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Bible Question:
Please
help me resolve an apparent conflict in the Gospels. Matthew
17:12-13 seems to indicate that Elijah had returned as John
the Baptist whereas in John 1:21, John the Baptist says that
he is not Elijah. What did Jesus mean when He said that Elijah
had already returned?
Bible Answer:
We
need to start with a prophecy in Malachi which says that Elijah
will come before the day of the Lord.
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Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of
the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn
the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts
of the children to their fathers . . . (NKJV) Malachi
4:5-6 |
John's Statement.
When
we come to the gospels, we discover that after John the Baptist
was asked if he is Elijah, he said that He was not!
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And
they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”. . . (NKJV) John 1:21
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John knew that he was not Elijah. Yet, the gospels reveal some
interesting facts about him. First, the angel that had spoken
to his father, Zacharias, said that John would come in the spirit
and power of Elijah.
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And
he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord
their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and
power of Elijah. . . (NKJV) Luke 1:16-17 |
Although he was not Elijah, his ministry would be like that
of Elijah.
Jesus' Comments. In
Matthew Jesus makes a surprising statement to a crowd of people
and then later to His disciples that John the Baptist was Elijah.
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Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there
has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he
who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than
he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the
kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take
it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied
until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is
Elijah who is to come. (NKJV) Matt. 11:9-14 |
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