Luke 18:31-34
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
31Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 33On the third day he will rise again."
34The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
The Old Testament gave us knowledge of a Messiah coming from the lineage of David...The Scriptures foretold Jesus was coming... Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them about this (His death)...He told them everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled...
Jesus knew what His Father had had planned for Him...He was, as we as man try to understand, prepared...Jesus was also preparing His disciples for His death...His death was God planned...It was God's will, therefore, it was inevitable...He would be handed over the the Roman Gentiles and be crucified...The will beat Him, mock Him, and kill Him...Then He will rise on the third day...He will be resurrected...
The disciples did not understand this...These words could be understood by the Twelve...They did not now what He was talking about...This was also God's will...Again we as man do not know why God did not want the Twelve to understand this, but for His most sacred, holy, and perfect reason this was not to be understood, until later...We as man are limited on what we can understand about things the Father, the Son, the spirit, and things (as simple as the wind) as Jesus explained to Nicodemus (John 3:5-10)...Jesus tells Nicodemus in the Gospel John that we need to be reborn to enter the kingdom of heaven...Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to the spirit...Then Jesus tells Nicodemus that the wind blows wherever it pleases...We hear the wind, but do not know where it comes from or even know where it is going...So it is with everyone born of the Spirit...Jesus tells Nicodemus that he is one of Israel's teachers and does not understand these things...
We might think that the Twelve were knowledgeable of the Scripture...Even though they knew Scripture, they could not put it together with what they had read, heard, and studied about the Bible (that Jesus, the Messiah, is our suffering servant on the cross, from Isaiah)...They would understand this later...In fact, this happens to us, just like it did to the disciples and Nicodemus, we hear things and don't comprehend them and move on in our lives to what is happening and then sometimes see or understand things later...God gives us just enough of Him, to see Him...And no more (it seems to me)...In trying to figure this out, it seems that God wants us to look closer at ourselves (to think and reflect) as we look towards Him...For when Job questioned and questioned, with his friends, deep answers, God gave Job no answer...God gives Job questions...Were Job's questions valid???... We know God's questions were...God knows the answers...God was there...He was there when He created the earth and heavens...God is in control...He is/was the One there before there were any questions, not us...
The disciples heard something they did not understand...They heard Jesus would die and then rise again...This was not a normal event for their minds, and their thinking...They could not comprehend this...Man is limited...Sometimes words are not understood and (words are) not enough...God is the truth, and He is enough...He is more than words...God is unlimited...When we find Jesus and see Jesus, our questions will be answered...