After the Transfiguration, the disciples asked Jesus a pointed theological question, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” (Matthew 17:10). This question was not speculative. It arose directly from Old Testament prophecy, rabbinic teaching, and what the disciples had just witnessed on the mountain, where Elijah appeared with Moses speaking with Jesus. To understand Jesus’ answer, we must examine Malachi’s prophecy, the ministry of John the Baptist, and the future fulfillment still connected to the Day of the LORD.
This study will explain why the scribes expected Elijah, how Jesus affirmed and clarified that expectation, and when the prophecy will be fully fulfilled.
The Scribal Expectation of Elijah
The scribes were correct to expect Elijah’s coming because they were reading Malachi literally.
Malachi was the final prophetic voice of the Old Testament. After him came roughly four hundred years of silence. His closing words left Israel looking forward to two events: the coming of the LORD Himself and the return of Elijah before the Day of the LORD. By the time of Jesus, this expectation had become firmly embedded in Jewish teaching.
The scribes rightly understood three things:
- Elijah would come before the Day of the LORD.
- His coming would be preparatory, calling Israel to repentance.
- The Messiah’s arrival was connected to this preparatory work.
Where the scribes erred was not in expecting Elijah, but in misunderstanding how and when these prophecies would unfold.
The Context of Malachi’s Prophecy
Malachi prophesied to a spiritually hardened post-exilic Israel. Though they had returned from Babylon, their hearts were cold, their worship was careless, and their obedience was half-hearted. The book alternates between God’s accusations and Israel’s defensive questions.
Malachi 3:1 introduces a forerunner:
“Behold, I will send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.”
This verse is crucial. The LORD Himself is coming, but first a messenger will prepare the way. This messenger is not named in chapter 3, but chapter 4 identifies him explicitly as Elijah.
Malachi 4:6 describes the nature of his ministry:
“And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
The mission is covenantal and national, calling Israel back to God in repentance to avert judgment. Importantly, Malachi ties Elijah’s coming specifically to “the great and awesome Day of the LORD,” a term consistently associated with divine judgment and end-time intervention (see also Joel 2:31; Zephaniah 1:14-18).
This context shows that Malachi’s prophecy ultimately points beyond the first coming of Christ to events still future.
John the Baptist and “the Spirit and Power of Elijah”
The angel Gabriel explains John the Baptist’s role in Luke 1:17:
“And he will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah.”
This statement is decisive. John was not Elijah reincarnated, nor Elijah returned bodily from heaven. He came in the same prophetic role, authority, and confrontational ministry as Elijah.
John’s ministry parallels Elijah in several ways:
- He lived in the wilderness.
- He confronted national sin.
- He called Israel to repentance.
- He prepared the way for the LORD.
Matthew 3:1-3 explicitly connects John with Isaiah 40:3, another preparatory prophecy:
“A voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’”
Jesus Himself confirmed this identification earlier:
“For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come” (Matthew 11:13-14).
This explains John 1:21. When asked directly, “Are you Elijah?” John answered, “I am not.” He was denying a literal, physical identity, not his prophetic role. He was not Elijah returned from heaven, but he did fulfill Elijah’s function for Christ’s first coming.
Jesus’ Response to the Disciples
Jesus’ answer in Matthew 17:11-12 and Mark 9:12 is careful and profound:
“Elijah does indeed come first and will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come.”
Jesus affirms two truths simultaneously.
First, Elijah “does indeed come” and “will restore all things.” This is future-oriented language. Jesus does not cancel Malachi’s prophecy. He upholds it.
Second, Elijah “has already come,” referring to John the Baptist, who fulfilled the prophecy in a preliminary and partial sense.
John came as Elijah-like forerunner to Christ’s first coming in humility and suffering. Yet Israel rejected him, just as they would reject the Messiah. Jesus draws a parallel:
“In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands” (Matthew 17:12).
Thus, John fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy conditionally and typologically, but not exhaustively.
When Will This Be Fully Fulfilled?
The full fulfillment of Malachi 4:5 awaits the future Day of the LORD.
Several observations lead to this conclusion:
- The Day of the LORD in Malachi is a time of judgment and restoration, not merely the preaching of repentance.
- John the Baptist did not “restore all things” nationally or spiritually.
- Israel as a nation did not repent, and judgment followed in AD 70.
- Revelation 11 describes two witnesses who minister in Jerusalem with miraculous power closely resembling Elijah (calling down fire and stopping rain; compare 1 Kings 17–18).
From a dispensational perspective, Elijah will likely appear as one of the two witnesses during the Tribulation, immediately preceding the visible return of Christ. At that time, Malachi’s prophecy will be fulfilled literally, nationally, and climactically.
- Rightly dividing Bible history for each age and dispensation – This broad outline of rightly dividing Bible history for each age and dispensation is helpful to understanding the Bible.
- A brief history of the future – Share this brief history of the future as revealed in the Bible. It is a good introduction to eschatology, which is the study of end times.
- How to test prophecy in the last days – How can we tell the difference between godly prophecy and false prophecy? We need to be like the noble Bereans: listen with readiness and check the scriptures.
This future Elijah ministry will prepare Israel for the Second Coming of Christ, just as John prepared a remnant for His first coming.
Conclusion
The scribes were right to expect Elijah, but wrong in assuming only one fulfillment and one timeline. Jesus clarified that prophecy unfolds in stages.
John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ’s first coming in suffering. Elijah himself will yet come before the Day of the LORD to prepare the way for Christ’s second coming in glory.
In this way, Scripture remains unified, literal, and faithful to God’s promises. The question of Elijah ultimately points us to Christ Himself, who is both the suffering Messiah and the coming King.