The Elijah ministry of John the Baptist.
The disciples were perplexed at what they saw on the Mount of the Transfiguration. There Elijah appeared with Moses in conversation with Christ, and the vision recalled to mind the familiar expectation of the Jews that the prophet should precede the advent of Christ. Was this the coming of Elijah? Surely not, for it was but a momentary visit in a solitary place. Yet if Elijah had not come first, how could the Christ have come? Thus the disciples were troubled in mind till their Master explained the situation by pointing to the mission of John the Baptist.
I. THE ADVENT OF CHRIST NEEDED TO BE HERALDED BY AN ELIJAH MINISTRY. The word "must" points to more than the fulfilment of prophecy. There was a necessity in the very nature of the case. Except Elijah came first Christ could not come.
1. Inferior ministries prepare for higher ministries. Elijah was great, but not so great as Christ. The prophets were all of them less than the Saviour. The Law was not equal to the gospel. Yet the lower and earlier ministries, with which all of these were associated, made the way ready for the coming of Christ.
2. Awakening must precede regeneration. Christ came to bring new life to the world. No Elijah could confer such a gift on his fellow men. But, in order to receive it, men must be awake and attentive. The earlier ministry rouses; it breaks up the fallow ground; thus it prepares for the later seed sowing.
3. Repentance must come before forgiveness. The grace of the gospel is net for the impenitent. Some influence must melt the stubborn heart if the kindly blessings of Christ are to be received into it.
II. THE ELIJAH MINISTRY MAY COME AND YET BE REJECTED. It was so in the case of John the Baptist, at least on the part of a considerable portion of the Jews.
1. There is no compulsion in the Divine ministries. We may accept them, and then they will bring us blessings. But we may reject them, though to our cost. After all, man is more than the soil through which the plough is driven; for he may arrest the instrument that would prepare him for the seed sowing, or he may harden himself against it.
2. The most needed Divine ministry may not come in the form we are expecting. The people looked for Elijah, and Elijah came; yet they did not recognize him. We may read the Bible too literally. Prophecy is not fulfilled in pedantic, verbal exactitude. The spirit of the prediction is verified in the event, but not in the form in which the prediction was first recorded. We blunder in blindness if we fail to welcome the Baptist because we are looking for Elijah.
III. CHRIST OPENS HIS DISCIPLES' EYES TO THE FULFILMENT OF GOD'S PURPOSES IN THE ELIJAH MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.
1. It is well to bring our difficulties to Christ. The disciples were not ashamed to own their perplexity, nor too proud to ask for light. Our Lord will accept confidence in regard to the doubts that trouble us.
2. Jesus Christ understands the Divine purposes. They were obscure to the disciples; but to him they were quite clear. Therefore when we cannot see all we may trust him. The captain knows the route over the seas that are all unknown to the passengers.
3. Our Lord reveals needful truths concerning the Divine purposes, He gave his disciples an explanation. His whole life and teaching are luminous with revelation.—W.F.A.