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Matthew 17:11: Difference between revisions
→Why did John deny that he was Elijah?
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==Why did John deny that he was Elijah?== | ==Why did John deny that he was Elijah?== | ||
In John 1:19-23, John the Baptist denies that he is Elijah: | |||
:''And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? '''Art thou Elias?''' And he saith, '''I am not.''' Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Jn 1:19–23.</ref> | |||
There was a sense in which John was Elijah and a sense in which he was not. He fulfilled all the preliminary ministry that Malachi had foretold (Luke 1:17), and thus in a very real sense Jesus could say that he was Elijah. | There was a sense in which John was Elijah and a sense in which he was not. He fulfilled all the preliminary ministry that Malachi had foretold (Luke 1:17), and thus in a very real sense Jesus could say that he was Elijah. | ||