Was John The Baptist The Second Elijah

INTRO

The one word we’re using for the book of Matthew is King. Yesterday, in Matthew 10, Jesus charged His 12 apostles with a mission to take His message to the lost sheep of Israel, as well as to cast out demons and heal the sick.

TEACHING

Matthew 11:1-3: As the disciples left to do what Jesus had assigned them to do, He also left to teach through the towns of Israel (v. 1). Everyone was on a mission at this time. John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard somehow what Jesus was doing. John the Baptist was put into prison for the accusations he had made against Herod and his wife (Luke 3:19-29). After Jesus heard about John’s arrest, He left for Galilee (Matthew 4:12).

John the Baptist had a specific image in his mind of who Jesus was because his whole life had been dedicated to preparing for Jesus’ coming. But as he sat in prison, he sent a message by his (John's) disciples to Jesus, asking for confirmation that Jesus was the One he had announced was coming, or was there someone else (v. 3). Why did John need this confirmation of Jesus’ identity?

1. Jesus was in Galilee, not Jerusalem where a new king would have ushered in the kingdom.
2. John was confused. In Matthew 3:11-12, John recognized that he was unworthy to even touch Jesus’ sandals.

But he expected Jesus to come with fire (Matthew 3:12), with authority and power. There’s a lot of evidence that the Messiah was expected in Jerusalem:

Ps 118:26: “He who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed. From the house of the Lord we bless you.

Mark 11:9b-10: “Hosanna! He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One! The coming kingdom of our father David is blessed! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Hebrews 10:37: "For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay."

John was not confused because of a lack of faith, but only because what he expected was not taking place when he expected it.

Matthew 11:4-6: Jesus answered John’s question by telling John’s disciples to report to him what they had heard and seen of Jesus’ work: “the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news” (v. 5). Jesus was going to gather witnesses and perform miracles so that John could be assured of Jesus’ role as the Messiah.

Isaiah 29:18-19: “On that day the deaf will hear the words of a document, and out of a deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The humble will have joy after joy in the Lord, and the poor people will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.”

This is a prophetic word from Isaiah about the Messiah, and Jesus was already walking out this prophecy. These are words that John the Baptist would have known, so Jesus performed all of these to make sure John understood the message. Isaiah 35:5-8 is an additional prophecy about the Messiah to come.

Matthew 11:7-10: As John’s disciples left, Jesus began to preach to the crowd around Him. Jesus asked the crowd what had drawn them to the wilderness to hear John preach. Possibly, He made fun of the “soft clothes” working in palaces. Jesus emphasized that John was a prophet and more. Jesus then quoted Malachi 3:1 to point to John as the one who had come to prepare the way for Him. John the Baptist had fulfilled his responsibility to prepare the people for Jesus coming.

Matthew 11:11-15: Jesus stated that no one was greater than John, but that “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (v. 11). MacArthur says that “John was greater than the Old Testament prophets because he actually saw with his eyes and personally participated in the fulfillment of what they only prophesied.”¹Malachi prophesied that one was to come––John the Baptist. Now, we’re in the kingdom of God and we can experience the prophetic word from the past, which makes us greater than John the Baptist. The lowest of the low (“the least”) is now greater than John the Baptist.

Verse 12b states, “The kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force.” MacArthur shares that John the Baptist, as a prophet crying out from the wilderness, aroused strong reactions from people.²message that the kingdom of heaven was near was met with such violence that John’s beheading was requested by Herod’s step-daughter as a birthday present (Matthew 14:6-12). This graphic description shows the tension between the prophets who were not backing down from their message of the One, Jesus, who was to come, and the enemy who would not back down either. And this will continue until the kingdom is actually ushered in. I will tell you that scholars have many different views on this; I’ve only presented one, so you’re welcome to continue to dig into this.

Verses 13-14 state that “all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John; if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.” There is no verse so clear that, if the Jews would accept the message that the kingdom of heaven is near, the kingdom would start. All the Jewish people had to do was simply say “Yes!” If they receive the message, then John becomes the prophetic fulfillment of the “second Elijah” prophecy. So, the question is, “Was John the Baptist the prophetic fulfillment of Elijah?”

MacArthur provides this biblical evidence that John the Baptist is this fulfillment: Malachi 4:5-6; Matthew 11:14; 16:14; 17:3, 9; 27:47-49; Mark 8:28; 9:4; Luke 1:17; 9:28; John 1:21.³In Isaiah 40:3, John the Baptist proclaimed what his role was and based on this evidence, MacArthur suggests that:

John the Baptist came in the “‘spirit and power of Elijah,’ and would have fulfilled prophecies, if they had believed.”⁴

John partially fulfilled Malachi 4:5-6.

Malachi 4:5-6 will be fulfilled literally when the Jews embrace the message of the kingdom of God.

When that happens, I don’t know, but I hope I’ll be alive to see it. Matthew 11:16 focuses on the Jews’ rejection of Jesus as the Messiah.

CLOSING

That’s a lot aboutJohn the Baptist as we cover Matthew 11, but my prayer is that some of this, at least a nugget, is new to you, and that all these pieces come together to paint a complete picture of the Messiah.