God sometimes hides facts from us until later, sometimes

I agree with your perceptions. First, our Christian walk is the same as the maturing of a normal child. Although the learning process in the first three years of a child's life is enormous, he/she is still very much a babe. But hard lessons learned at age 40, although they show nothing outwardly, have a profound effect on a person. The new convert might dive into the Word and have access to the best teachers, but it remains largely theoretical knowledge. But the lesson of the still, small voice in the human spirit, is of profound value. In the clamor of life and youthful energy, we tend to ignore the small voice, but in later years, that is almost all we listen for.

Then again, the Lord looks on the heart - and hides things from the brute. By Matthew 12 our Lord had, despite His record of gracious words and healings, been fully rejected and accused of being an emissary of Beelzebub. So as our Lord unfolds the mysteries of the coming Kingdom predicted in Daniel, in Matthew Chapter 13 He speaks only in Parables. Israel have hardened their hearts, eyes and ears to plain proof, and so the very thing they should have been informed of, slipped away to only a handful of Israelites first, and then to the dreaded Gentile later. Notice at the end of Matthew Chapter 12 that our Lord excuses Himself from His closest relationships in the flesh - His mother, and cleaves to a new relationship - that of the spirit.

Then Chapter 13 opens with our Lord "leaving a House". According to the immediate context, it is the House of Israel. Not only has He denied His relationship with His mother and brethren, but He leaves the "sand of the sea shore" - the seed of Abraham, and puts out in a boat. A boat is a vessel that floats above the sea but is very close to it. And the sea in Parable is the nations (e.g. Ezek.26:3-5). The boat is like the Church, in the sea, but not of it. The Lord has left the Nation of Israel, but the call is to "all who have ears".

Then our Lord gives seven Parables. Four are from the boat. Then our Lord enters "another House" where only His disciples are. There He instructs them on the Parable of the Sower, and gives another three Parables. His disciples understand, but the crowd at the sea shore did not. The Christian to day has these Parables, has the rest of the Bible to explain them, and has the Holy Spirit to give light. But sadly, they seek to explain them with human logic and means. For these too, the Word remains a "mystery". It will do us all well to read the Word accurately, and not to interpret privately. The Bible has been written a very special way. It is written to explain itself. God does not leave understanding His Word to our private thoughts - however sharp we may be.

The Jewish prophets say that scripture is given to us to be understood in five different ways. First, it speak of the material happenings, such as the flight from Egyptian slavery. Then there is the spiritual meaning of those happenings, as in how we are freed from the bondage of sin. They say there are also hidden meanings, and I am sure all of us have found new insights from a verse as we keep studying that we hadn't seen before.

The Bible says God has the right to hide truths and also to reveal them. It's clear that the scriptures are hidden to an extent, from those who haven't yet accepted the gospel. And that the gospel begins to become clear to a person, as soon as he begins to seek God sincerely, and with deep desire.
When a person becomes a true Christian, he has acquired greater wisdom than he formerly had, about the gospel. But that isn't the end of the spiritual learning process of life. Spiritual learning continues on and improves with time, throughout one's life - through his regular exposure to the Bible - and through the guidance of The Holy Spirit.
It's interesting to notice how, this can be seen as going on in the lives of the disciples, throughout His time here on the earth with them. I think it's also somewhat comical - how the way Jesus said things to them can be seen to have been purposely said in a difficult way for them to understand - and also comical to note their reactions to this, each time. But they often understood what He meant - better - most often - shortly after He said such things to them. It makes more of a dramatic story that way, too! If He'd explained things clearly to them always right away - it wouldn't be nearly so fun to read about - nor as thought provoking. And I think the lessons they learned from Him - had greater impact on them, and also on us, the readers of the Bible - than if they'd always understood right away!
Here are some examples I can think of, for times, when I can see that Jesus purposely disguised what He was saying, to the affect that those He spoke to in this way - didn't at first, understand what He meant:
*His conversation with the woman at the well. Think of how He first talked to her about the water in the well - but later on in the conversation - spoke to her of "living water."
*Think of how He told the disciples to get some food to feel the large crowd He had just preached to. At first, He didn't tell them how to get it - He just told them to get it. No wonder they exclaimed at the seeming impossibility of being able to do this! And He didn't tell them that He was going to do a miracle. He just told them to get the little food that happened to be available.
*Think of how He disguised what He said about Judas (at the last supper), so that the disciples failed to immediately understand what He meant! Though yes, their difficulty in understanding Him, was partly due to emotions or whatever mental fog was in them at the time. Our way of handling "mental fog" (that we are already aware that people have) when dealing with people - is to be extra careful to explain things extra thoroughly to them. But Jesus didn't do it that way. He allowed His hearers to experience some confusion, at first - but then later, helped them to understand correctly, later. That is, if they were people who were sincere in their seeking of God.

The death , burial and resurrection, when Jesus told them about this to come it was hidden from them, they did not understand , until after the cross . which is interesting as they were preaching a message but not the death , burial and ressurection . Then its when Paul writes 1 cor 2 we understand why it was kept from them .
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Yes, the disciples didn't understand important facts about Jesus and the gospel to the extent they did, after the outpouring of God's Spirit on the day of Pentecost - in the book of Acts.[/QUOTA]

Also, something like being killed and then rising up to eternal life physically wasn't something the mind could receive and retain. It was to remote to insert it into the construct of reality. Same with the virgin birth. It's something heaven must reveal. Otherwise it can't be believed.

That's why Jesus teaches that no one comes to Him unless drawn by His Father. Jesus lived that reality from day one.

Also, something like being killed and then rising up to eternal life physically wasn't something the mind could receive and retain. It was to remote to insert it into the construct of reality. Same with the virgin birth. It's something heaven must reveal. Otherwise it can't be believed.

That's why Jesus teaches that no one comes to Him unless drawn by His Father. Jesus lived that reality from day one.