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Matthew 17:9-13 (Elijah and John the Baptist)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called Miracles and Controversy, and today we are looking at a controversy that the disciples engaged concerning a certain teaching about the prophet Elijah. The teachers of the law taught that Elijah must come first before the Messiah. The disciples were confused by this and so they asked Jesus about it. The disciples’ question and Jesus’ response make up the bulk of our passage today. (Read Matthew 17:9-13 and pray.)

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So, here is a question for you. Is Elijah found in the Old Testament or the New Testament? The answer is, “Yes!” It’s a trick question. If you answered Old Testament, you’re right. If you answered New Testament, you’re also right. If you answered both Testaments, you get extra credit. If you answered neither, you can see my in my office after the service.

We normally think of Elijah as an Old Testament person, because that is where he first appears, and that is where the majority of the texts written about him also appear. But we also need to think of Elijah as a New Testament person. The Old Testament prophesied that Elijah would come again before the Messiah to prepare the way for the Messiah.

So, were these prophecies fulfilled? And if so, how and when were these prophecies fulfilled? Did Elijah come and prepare the way for Christ? That’s the question today’s passage raises and answers. And along the way we also learn the importance of repentance and faith in Christ. Here comes Elijah! Let’s dig into our passage together.

I. Coming down the mountain (9)

We begin with Jesus and his disciples coming down the mountain. Look at verse 9:

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (Matthew 17:9)

There are a couple of things we learn from this verse.

   A. We don’t live on the mountain
      – Isaiah 2:2-3

First of all, we don’t live on the mountain. Peter, James and John had just seen Jesus in his glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. Peter wanted to build three shelters, one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah. This was another one of Peter’s attempts to go straight to the glory of the kingdom while avoiding the cross. Seeing Jesus in his glory must have been an amazing experience, and probably all three of the disciples thought the Messianic kingdom was going to come right then and there.

But now they are heading down the mountain. Moses and Elijah have returned to heaven. Jesus is no longer shining with glory. And the kingdom hasn’t come. It’s back to work in the valley.

We all love the mountaintop experiences – those times when God feels so close and your heart is stirred with faith in an extraordinary way. Sometimes it happens on a retreat or at a conference. Sometime God draws exceptionally close during a time of corporate worship or private prayer. Sometimes it happens when we are out in nature and viewing God’s beautiful creation. Sometimes it happens when we are on top of an actual mountain looking around at God’s beautiful creation.

We all love the mountaintop experiences. But we don’t live on the mountain. There is work to do in the valley. There are people to reach, problems to solve, battles to fight. We need to learn to walk with God not only during the extraordinary moments on the mountain, but during the very ordinary moments of daily life as well.

We don’t live on the mountain. At least, not yet! Someday we will live on the mountain. We read in Isaiah 2: “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’” (Isaiah 2:2-3)

One day we will live with God on the mountain of the Lord forever. It will be the ultimate mountaintop experience for all of eternity. But for now, we live in the valley as we walk the road of the cross with Christ.

   B. Don’t share until after the resurrection
      – Romans 1:4

And then the second thing we learn from this verse is that the disciples were not to share about Jesus’ transfiguration until after the resurrection. Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (Matthew 17:9) This is the fifth and final time in the gospel of Matthew that Jesus gives the command not to tell others about him. (Matthew 8:4, 9:30, 10:5, 16:20, 17:9) But this time he puts a time element on it. “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Why did Jesus command people five times not to tell others about him? Because it wasn’t time yet. People didn’t understand Jesus’ mission. Like Peter they would have been ready to crown him as a political Messiah right away, which would probably have provoked Rome and hastened his death. Nothing must interfere with God’s timetable. Nothing must interfere with Jesus going to the cross to die for our sins.

Here in Matthew 17:9 Jesus puts the emphasis on his resurrection. “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Why wait until after the resurrection? Because then Jesus’ work on cross would be finished. And because Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate evidence that he truly is the Son of God. As we read in Romans 1:4: “[Jesus] was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:4)

And so, as Jesus and his disciples come down the mountain, Jesus tells them not to tell anyone what they have seen until after he has been raised from the dead. Well, news alert, Jesus has been raised from the dead! That means we don’t have to be quiet anymore. You can tell everyone about Jesus. What do we learn from verse 9? We don’t live on the mountain. The disciples were not to share about Jesus’ transfiguration until after the resurrection.

II. What about Elijah? (10)

And then next the disciples ask Jesus about Elijah. What about Elijah? Back to Matthew 17, let’s look at verse 10 now:

The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” (Matthew 17:10)

This question was probably prompted by having just seen Elijah on the mountain. And it made them think about something. According to the teachers of the law, Elijah was supposed to come first.

And so, the disciples are confused. Peter recently confessed Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus affirmed his confession. They just saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain with Moses and Elijah. But if Jesus really is the Messiah, why hasn’t Elijah come first to prepare the way?

   A. Elijah comes first to prepare the way
      – Malachi 3:1, 4:5-6

In order to understand the disciples’ question, we first need to look at the Old Testament background. Because the Old Testament indeed teaches that Elijah comes first to prepare the way.

The very last book of the Old Testament is the book of Malachi. Malachi was a prophet who prophesied about four hundred years before Christ. Malachi challenged the people of Israel concerning their sin and lack of worship of the one, true God. He affirmed God’s love for them and urged them to repent, reminding them that the Messiah would come just as God had promised.

In the last two chapters of Malachi, which are also the last two chapters of the whole Old Testament, we read about the messenger, Elijah, who would come first to prepare the way. Malachi 3:1: “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” (Malachi 3:1) Malachi 4:5-6: “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

These are the very last words of the Old Testament, and they set the stage for the coming of the Messiah, preceded by the coming of Elijah. Elijah comes first to prepare the way.

Today most Jews are still waiting for the Messiah to come, and they are still waiting for Elijah to come first. When they celebrate the Passover, they leave a place at the table for Elijah. During the meal, the cup of Elijah remains untouched in the center of the table. As part of the Passover celebration, the son even goes to the front door to see if Elijah is there.

   B. So how can Jesus be the Messiah?

So, here was the disciples’ big question. If Elijah is supposed to come first, then how can Jesus be the Messiah? Or to put it another way, if Jesus is the Messiah, then why hasn’t Elijah come?

And then there is another related question to all this as Jesus has been telling them about his coming suffering and death in Jerusalem. If Elijah comes first and restores all things, then how can the Messiah suffer and die? Remember, the disciples thought the Messiah was coming to deliver them from their enemies. And so, they are really struggling with this whole idea of a suffering Messiah who dies.

III. Elijah has already come (11-13)

So, the disciples ask Jesus: “What about Elijah?” And Jesus answers them: “Elijah has already come.” Back to Matthew 17 now, look at verses 11-13:

Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist. (Matthew 17:11-13)

Jesus makes a number of important points in these verses, so let’s unpack them one by one.

   A. Jesus affirms that Elijah comes first and restores all things (11)
      – Mark 1:2-5

First, Jesus affirms that Elijah comes first and restores all things. We read in verse 11: “Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things.’” (Matthew 17:11)

Notice how Jesus speaks about Elijah coming in the present tense. Here comes Elijah! And yet in the very next verse he tells the disciples that Elijah has already come – past tense! This is what we call an historical present indicating something that has already happened. The speaker uses the present tense to make something that happened in the past more vivid for his or her listeners.

And then notice how Jesus speaks about Elijah restoring all things in the future. “Elijah comes and will restore all things.” Future tense! So, Jesus speaks in the present tense about Elijah coming in the past and how Elijah will restore all things in the future. What does Jesus mean by all this? Jesus is saying that Elijah has come, and what Elijah has set in place by his coming will be fulfilled.

Old Testament prophecies often compact future events together and present them as one event. It’s like looking at a mountain range. From a distance the peaks look all close together. It’s only when you get closer you can see the distance between them. It’s why the Old Testament prophecies rarely distinguish between Jesus’ first coming and his second coming. From the vantage point of the Old Testament, they are all one event, even though in the New Testament era they are separated in time.

It’s the same way with Elijah. The restoration begins with Elijah’s message of repentance. Elijah prepares the way for the Messiah who will eventually restore all things.

Now we already know from verse 13 that Elijah’s role in the New Testament is fulfilled by John the Baptist. We read the following about John in the gospel of Mark. Look at Mark 1:2-5 with me now:

It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way – 3 a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” 4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (Mark 1:2-5)

Here John the Baptist fulfills the role of Elijah by coming in the wilderness, preaching a message of repentance, and preparing the way for Jesus, the Messiah. The greatest restoration of all is the restoration of sinful man with a holy God. John the Baptist fulfills the role of Elijah by pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This restoration will be completed in all its fullness when Jesus returns.

   B. The people did not recognize Elijah when he came (12a)
      – John 1:19-23

Jesus affirms that Elijah comes first and restores all things. Then he tells the disciples that Elijah has already come but the people did not recognize him. Jesus says in Matthew 17:12: “But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished.” (Matthew 17:12a)

Of course, Jesus is still talking about John the Baptist here. It was John who came in the wilderness preaching repentance for sins and preparing the way for Christ. John was fulfilling the role of Elijah, but the religious leaders did not recognize him.

We read in John 1:19-23:

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” (John 1:19-23)

The religious leaders didn’t know what to make of John. Was he the Christ? Was he Elijah? Was he the Prophet that Moses had spoken of in the Old Testament? “Who are you?” they asked John multiple times.

John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” They should have connected the messenger prophesied by Isaiah with the messenger prophesied by Malachi with the coming of Elijah, but they didn’t.

Jesus says to the disciples, “I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished.” Here Jesus is talking about John’s imprisonment and beheading that took place under King Herod.

   C. Jesus will also suffer at the people’s hands (12b)
      – John 1:10-12

Jesus affirms that Elijah come first and restores all things. He tells them that Elijah has already come but the people did not recognize him. And then thirdly, he tells them that he is going to suffer as well. Jesus tells them in verse 12: “In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” (Matthew 17:12)

“The Son of Man is going to suffer.” It is going to happen. Jesus continues to hammer this point home to his disciples. He has told them multiple times already. He has been preparing them for what is ahead, and they should have been ready when it took place.

What is Jesus saying here? The teachers of the law were wrong about Elijah, and they are wrong about the Messiah, too. Jesus came not as a political Messiah to rescue them from Rome, but as a spiritual Savior to rescue them from sin. The physical restoration will also come, but that takes place later when Christ returns.

The Bible tells us that just as they did not recognize John the Baptist when he came as Elijah, so also, they did not recognize Jesus when he came as the Messiah. We read in John 1:10-12: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 10:10-12)

Jesus Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world was in the world, but the world did not recognize him. And so, just as John suffered, in the same way Jesus would also suffer at the people’s hands.

   D. Jesus is talking about John the Baptist (13)
      – Matthew 11:13-15; Luke 1:17

Jesus affirms that Elijah comes first and restores all things. He tells them that Elijah has already come but the people did not recognize him. He tells them that he also will suffer at the people’s hands. Finally, we read in verse 13: “Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.” (Matthew 17:13) John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come. He was the fulfillment of the Malachi prophecies.

Now, this was not the first time that Jesus had identified John with Elijah. Jesus told the crowds back in Matthew 11: “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:13-15)

People sometimes wonder if Jesus means that Elijah died and came back as John the Baptist. In other words, is this a case of reincarnation? And the answer is no, for at least four reasons. First of all, Elijah never died. The Bible tells us he was taken straight to heaven. Secondly, the disciples just saw Elijah on the mount of transfiguration along with Moses. Thirdly, when the religious leaders asked John if he was Elijah, he said, “No.” And then finally, the Bible says there is no such thing as reincarnation. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for man to die once and then to face judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)

No, Elijah and John are two separate people. When you get to heaven, you will get to see both of them. John fulfilled the Malachi prophecies in a spiritual manner, not in a physical manner.

The angel Gabriel prophesied about John before his birth: “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17)

Just as the prophet Elisha received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit when Elijah was taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:9-12), so John came in the spirit and power of Elijah, not as a physical reincarnation of Elijah.

CONCLUSION: So, why does this all matter to us? It matters tremendously in three ways.

First of all, it matters to us prophetically. Were the Malachi prophecies about Elijah ever fulfilled? Here comes Elijah! God’s word is truth, and so the prophecies of Malachi must be fulfilled. Elijah comes first, and Jesus shows us that these prophecies were fulfilled as God intended through the ministry of John the Baptist. As Jesus told the crowds, he is the Elijah who was to come, if you are willing to accept it.

Secondly, it matters to us historically. If Elijah comes first, then how could Jesus be the Messiah? Here comes Elijah! John the Baptist coming in the spirit and power of Elijah shows that Jesus really was the Messiah. If John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come, that means we no longer need to wait for Elijah. And it also also means we no longer need to wait for the Messiah. John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah preparing the way for Jesus the Messiah who came to rescue us from sin and make us right with God.

And then, finally, it matters to us personally. What does repentance have to do with faith? Here comes Elijah! John the Baptist came preaching a baptism of repentance for sins preparing the way for Jesus to come. Repentance prepared the way for Jesus to come to us, and repentance prepares the way for us to come to Jesus. We must all repent of our sins before coming to Jesus.

Repentance from sin is part of faith in Christ. When you truly believe in Jesus, you will repent of your sins. And when you truly repent of your sin, you will put your faith in Jesus. Will you turn from your sins and put your faith in Jesus as Savior today?

© Ray Fowler

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