Then they asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious
law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?”
Jesus responded, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get
everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer
greatly and be treated with utter contempt? But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and
they chose to abuse him, just as the Scriptures predicted.”
The inner
circle of disciples (Peter, James, and John) just had perhaps the most profound
spiritual experience of their lives, witnessing the transfiguration of Jesus
upon a mountain top. They have witnessed the return of Moses and Elijah to earth
to confer with the transfigured Jesus. Now, Jesus has told them to keep quiet
about what they have seen. While this
seems unusual, Jesus does allow for them to share about it after Jesus has been
raised from the dead. This condition for
sharing holds the key to understanding why Jesus forbids them to share.
The
disciples were fully convinced that Jesus was the Messiah for which Israel had
waited for dozens of generations. While
they were convinced of that truth, they only thought they understood it. Jesus knew that, in order for them to
understand the nature of His messiahship, they would have to be on the other
side of the resurrection. Jesus’s
messiahship can only be understood to any degree through his life, his death,
and his resurrection. Though Jesus has
told them multiple times about his suffering, death, and resurrection to come,
they still do not believe it will happen.
That’s why they are still baffled by his talk of “rising from the dead.” They quickly change the subject to
Elijah.
Jesus
knows they won’t accept the coming events until after they have happened, but it
will help them to understand when they remember what Jesus told them (multiple
times) before all the terrible events began.
So Jesus allows them the grace to change the subject to Elijah. The answer they ask for is simple. The return of Elijah is for the preparation
for the Messiah. John the Baptist was
that Elijah, though Jesus doesn’t say that plainly. It is implied in His answer. What Jesus does make plain is that way John
was treated is a foreshadowing of how Jesus Himself will be treated. John was rejected and killed; Jesus will be
rejected and killed. After that is all
over, they will be more able to grasp the true nature of God’s plan for the
Messiah. Jesus’s suffering, death, and
resurrection will somehow usher in God’s kingdom for the entire world – a plan
that is still unfolding to this very day.
The same is true of life’s greatest truths. They only become accessible through the lens
of suffering. The life, death, and resurrection
of Jesus provide this ultimately clarifying lens. We shall know the Truth (His name is Jesus)
and the truth shall set us free.
Question: Take some
time today to reflect on what you have learned and been able to perceive only
because you first had to suffer.
Prayer: Jesus, we
seek You as our messiah, but we too often misunderstand Your ways. Help us embrace the suffering we inevitably
encounter in life as the very key that can unlock deeper understanding,
perception, and faith. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Think
of people whose names trigger anger in you.
Pray for God to bless them today.
Song: In the Bleak Midwinter
– Susan Boyle
