Mat 17:9-13 | KingComments | STEP | After the moment of glory on the mountain, the Lord and His disciples descend the mountain again. The Lord is aware of the pleasure of the Father. He is the Son of the Father’s love to Whom all glory belongs. He consciously distances Himself from the glory that is due to Him. He will receive it, but first He must go through death. The glory of God, the fulfilment of the Scriptures, and the blessing for creatures and creation depend on His death. By descending the mountain again He shows that He is the true Hebrew slave, who says: “I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man” ( ). He could have left as a free man because He had honored the Father in everything, but He chose to descend and go to Jerusalem, to the cross. Because of His love for His Father, for His church and for all God’s children, He did not want to remain in the glory of the mountain, however much He was worth it personally. If He had remained on the mountain, the Father’s will would not have been completely fulfilled, and He would always have remained alone as Man in heaven. When they descend the mountain again, the Lord commands them not to tell anyone the “vision” they have seen on the mountain. They may only do so after His resurrection. Only then will they receive the Holy Spirit, and only then can the content and scope of the vision be understood. There would be no point in telling others about this now because it would not be understood. A difficulty arises in the mind of the disciples that relates to the vision they have just seen of the future glory of the Messiah. This difficulty is caused by the teaching of the scribes concerning Elijah. Elijah, so to speak, must come before the coming of the Messiah. They derive this thought from a statement by the prophet Malachi ( ). ‘Why,’ the disciples ask the Lord, ‘do the scribes say, that Elijah must come first, that is, before the revelation of the Messiah, when we have seen that You are the Messiah, without Elijah having come?’ The Lord answers their question, He takes it seriously. He does the same with our questions. The Lord answers that Elijah will certainly come first. The scribes are correct in this. He confirms the words of prophecy. At the same time, he adds that Elijah will restore all things. The effect of Elijah’s coming is to restore all things. The Son of Man is also yet to come, that is to say, in glory. The Lord speaks about that coming in glory . But before He will come in that way, it is necessary that He is presented to the people as the promised Messiah to see if the people will accept Him. Now He has come in humiliation to His people to test them. The result is that He is rejected, as God has prophesied in the prophets. Because John the baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah ( ), the Lord Jesus can say that Elijah has already come. But also John as His forerunner ( ; ; not: ) was rejected. After this explanation, the disciples understand that in John the baptist Elijah has already come, but that the people as a whole did not listen to his message and were therefore not ready to receive the Messiah.

‏ Matthew 17:9-13

The Coming of Elijah

After the moment of glory on the mountain, the Lord and His disciples descend the mountain again. The Lord is aware of the pleasure of the Father. He is the Son of the Father’s love to Whom all glory belongs. He consciously distances Himself from the glory that is due to Him. He will receive it, but first He must go through death. The glory of God, the fulfilment of the Scriptures, and the blessing for creatures and creation depend on His death.

By descending the mountain again He shows that He is the true Hebrew slave, who says: “I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man” (Exo 21:5). He could have left as a free man because He had honored the Father in everything, but He chose to descend and go to Jerusalem, to the cross. Because of His love for His Father, for His church and for all God’s children, He did not want to remain in the glory of the mountain, however much He was worth it personally. If He had remained on the mountain, the Father’s will would not have been completely fulfilled, and He would always have remained alone as Man in heaven.

When they descend the mountain again, the Lord commands them not to tell anyone the “vision” they have seen on the mountain. They may only do so after His resurrection. Only then will they receive the Holy Spirit, and only then can the content and scope of the vision be understood. There would be no point in telling others about this now because it would not be understood.

A difficulty arises in the mind of the disciples that relates to the vision they have just seen of the future glory of the Messiah. This difficulty is caused by the teaching of the scribes concerning Elijah. Elijah, so to speak, must come before the coming of the Messiah. They derive this thought from a statement by the prophet Malachi (Mal 4:5).

‘Why,’ the disciples ask the Lord, ‘do the scribes say, that Elijah must come first, that is, before the revelation of the Messiah, when we have seen that You are the Messiah, without Elijah having come?’ The Lord answers their question, He takes it seriously. He does the same with our questions.

The Lord answers that Elijah will certainly come first. The scribes are correct in this. He confirms the words of prophecy. At the same time, he adds that Elijah will restore all things. The effect of Elijah’s coming is to restore all things. The Son of Man is also yet to come, that is to say, in glory. The Lord speaks about that coming in glory.

But before He will come in that way, it is necessary that He is presented to the people as the promised Messiah to see if the people will accept Him. Now He has come in humiliation to His people to test them. The result is that He is rejected, as God has prophesied in the prophets. Because John the baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Lk 1:17), the Lord Jesus can say that Elijah has already come. But also John as His forerunner (Isa 40:3-5; Mal 3:1; not: Mal 4:5-6) was rejected.

After this explanation, the disciples understand that in John the baptist Elijah has already come, but that the people as a whole did not listen to his message and were therefore not ready to receive the Messiah.