Jesus Christ confirmed that John the Baptist was continuing the tradition and responsibility of the prophets, beginning with Elijah. Jesus also added what the prophets had been saying all along, “Listen to Me (look at Me) when I’m talking to you.”
Another affirmation of the importance of Elijah in redemptive history was his appearance with Moses and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus had taken three of His disciples—Peter, James, and John—away to share a glimpse of His holiness and glory (Matthew 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–36). During this surreal moment of intense light, sudden cloud cover, and a voice from heaven, the disciples saw Elijah talking with Moses and Jesus. There in one moment were three common men in the presence of three very uncommon men. Peter, James, and John were seeing Moses, the giver of the Law; Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God; and Elijah, the man who was called to be God’s mouthpiece to those who had received and broken the Law—people desperately in need of the Savior.
So there they stood, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, demonstrating to the disciples that, although He was superior to them, Christ was in perfect relationship to the Law and the prophets.
R. C. Sproul and Robert Wolgemuth, What’s in the Bible: A Tour of Scripture from the Dust of Creation to the Glory of Revelation (Nashville, TN; Dallas; Mexico City; Rio de Janeiro: Thomas Nelson, 2011), 111.
Comments