Mat 11:14, 17:10-13 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 14. This is Elias, which was for to come. ] This should always be written Elijah, that as strict a conformity as possible might be kept up between the names in the Old Testament and the New. The Prophet Malachi, who predicted the coming of the Baptist in the spirit and power of Elijah, gave the three following distinct characteristics of him. First, That he should be the forerunner and messenger of the Messiah: Behold I send my messenger before me , . Secondly, That he should appear before the destruction of the second temple: Even the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple , ibid. Thirdly, That he should preach repentance to the Jews; and that, some time after, the great and terrible day of the Lord should come , and the Jewish land be smitten with a curse , . Now these three characters agree perfectly with the conduct of the Baptist, and what shortly followed his preaching, and have not been found in any one else; which is a convincing proof that Jesus was the promised Messiah .

‏ Matthew 11:14

Verse 14. This is Elias, which was for to come.] This should always be written Elijah, that as strict a conformity as possible might be kept up between the names in the Old Testament and the New. The Prophet Malachi, who predicted the coming of the Baptist in the spirit and power of Elijah, gave the three following distinct characteristics of him. First, That he should be the forerunner and messenger of the Messiah: Behold I send my messenger before me, Mal 3:1. Secondly, That he should appear before the destruction of the second temple: Even the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, ibid. Thirdly, That he should preach repentance to the Jews; and that, some time after, the great and terrible day of the Lord should come, and the Jewish land be smitten with a curse, Mal 4:5, 6. Now these three characters agree perfectly with the conduct of the Baptist, and what shortly followed his preaching, and have not been found in any one else; which is a convincing proof that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

‏ Matthew 17:10-13

Verse 10. His disciples] instead of HIS disciples, some MSS., with the Coptic, Armenian, Vulgate, all the Itala except two, and Origen, read simply, οιμαθηται, THE disciples, i.e. those only who had been with him on the mount, Peter, James, and John.

Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?] As the disciples saw that Elijah returned to heaven, knowing the tradition of the elders, and the prophecy on which the tradition was founded, Mal 4:5, 6, Behold I send you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of the Lord shall come; and he shall turn the hearts, &c., it was natural enough for them to inquire what the meaning of the tradition, and the intention of the prophecy, were.

Verse 11. Elias-shall first come, and restore all things.] Or will reform, αποκαταστησει; this word our Lord quotes from the Septuagint; who render the Hebrew vehesheb leb aboth al banim, he will cause the heart of the fathers to turn to the children, by, οςαποκαταστησεικαρδιανπατροςπροςυιον, ωηοωιλλχονςερτ, or ρεστορετηεηεαρτοφτηεφατηερτοτηεσον. We are not therefore to understand the version of the Septuagint quoted by our Lord in any other sense than the Hebrew will allow. No fanciful restoration of all men, devils and damned spirits, is spoken of as either being done, or begun, by the ministry of John; but merely that he should preach a doctrine tending to universal reformation of manners, and should be greatly successful: see Mt 3:1-7, and especially Lu 3:3-15, where we find that a general reformation had taken place, 1. among the common people; 2. among the tax-gatherers; and 3. among the soldiers. And as John announced the coming Christ, who was to baptize with the Holy Ghost, i.e. to enlighten, change, and purify the heart, that the reform might be complete, both outward and inward, he may be said, in the strictest sense of the word, to have fulfilled the prophecy: and that he was the Elijah mentioned by Malachi, the words of Gabriel to the virgin Mary prove; Lu 1:17. And he (John) shall go before him (Christ) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, &c.; and that his ministry was powerfully effectual for this purpose, we have already seen.

Verse 12. Knew him not] Or, ουκεπιγνωσαναυτον, They have not acknowledged him. That is, the Jewish rulers have not acknowledged him, did not receive him as the forerunner of the Messiah. But it appears that all the rest acknowledged him as such; and some, from the power and demonstration of his preaching, were inclined to think he was more, even the Messiah himself: see Lu 3:15.

Verse 13. Then the disciples understood] When he spoke of the sufferings of this prophetic Elijah, and also of his own, which had been the subject of the conversation on the mount, during the transfiguration, they clearly apprehended that he spoke of John the Baptist.