I've heard it said that one reason people in Haifa can
coexist in relative peace is because Moses never came here, Jesus never came
here, and Mohammed never came here. However, Elijah – an important figure in
Judaism, Christianity and Islam – did spend quite a bit of time in these hills.
And if you travel around the area enough you will find various memorials, holy
sites, and tributes to this great prophet. A discussion at an inter-faith event
at one of these sights this spring prompted me to think about this question:
who was Elijah to the writers of the New Testament? How is he portrayed by
these early followers of Yeshua? Who did they understand him to be, and how did
they understand his role and relevance to their lives?
As time passes, heroes of the past tend to be idealized or
particular aspects of them are remembered more than others. In later Jewish
tradition, Elijah is seen as the prophet who heralds the Messiah’s coming,
makes surprise visits to people, works miracles, makes amends for an unjust
sufferer, or even acts almost like an intermediate commentator between the
sages and the divine. He also makes an appearance in the Qur’an in a recounting
of his showdown with the priests of Ba’al.
There are 10 distinct mentions of Elijah in the New
Testament. Of these, 7 are in a narrative context and 3 are in a context I
would call homiletic. Here are the references. Below, I include some of my
observations and interpretations of the individual passages to give some context
for my conclusions.
Narrative
- The annunciation of John the Baptizer’s birth (Luke 1:2-25)
- During John the Baptizer’s ministry (John 1:21-27)
- Account of John the Baptizer in prison (Matthew 11:2-9 cf. Luke 7:18-30)
- Rumors about Yeshua's identity (Mark 6:14-15, Luke 9:7-8)
- Peter’s confession of Yeshua as the Messiah (Matthew 16:13-16, Mark 8:27-29, Luke 9:18-20)
- The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36)
- Yeshua’s crucifixion (Matthew
27:45-50, Mark 15:33-37)Homiletic
- Yeshua rejected in Nazareth (Luke 4:23-27)
- Paul writing about the remnant of Israel (Romans 11:1-6)
- James writing about the power of prayer (James 5:13-18)
These passages paint an interesting picture of who Elijah
was understood to be at the time of Yeshua and the first apostles. In the
narrative passages, Elijah is portrayed as the archetypal prophet who when
placed alongside Yeshua magnifies his glory. These stories highlight several
roles of Elijah including the herald of Messiah, the restorer of all things,
and the unexpected visitor. Although there is the expectation that Elijah is
yet to herald Messiah’s coming in glory, his role heralding Yeshua’s first
coming is accomplished through John the Baptizer. It is almost as if in John
the Baptizer, Elijah is here as a visitor in disguise. These stories also deal
with the people’s expectations of Elijah, mainly that he vindicates the
unjustly accused, works miracles, and brings purity (through immersion).
The homiletic passages each draw on a particular aspect of a
story of Elijah to support a point. When Yeshua was teaching in the Nazareth
synagogue, he focuses on Elijah’s mission and audience in comparison with his
own. In the epistles, the writers emphasize the common nature of Elijah making
him relatable to their readers. Overall, though, these passages focus more on
God’s work in the situations than on Elijah himself. In general, Elijah is
portrayed as the archetypal prophet who despite his legendary status is similar
and relatable to the reader.
For the most part, the narrative passages deal with Elijah
as described in the prophets, while the homiletic passages deal with truths
from the stories of Elijah’s life. So how did the New Testament believers see
Elijah? He is portrayed as a visitor with a message of restoration and the
coming of the Messiah. He is also a reminder that we serve the same God that
makes him a great prophet. Therefore, Elijah’s greatness primarily serves to
magnify the greatness of the Lord Yeshua.
As an addendum, here are some of my observations and
thoughts on the individual passages:
Narrative
- The connection between John and Elijah is a paraphrase of Malachi 4:5 [3:23] in that he will “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.”
- His role is restoration.
- He will come “in the spirit and power of Elijah” meaning that John possesses his role and his authority even if he is not Elijah himself.
- John says that he is not Elijah, but he connects himself to Isaiah’s voice crying out in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. However this is still the task given to Elijah in Malachi.
- The people ask him why he is baptizing if he is not the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet. This implies that Elijah was expected to baptize when he comes bringing purity.
- Yeshua identifies John with the herald of the Messiah described in Malachi 3:1 (a different verse from the prophecy of the coming of Elijah)
- Yeshua also says, “if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come” (Matt 11:14). There are several similarities between John and Elijah including his clothes and mannerisms and being aloof from society – almost like a renegade. As Elijah is the archetypal prophet (at least for his era), so John is “a prophet” and “more than a prophet”. As Elijah did, John struggles with the seemingly unfair unfolding of God’s justice. Though he is in prison and doubts the advent of the Kingdom of Yeshua who he had announced, he is reassured by Yeshua pointing to more subtle signs of the Kingdom even as Elijah was encouraged by God speaking in the whisper.
- Some say that Yeshua is Elijah because he is working miracles. This reflects an expectation that Elijah will come with miracles bringing good news. This is not unlike the tradition that Elijah wanders the world visiting people and working miracles.
- Yeshua’s actions fit with the people’s prophetic expectations of Elijah. However Yeshua’s glory is magnified by a comparison of lesser to greater.
- Elijah and Moses appear with Yeshua. He is a representative of the Prophets affirming his support of Yeshua as the Messiah. There is also a connection with the tradition of Elijah as a visitor and the ushpizin of Sukkot when Peter asks to build sukkot for the three of them.
- Matthew and Mark then include a second dialogue which connects Elijah with John the Baptist. The question revolves around rabbinic authority and why Elijah must come. Yeshua affirms that this interpretation is correct and gives two answers to the question: 1) “Elijah does come and will restore all things” 2) “Elijah has already come.” His coming is tied with the coming of Messiah. Each time the Messiah comes, Elijah will herald him. In his first coming in humility, Elijah comes almost in disguise in the person of John the Baptizer, but the people did not recognize him. This connects with later traditions of Elijah visiting people in disguise and also with the fact that they did not recognize the Messiah either. In his second coming, it will be in glory, like that of Messiah, in which he will “restore all things.” This will be like the glimpse we just saw during the transfiguration.
- Therefore, Elijah has already come in spirit and power through the work of John the Baptizer, but he will come in glory to herald Messiah’s final triumphant entry.
- Yeshua’s cry of “Eli, Eli” is mistaken to be a call for Eliyahu, and the people wait and see if Elijah will come and rescue him.
- But why would they expect Elijah to rescue Yeshua? In later tradition, Elijah would sometimes affirm legal decisions or make amends for an unjust sufferer. So it could be that the crowd expects that if Yeshua was suffering unjustly, Elijah would be the one to come and vindicate him. An ironic element to this interpretation is that the Elijah figure – John the Baptizer – had previously been unjustly imprisoned and beheaded.
Homiletic
- Yeshua, while teaching in the synagogue, responds to the sentiment of the people who want to see a miraculous sign but will not actually believe him. He uses the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-24) to illustrate the point that a prophet has no honor in his hometown. He focuses on the fact that Elijah was sent to a Gentile woman rather than an Israelite.
- Why does Yeshua appeal to Elijah (and Elisha) here? Because Elijah is very much tied up with the fate of Israel (heralding the Messiah, in later tradition visiting the faithful of Israel), there is a stark contrast in him being sent specifically to a Gentile family. Yeshua uses this fact to parallel his own ministry. He is very tied up with the fate of Israel as well, but upon his rejection he will take his message beyond their town.
- In arguing that God has not rejected Israel, Paul appeals to the story of Elijah’s discouragement when fleeing from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:9-18). As with Elijah in that time, so it is today. We may see Israel’s rejection of Messiah as hopeless, but God reminds us that there is always a faithful remnant and that He is the one who accomplishes this miracle.
- This is a short passage without much explanation arguing that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. He refers to Elijah’s prayers for drought and rain in 1 Kings 17:1 and 18:41-45. He uses the figure of Elijah as an example of someone who prayed and saw miraculous things happen. Even though he is a legendary Biblical hero, he is also a man just like us. Therefore, by faith our prayers can be just as powerful and effective.
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