From the desk of Pastor Ben
Misunderstanding About Elijah

His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say
that Elijah must come first?”     (Matthew 17:10)

Having just seen Elijah on the mountain, a natural question for Jesus’ disciples was, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” That particular teaching of the scribes was not based simply on rabbinical tradition but on scriptural teaching. Through Malachi the Lord declared, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6).

The prediction that the actual Old Testament person of Elijah would be the forerunner of the Messiah and His judgment was well-known to Jews of Jesus’ day. Therefore, Peter, James, and John could not have helped wondering how the appearance of Elijah they had just witnessed fit in with Malachi’s prophecy. They wanted to know why Elijah did not appear before Jesus began His ministry.

Unfortunately, the scribes had made many embellishments to Malachi’s prophecy. They taught that Elijah would come again as a mighty miracle-working reformer who would bring order out of chaos and holiness out of unholiness. But that is not an accurate picture of Jesus’ forerunner, whose description he would immediately clear up. Check out tomorrow’s study for Jesus’ explanation.

Ask Yourself:
How do some of our cultural traditions and “givens” cause us to misread certain aspects of the Bible, including the words and teachings of Christ? What are some of the most common misunderstandings that you hear people make, and how can you respond to them?