Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 17:22

"And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men;" — Matthew 17:22 (ASV)

While they stayed in Galilee — A better translation is, as they went to and fro. These journeys were apparently, like the one to the region of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21), unconnected with the work of His ministry. Our Lord was still, as before, taking His disciples apart by themselves and training them with more complete disclosures of His coming passion.

He did not want anyone to know of their presence (Mark 9:30). This was because, at that critical moment, their minds were in a state of feverish excitement that needed to be controlled and calmed, a fact made all too clear by what followed.

St. Luke adds the solemn words with which this second announcement of His death was impressed upon their thoughts: “Let these sayings sink down into your ears” (literally, place these things) (Luke 9:44). The substance of what they heard was the same as before. However, its repetition gave it a new force, showing that it was not a mere foreboding of disaster that would pass away with the sad mood in which it might have seemed to originate.