The Old Testament ends with these words: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 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” (Malachi 4:5-6 ESV).
Jesus said, "I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased" (Matthew 17:12 ESV). Then Matthew makes it clear who this "Elijah" was, by saying: "Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist" (Matthew 17:13 ESV).
But it should not be thought that John the Baptist was Elijah, literally speaking. John himself denied this. When priests and Levites asked him, "Are you Elijah?", John said, "I am not" (John 1:19-21 NASB). "The Jews remembered that Elijah had not died (2 Ki 2:11) and believed that he would come back to earth to announce the end time. In this sense, John properly denied that he was Elijah" (Zondervan TNIV Study Bible).
But John the Baptist was Elijah in a spiritual sense. The angel Gabriel prophesied that John would go before Jesus "in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared" (Luke 1:17 ESV).
Notice many similarities between Elijah and John:
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Elijah stood up against a wicked king and his wife: Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 18:18; 21:20-24). |
John stood up against a wicked king and his wife: Herod Antipas and Herodias (Mark 6:18). |
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Jezebel wanted Elijah dead (1 Kings 19:2). |
Herodias wanted John dead (Mark 6:24). |
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Elijah pleaded with Israel to serve the Lord (1 Kings 18:21). |
John pleaded with Israel to serve the Lord (Matthew 3:1-12). |
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Elijah spent time in the wilderness (1 Kings 19:4). |
John spent time in the wilderness (Matthew 3:1). |
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Elijah seems to have battled depression (1 Kings 19:4). |
John seems to have battled depression (Luke 7:18-23). |
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Elijah was forerunner to an anointed prophet (1 Kings 19:16). |
John was forerunner to an anointed prophet (Acts 10:37-38; Luke 13:33). |
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Elijah went without food and drink (1 Kings 19:8). |
John went without food and drink (Matthew 11:18). |
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Elijah wore "a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist" (2 Kings 19:8 TNIV). |
John wore "a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist" (Matthew 3:4 NASB). |
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Elijah foretold of God's judgment (1 Kings 21:17-29; 2 Kings 9:36). |
John foretold of God's judgment (Matthew 3:10-12). |
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God spoke to Elijah (1 Kings 19:9-18; Rom. 11:4). |
God spoke to John (John 1:33). |
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Some people thought that Jesus was Elijah (Matthew 16:14). |
Some people thought that Jesus was John (Matthew 16:14). |
Of course, there were many differences between Elijah and John as well. For one thing, Elijah is known as a great miracle-worker. He increased the oil of the widow at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:14-16; Luke 4:25-26). He also raised that widow's son from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24). He called fire down on the soldiers of wicked king Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:10-12; Luke 9:54). And he parted the Jordan with his cloak (2 Kings 2:8). But, in sharp contrast, "John did no miracle" (John 10:41 KJV). For another thing, Elijah did not die, but rather chariots of fire and horses of fire parted him from Elisha, and he went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11)! In sharp contrast, poor John was beheaded in a prison (Mark 6:27).
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