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When Does Elijah Come?
(Mark 9:9–13) 

As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant. They asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.” (9:9–13)

The distinguishing mark of the true church of Jesus Christ is the proclamation of the cross of Christ and His resurrection. That has been the case from the beginning, as those two themes were the constant subject of the apostolic preachers beginning on the day of Pentecost.

In Acts 3:18 Peter declared to the Jewish people that “the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.” Paul spent three Sabbaths in Thessalonica “explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ’” (Acts 17:3). To the Corinthians he wrote,

The resurrection necessarily followed the cross. In his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter boldly declared, “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32). The Jewish religious leaders were “greatly disturbed because [the apostles] were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:2). In Acts 4:33 Luke notes that “with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.” Paul “was preaching Jesus and the resurrection” to the pagan philosophers in Athens (Acts 17:18; cf. v. 32). At his hearing before Agrippa, Paul testified of his conviction “that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:23). Summarizing the vital importance of Christ’s resurrection, the apostle wrote,

There is no salvation apart from those two central realities, for it is only “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead [that] you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9).

But before the cross, Christ’s followers found the notion of His death to be repulsive, objectionable, and unacceptable. When Jesus “began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.… Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him” (Mark 8:31–32). As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, at the transfiguration Peter wanted the Lord to skip the cross and immediately establish the kingdom. Later Jesus “was teaching His disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.’ But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him” (Mark 9:31–32). As Jesus approached Jerusalem for Passion Week, He said to the disciples,

But they ignored that teaching and remained focused on the glory of the kingdom, as the request by James and John for prominent places in the kingdom reveals (vv. 35–40). The transfiguration added to that single-minded focus on the promised kingdom because Peter, James, and John saw Jesus in His shekinah glory, alongside Moses and Elijah in glorified bodies.

There was no place in the disciples’ thinking for a dying and rising Messiah. What they believed was what the scribes had taught the people and therefore what the people believed. Messiah, in their view, would come to conquer and judge His enemies, bring salvation to the Jewish people, and elevate Israel to world supremacy. After destroying all the enemies of Israel and of God, He would establish His earthly kingdom of righteousness, peace, and knowledge. He would be worshiped, pour out divine blessings on the world, and crush any appearance of evil. Thus, when the disciples heard Jesus repeatedly say that He was going to suffer, be arrested, be mistreated, be killed, and then rise again, they could not accept it. It was a stumbling block for them; a frightening and profoundly disturbing thought.

Still, it was becoming increasingly obvious to Christ’s followers that things were not going according to their messianic anticipations and expectations. The Jewish leaders—who were presumably the best qualified to recognize the Messiah—had rejected Jesus (John 7:48; 8:45–46) and were seeking to kill Him (John 5:18; 7:1, 25; 11:53). The people, though curious about Him, were largely unconvinced and unconverted, prompting one of Jesus’ followers to ask, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” (Luke 13:23). Many superficial followers were abandoning Him, unwilling to deny themselves, suffer for the sake of His name, and obey Him completely (Luke 9:23; cf. 6:46; Matt. 7:21; John 6:66). The transfiguration helped mitigate the disciples’ shock and disappointment at the prospect of the Lord’s death by giving three of them a preview of the coming glory.

This passage reveals that in the aftermath of the transfiguration, Jesus was still communicating the importance of His death to the disciples. It contains three features: the prohibition of Christ, the prophecies of Scripture, and the preview of John the Baptist.

THE PROHIBITION OF CHRIST

As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant. (9:9–10)

As this section opens, Peter, James, and John were coming down from the mountain with Jesus. They had just had the experience that filled them with holy terror, causing them to fall to the ground (Matt. 17:6), overwhelmed by the glorious presence of God (cf. Judg. 13:20–22; 1 Chron. 21:16; Ezek. 1:28; 3:23; 43:3; Acts 22:7; Rev. 1:17). After it was over, Jesus compassionately reassured them (Matt. 17:7) and led them down from the mountain. As they were coming down, the three disciples were trying to process the meaning of the majestic, yet terrifying scene they had just witnessed. Speechless at first, they were still overcome with wonder and awe—not totally unlike Moses, whose face shone after seeing God’s glory (Ex. 34:29–30, 35). Their faith in Jesus had been confirmed by what they had seen and heard and convinced them that He was the Messiah and Son of God. Never again would they be shaken in their confidence as to Jesus’ identity. Their faith would be tested by what happened to Him at His arrest, trial, and death, and they would temporarily abandon and deny Him (Mark 14:50, 66–72). But no threat, disappointment, humiliation, dishonor, or suffering on His part or theirs would make them doubt that He was the Messiah and Son of God.

As they descended, Peter, James, and John were probably trying to express their responses when Jesus gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. Such commands from the Lord to remain silent were not unusual (cf. Mark 5:43; 7:36; 8:30). Like this one, they were intended to avoid the proclamation of an incomplete gospel. The central truth of the gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not that He healed the sick, raised the dead, or manifested divine glory. Publicizing those things might have diverted the people’s attention from His coming suffering and fanned the flames of messianic expectation (cf. John 6:14–15). After the Son of Man rose from the dead, it would be obvious that He had come to die and thus conquer sin and death, not the Romans. Unlike others to whom He gave similar instructions (cf. Mark 1:40–45; 7:36), the disciples “kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen” (Luke 9:36).

The three immediately seized upon the Lord’s statement and began discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant. It was not, of course, that they did not know what a resurrection was. They had seen Jesus raise people from the dead (Matt. 11:5; cf. Matt. 9:24–25; Luke 7:14–15; John 11:43–44) and had even done so themselves (Matt. 10:8). The disciples also understood from the Old Testament that there would be a general resurrection (Job 19:26–27; Dan. 12:1–2). They were not having a discussion about the nature of resurrection in general but about the resurrection of Jesus in particular. They were confused about His death and rising, which did not fit into their view of the Messiah’s mission. Trying to understand those events became the subject of their thinking and consequently the topic of their conversation. The disciples believed that they would happen soon, certainly in their lifetime, because they were allowed to speak about them after they took place. They were trying to fit the death and resurrection of Jesus into their belief that the kingdom was imminent, which they continued to believe even after those events took place. At some point during the forty days between Christ’s resurrection and ascension, a time He spent “speaking [to them] of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3), the disciples eagerly asked Him, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (v. 6). Their question, though misguided, was understandable. As I wrote in my commentary on that verse in an earlier volume in this series,

THE PROPHECIES OF SCRIPTURE

They asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?” (9:11–12)

The disciples were still not ready to accept the necessity of Christ’s suffering and death. They remained confused and hoping for the immediate manifestation of His glory and the establishing of His kingdom, which they assumed would immediately follow His death and resurrection. That led them to ask Jesus, “Why is it that the scribes (the experts in the law) say that Elijah must come first?”; that is, before the Messiah’s arrival.

Their question was a good one, based on an accurate understanding of the Old Testament. Through the prophet Malachi, God said, “‘Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 3:1). In the ancient Near East, kings and rulers were preceded by a herald, or forerunner, who was responsible for making sure that everything was prepared for the monarch’s arrival. Isaiah described the work of such a forerunner in Isaiah 40:3–4:

Before the Messiah’s arrival, a messenger would come; “the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!”’” (Matt. 3:3). That messenger is further identified in Malachi 4:5–6 as “Elijah the prophet” (v. 5).

Before the day of the Lord, the final judgment of the ungodly and the establishment of the kingdom, Elijah will come. He will restore the nation by calling the people to repent, and the remnant will believe and escape the curse. He will bring people together around belief in the true and living God (Mal. 4:6).

The disciples were absolutely convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. But that being the case, where was Elijah? Why was he not present, performing all the duties that, according to tradition, he would do to prepare for Messiah’s coming? Should he not have preceded the Lord’s arrival? Jesus replied, “Elijah does first come and restore all things.” They were correct; Elijah does come before the Messiah and prepare all things for His coming.

But there was something that they had overlooked. How is it written of the Son of Man (the messianic title taken from Dan. 7:13), Jesus asked, that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? The disciples asked Him how He could be the Messiah if Elijah had not come; He in turn asked them how He could be the Messiah if He did not suffer as the Old Testament predicted (cf. Pss. 22; 69; Isa. 53; Zech. 12:10).

Both prophecies will come to pass; Elijah will come, and Messiah will suffer, since “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).

THE PREVIEW OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.” (9:13)

Jesus’ definitive statement, “But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come,” must have surprised and puzzled the disciples, leaving them even more confused than they already were. But Elijah had not literally returned; the Lord was referring to the one who came “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17)—John the Baptist. There were striking similarities between the two prophets, including their physical appearance (cf. 2 Kings 1:8 with Mark 1:6) and their powerful, uncompromising preaching. Yet when the Jewish leaders asked him, “Are you Elijah?” John replied, “I am not” (John 1:21).

Although the disciples now realized that Jesus was referring to John the Baptist (Matt. 17:13), Israel had failed to recognize John’s significance (Matt. 17:12) and did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him. The religious leaders rejected him (Matt. 21:25; Luke 7:33), and Herod imprisoned and killed him (Mark 6:17–29)—the fate intended for Elijah (1 Kings 19:1–10). No specific Old Testament prophecies predicted the death of Messiah’s forerunner, so the phrase it is written of him is best understood as having been fulfilled typically by John.

Had Israel realized who John was and accepted his message, he would indeed have been the Elijah who was to come (Matt. 11:14). But since they did not, John was a preview of another who will come in the spirit and power of Elijah before the second coming (possibly one of the two witnesses; cf. Rev. 11:3–12).

The biblical pattern is clear. Elijah was rejected and persecuted; Messiah’s forerunner, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah, was rejected and killed, and Messiah Himself was rejected and murdered. In the future, however, the prophesied Elijah will come, the Lord Jesus Christ will return, and the kingdom will be established.