Chapter # 9 Paragraph # 2 Study # 4
February 28, 2023
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis:  Jesus' answer to the "Elijah" question effectively established the fact of two "comings" of The Christ as well as John the Baptizer's role as the "Elijah-like preparer" for the first "coming".

Introduction:  In our last study we considered the tangled issue of the scribes' use of the absence of "the Malachi 4:5 Elijah" to deny that Jesus of Nazareth was/is, in fact, The Christ. We saw that the disciples had just "seen the Kingdom of God, having come with power" with "Elijah" present and, for them, there was no "need" for any hesitation in making what they had seen the "norm". We also saw that their lack of understanding of such a "need" simply meant that they did not understand the tension between the "Justice" of God and His willingness/ability to "forgive sins". "Justice" does not/can not "forgive". "Forgiveness" operates in the domain of "Grace" after "Justice" is satisfied.

But, in what Jesus said in His reply to their question, there is the resolution of the misunderstanding of the disciples. That is where we are going to go this evening.

• I. Jesus' Reply To "The Three".
  • A. The Imperfect tense of the verb translated "He said" signals an extended conversation that has been "summarized" by Mark.
    • 1. What He "was saying" begins with His assertion that "Elijah" does have a future, individual, fulfillment that fits the Malachi 4:5 meaning.
      • a. That "meaning" has to do with the future "coming" of "the great and terrible Day of the Lord".
        • 1) It is this "Day" that is prophesied in multiple places in the Old Testament that will contain what Daniel 12:1 calls "a time of distress, such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time"; it is also the basis for Jesus' teaching in Mark 13 regarding the things that will occur in the future in that "time of distress".
        • 2) According to Malachi 4:5, the very "Elijah" that The Three saw on the mountain will come to earth to "prepare" the people for the future coming of The Son of God.
        • 3) This is also the same "Day" to which Revelation 6:12-17 refers.
      • b. So far, the history of humanity has not seen such things occur.
    • 2. What He went on to "say" was that there had to be a fulfillment of the things "written" about The Son of The Man in respect to His "sufferings" and being "set at nought".
      • a. The major Old Testament text for these "written" things is Isaiah 53, but there are multiple lesser texts that flesh these factors out in terms of "The Christ's" sufferings and total dismissal in the minds of men.
      • b. Jesus is saying that all of the texts of the Old Testament that refer to Messiah's sufferings are just as significant as Malachi 4:5 and must have their place in the history of this creation.
    • 3. And, then, He proceeded to be saying (Present Tense of "say" in 9:13) that "Elijah has come [Perfect Indicative] and "they" did to him all things which they were wanting to do, just as it stands written about him".
      • a. At this point, Jesus moves out of the "future" and into the "past".
      • b. Also at this point, Jesus moves out of Malachi 4:5 and moves backwards into Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 just as Mark did in 1:2.
        • 1) This move into the past is decidedly announced to apply to John the Baptizer by Mark at the very beginning of his "Gospel".
        • 2) The explanation rests upon the issue of "type of meaning" rather than the specific identification of it in respect to "Elijah".
          • a) The "type of meaning" is "preceding preparer" (this is the type of meaning of Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1; and Malachi 4:5).
          • b) As long as a "type of meaning" does not include a specific individual by name, it can be used in regard to any/all "named" individuals as long as they fit the "type".
        • 3) In Jesus' application of the type of meaning to John the Baptizer, He added a certain element that referred to "they" who "did to him whatsoever things they wanted to do" and called it "just as it was written about him".
          • a) What was "written" about "Elijah" in respect to the way he was treated by "them" was applied to "John".
          • b) The specific thing(s) had to do with the "wishes" of the king's wife in regard to Elijah because he had killed 950 of her prophets: she wished to persecute and kill Elijah, and, in like manner Herod's wife sought to do the same to John.
          • c) The difference between the "wishes" of the wives is that God prevented Jezebel from her "wishes" but did not hinder Herodias in hers.

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This is article #384.
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