Why do the disciples question Jesus about Elijah's return in Mark 9:11? Setting the Scene: The Mountaintop Experience • Just after the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John are descending the mountain with Jesus (Mark 9:2-10). • They have witnessed Moses and Elijah talking with their Lord, then heard the Father’s voice affirming Jesus as His beloved Son. • Verse 10 notes that the three disciples “kept this matter to themselves, debating what it meant to rise from the dead”. Their minds are swirling with prophetic expectations. The Prophetic Promise About Elijah • Malachi 4:5-6 foretold: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers….” • Jewish teachers (the “scribes”) rightly held that Elijah must appear before Messiah’s public reign. • Elijah had never died but was taken to heaven alive (2 Kings 2:11). Many believed he would literally return from heaven to prepare Israel. Why Elijah’s Return Mattered to First-Century Jews • It signaled national repentance and spiritual renewal. • It marked the dawn of the Messianic age—no Elijah, no Messiah (so they thought). • The scribes had woven this expectation deeply into synagogue teaching, so ordinary Jews—and Jesus’ own disciples—absorbed it. So Why Did the Disciples Ask? • Mark 9:11: “And they asked Him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’” • They had just seen Elijah momentarily and then watched him vanish. • If Elijah had to “come first,” and if Jesus is indeed the Messiah, then the timeline seemed off: – Elijah’s brief appearance on the mountain didn’t match the popular notion of a public, preparatory ministry. – Jesus was talking about His imminent suffering and death (Mark 8:31; 9:12), which clashed with triumphant Messianic expectations. • Their question seeks clarity: How do prophecy, popular teaching, and what they just experienced all fit together? How Jesus Answers the Concern • Mark 9:12-13: “He replied, ‘Elijah does indeed come first, and he restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected? But I tell you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written about him.’” • Parallel passage Matthew 17:12-13 explains plainly that this “Elijah” was John the Baptist. • Key truths: – The prophecy is fulfilled literally, yet in God’s chosen manner: John came “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17). – John’s ministry called Israel to repentance (Matthew 3:1-3), fulfilling Malachi’s turning of hearts. – The scribes missed this fulfillment because they expected a dramatic heavenly descent instead of a rugged prophet in the wilderness. – Jesus links Elijah’s rejection (John’s execution) with His own impending suffering, teaching the disciples that Scripture also foretold the Messiah’s rejection (e.g., Isaiah 53). What This Teaches Us Today • God’s Word is always true, yet its fulfillment can surprise us; His ways remain higher than ours. • Prophecy invites watchfulness and humility, not rigid timetables. • Jesus’ messianic mission includes both suffering and glory; the cross precedes the crown. • When Scripture seems to clash with circumstances, the solution is not to doubt God’s Word but to seek His fuller revelation—just as the disciples did by asking Jesus. |
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