far better than we are. The message of Christ crucified was &ldquo;hid&rdquo; from them (Lk. 9:45; 18:34)- and Paul surely alludes to this when he says that this message is hid by the veil of Judaism from those who are lost (2 Cor. 4:3).</p>