Luke 18:34

KJV

And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

KJV (with Strong's)

And {G2532} they {G846} understood {G4920} none {G3762} of these things {G5130}: and {G2532} this {G5124} saying {G4487} was {G2258} hid {G2928} from {G575} them {G846},{G2532} neither {G3756} knew they {G1097} the things which were spoken {G3004}.

Complete Jewish Bible

However, they understood none of this; its meaning had been hidden from them, and they had no idea what he was talking about.

Berean Standard Bible

But the disciples did not understand any of these things. The meaning was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was saying.

American Standard Version

And they understood none of these things; and this saying was hid from them, and they perceived not the things that were said.

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Luke 18:34 profoundly illustrates the disciples' complete inability to grasp Jesus' clear predictions of His impending suffering, death, and resurrection. Despite the explicit nature of His words, their understanding was divinely veiled, highlighting a crucial moment in God's sovereign plan where truth was concealed until the appointed time, ensuring the fulfillment of prophecy and the unfolding of redemption.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** Luke 18:34 immediately follows Jesus' third and most detailed prophecy of His passion, crucifixion, and resurrection (Luke 18:31-33). This prediction, delivered as they journey towards Jerusalem, explicitly outlines His betrayal, mockery, scourging, and death at the hands of the Gentiles, culminating in His resurrection on the third day. This is not the first time Jesus has spoken of His suffering; earlier, in [Luke 9:22](/luke/9-22 "Luke 9:22 - Jesus Foretells His Death"), He spoke of the Son of Man suffering many things, and again in [Luke 9:44](/luke/9-44 "Luke 9:44 - Jesus' Second Passion Prediction"), He stated that the Son of Man would be delivered into the hands of men. Each time, the disciples demonstrated a similar incomprehension, often being afraid to ask for clarification, as seen in [Mark 9:32](/mark/9-32 "Mark 9:32 - Disciples' Fear and Misunderstanding"). Luke 18:34 serves as a stark commentary on their spiritual blindness, setting the stage for the dramatic events of the Passion Week.

* **Historical & Cultural Context:** The disciples, like most first-century Jews, held deeply ingrained expectations of a Messiah who would be a conquering king, a political liberator who would overthrow Roman rule and restore the Davidic kingdom. Their understanding was shaped by prophecies of a glorious, triumphant king (e.g., [Isaiah 9:6-7](/isaiah/9-6-7 "Isaiah 9:6-7 - Prophecy of the Messiah's Reign")), not a suffering servant who would be rejected, tortured, and crucified. The concept of a Messiah who must suffer and die was antithetical to their nationalistic hopes and theological frameworks. This cultural lens, combined with their human limitations, created a profound barrier to understanding Jesus' words about His impending passion. They were looking for a crown, not a cross, and this preconception fundamentally skewed their perception of Jesus' mission.

* **Key Themes:** This verse contributes to several major theological and narrative themes within Luke's Gospel and the broader biblical narrative. Firstly, it underscores the theme of **Human Incomprehension versus Divine Revelation**. Despite Jesus' clear teaching, the disciples' minds were not yet ready to receive the full truth, highlighting humanity's inherent limitations in grasping God's higher ways. Secondly, the phrase "this saying was hid from them" points to the **Sovereignty of God in Revelation and Timing**. It was part of God's predetermined plan that the full spiritual implications of Jesus' atoning sacrifice would remain veiled until after His resurrection, when the Holy Spirit would illuminate their understanding and guide them into all truth (as promised in [John 16:13](/john/16-13 "John 16:13 - The Spirit of Truth")). This divine concealment ensured the precise fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the suffering Messiah (e.g., [Isaiah 53](/isaiah/53 "Isaiah 53 - The Suffering Servant")), which the disciples would only fully comprehend in retrospect. Finally, the passage emphasizes the **Centrality and Necessity of the Cross** in God's redemptive plan, a truth so profound and counter-intuitive that it defied human logic and required divine unveiling.

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
#### Key Word Analysis
* **understood (Greek, _syníēmi'_):** This verb (G4920) means "to put together" or "to comprehend mentally." It implies a process of connecting ideas and grasping their meaning. The use of the negative ("understood none") emphasizes a complete lack of intellectual or spiritual apprehension, indicating that the disciples could not integrate Jesus' words into their existing framework of understanding.
* **hid (Greek, _krýptō'_):** This primary verb (G2928) signifies "to conceal" or "to cover." In this context, it suggests an active concealment, implying that the truth was not merely difficult to grasp but was supernaturally veiled from them. This points to a divine agency in their lack of understanding, suggesting that God had sovereignly determined the timing of this revelation.
* **knew (Greek, _ginṓskō'_):** This verb (G1097) means "to know" in a comprehensive sense, implying experiential knowledge or full recognition. The repetition of the negative ("neither knew they") reinforces the depth of their incomprehension, moving beyond mere intellectual understanding to a complete lack of recognition or familiarity with the profound spiritual realities Jesus was describing.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"And they understood none of these things:"** This opening clause immediately establishes the disciples' profound incomprehension. Despite Jesus' explicit and repeated declarations regarding His passion, their minds were entirely closed to the meaning of His words. This was not a partial misunderstanding but a complete failure to grasp the essence of what He was saying.
* **"and this saying was hid from them,"** This phrase introduces a crucial theological dimension. The passive voice ("was hid") suggests a divine agency at work. It implies that their inability to understand was not solely due to their own limitations or preconceived notions, but also part of God's sovereign plan. The truth was veiled from them by divine design, ensuring that the full revelation of the cross and resurrection would unfold at God's appointed time.
* **"neither knew they the things which were spoken."** This final clause serves as a powerful reiteration and intensification of the preceding statements. It emphasizes the totality of their ignorance, moving beyond simple intellectual comprehension to a complete lack of experiential or intuitive knowledge of the profound truths Jesus was articulating. The repetition underscores the depth of their spiritual blindness regarding the most critical aspect of Jesus' mission.

#### Literary Devices
Luke 18:34 employs several potent literary devices. There is profound **Irony** in this verse: Jesus, the divine Son of God, speaks with perfect clarity about His mission, yet His closest followers, who have witnessed His miracles and heard His teachings, are utterly blind to His most crucial message. This creates a dramatic tension, highlighting the chasm between divine truth and human perception. The verse also functions as **Foreshadowing**, hinting at the eventual illumination that will occur after Jesus' resurrection, when the Holy Spirit will open their understanding to the Scriptures (as seen in [Luke 24:45](/luke/24-45 "Luke 24:45 - Jesus Opens Their Understanding")). Furthermore, the use of the **Divine Passive** in "was hid from them" subtly points to God's sovereign hand in the unfolding of His redemptive plan. This suggests that the disciples' blindness was not merely a human failing but part of a larger divine purpose, ensuring that the timing and nature of the revelation aligned with God's perfect will.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Luke 18:34 powerfully underscores the theme of divine revelation and human receptivity. It highlights that spiritual truth, especially concerning the deepest mysteries of God's plan, is not always accessible through mere intellectual effort or human reasoning. There are times when God, in His sovereign wisdom, chooses to veil understanding until the appointed moment, ensuring that His purposes are fulfilled according to His perfect timing. This divine concealment serves to magnify the eventual unveiling of truth, often through the work of the Holy Spirit, transforming the disciples' incomprehension into profound insight after the resurrection. It teaches us that true spiritual understanding is ultimately a gift from God, dependent on His grace and timing, rather than solely on human capacity or desire.

* [John 16:12-13](/john/16-12-13 "John 16:12-13 - The Spirit of Truth Guides into All Truth")
* [1 Corinthians 2:7-8](/1_corinthians/2-7-8 "1 Corinthians 2:7-8 - God's Wisdom Hidden")
* [Acts 3:17-18](/acts/3-17-18 "Acts 3:17-18 - God's Fulfillment of Prophecy")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Luke 18:34 offers profound lessons for contemporary believers. Just as the disciples struggled to reconcile their preconceived notions with Jesus' divine reality, we too can fall prey to our own expectations, biases, or cultural assumptions, which may blind us to God's deeper truths or His specific will for our lives. This verse calls us to cultivate a posture of humility and openness, recognizing that God's ways are often higher and more mysterious than our own, as articulated in [Isaiah 55:8-9](/isaiah/55-8-9 "Isaiah 55:8-9 - God's Thoughts Higher Than Ours"). It reminds us that true spiritual understanding is not solely a product of intellectual study, but requires the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are encouraged to diligently study God's Word while simultaneously praying for divine revelation, trusting that God will unveil truth in His perfect timing, transforming our confusion into clarity and our limited perspectives into a deeper comprehension of His glorious plan.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **What preconceived notions or cultural expectations might be hindering my understanding of God's Word or His will in my life today?**
* **How can I cultivate a greater reliance on the Holy Spirit for spiritual illumination, rather than solely on my own intellect?**
* **In what areas of my life am I struggling with "unanswered questions" or a lack of clarity, and how can I practice patience and trust in God's perfect timing for revelation?**

### FAQ
**Why couldn't the disciples understand Jesus' clear predictions of His death and resurrection?**

Answer: The disciples' inability to understand stemmed from a combination of factors. Firstly, their deeply ingrained Jewish messianic expectations anticipated a conquering, political king, not a suffering servant. This cultural lens created a significant barrier, making the concept of a dying Messiah unthinkable and irreconcilable with their hopes. Secondly, the text suggests a divine element at play: "this saying was hid from them." This implies that God, in His sovereign plan, had veiled their understanding until the appropriate time. It was not yet time for them to fully grasp the profound theological implications of Jesus' sacrifice. Their full comprehension would only come after the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who would then guide them into all truth and open their minds to understand the Scriptures (as seen in [Luke 24:45](/luke/24-45 "Luke 24:45 - Jesus Opens Their Understanding") and [John 16:13](/john/16-13 "John 16:13 - The Spirit of Truth Guides into All Truth")).

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Luke 18:34, though depicting the disciples' profound incomprehension, ultimately points to the Christ-centered fulfillment of God's redemptive plan. Their blindness was a necessary part of the divine drama, ensuring that the cross, the central act of salvation, would unfold precisely as prophesied, without human interference or premature understanding. It is in Christ's death and resurrection that the "hid" saying is finally unveiled. The very events the disciples failed to grasp became the foundation of the gospel message they would later boldly proclaim. After His resurrection, Jesus Himself "opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures" ([Luke 24:45](/luke/24-45 "Luke 24:45 - Jesus Opens Their Understanding")), revealing how all the Law, Prophets, and Psalms pointed to His suffering and glory ([Luke 24:44](/luke/24-44 "Luke 24:44 - Jesus Explains the Scriptures")). The Holy Spirit, promised by Christ ([John 14:26](/john/14-26 "John 14:26 - The Holy Spirit Teaches All Things")), then empowered them to fully comprehend and articulate the mystery of Christ crucified, a wisdom previously hidden but now revealed for the salvation of all who believe ([1 Corinthians 2:7-10](/1_corinthians/2-7-10 "1 Corinthians 2:7-10 - God's Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit")). Thus, the incomprehension of Luke 18:34 serves as a dramatic backdrop against which the glorious, Christ-centered revelation of God's saving work shines all the more brightly.

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Luke 9:45

But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

Mark 9:32

But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

John 10:6

This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

Luke 24:45

Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

John 12:16

These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and [that] they had done these things unto him.

Luke 2:50

And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

Luke 24:25

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: