Are You Elijah?

In Malachi 4:5-6, God’s final word before the time of Christ arrived is recorded. In it, He proclaimed that He would send Elijah the prophet to restore the people to Himself for their spiritual good. In Matthew 11:14, Jesus referenced that prophecy and identified John as the prophesied Elijah. Bible readers might scratch their heads upon arriving at John 1:21, then, because John was asked directly, “Are you Elijah?” to which he responded, “I am not.” How can John be Elijah yet respond that he is not Elijah when asked directly about it?

The answer to this question deals with the intent of these two statements. Jesus announced that John was the prophesied Elijah, but the Jews asked something slightly different. Based on John’s negative answer, they were asking a literal question. They wanted to know if John was Elijah returned to earth again.

Of course, John was not Elijah in that sense. He had to answer no, but as Jesus correctly assessed, John was the fulfillment of God’s prophecy. Luke’s account helps clarify the difference, saying in Luke 1:16-17, “And [John] will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Luke provides a critical explanatory link between the statements of Jesus and John about John’s identity and the prophecies he was fulfilling. John was not literally Elijah reincarnated, but was the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, and he shared some characteristics with Elijah in his manner of life and demeanor in ministry.