Matthew 17:9-13

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Matthew 17:9-13
As Jesus descended the mountain following His transfiguration, He strictly warned the apostles to keep quiet about the incident until after He had risen from the dead. His resurrection would be the ultimate proof and foundation for all His claims. To tell the world of the transfiguration prior to this would have no affect since it could only be verified by His inner circle.Having just seen Elijah appear with Jesus, the apostles ask the question about why the scribes say that Elijah would be the first to appear and after that the Christ. Many of the Jewish leaders had the mistaken idea that Elijah would be reincarnated and appear as the forerunner before the Messiah’s appearance. Indeed, Malachi 4:5-6 prophesied of the coming of Elijah prior to God’s judgment on Israel (a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem which took place in 70 A.D.). Jesus explained that the mistake of the scribes was that “Elijah” did come in the person of John the Baptist. However, since John did not act as they expected Elijah to act, they did not recognize him.

The question we need to answer is, why did the prophet foretell John as “Elijah?” The prophet Elijah had done his work in one of the most wicked periods of Israel’s history. Ahab was king along with his wife Jezebel and the nation had given itself to Baal worship. Elijah stood against the 400 prophets of Baal and attempted to turn the people back to God. Thus, Elijah was a prophet preaching repentance to a wicked nation. In the days prior to the ministry of Jesus, Israel was again in spiritually dark days. John had come in the same spirit as Elijah, attempting to turn the people back to God and get them ready for the appearance of Jesus.

Now, what do you suppose would be the starting point for a spiritual restoration of a nation? Malachi said that John would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers. A spiritual restoration begins in the home; it begins with fathers who connect their hearts to their children. A child whose heart is wedded to his godly father can hardly turn away into sin. It is a great lesson for all fathers. Don’t just give rules; connect your heart to your child’s heart.
Berry Kercheville