THE LIFE OF CHRIST - THE MINISTRY OF WITHDRAWALS

Fourth Withdrawal

-Questions About the Resurrection and Elijah

-Matthew 17:9-13; Mark 9:9-13; Luke 9:36

-While coming down from the mountain, Jesus instructed the three apostles not to tell about the

  transfiguration they had just witnessed until after His resurrection.

            -Upon receiving these instructions, the apostles continued their wonderment regarding the

              death and resurrection Jesus spoke of.

            -“The vision seems to have been to give them now a vision of the future glory.  They could

              not now understand or take in its meaning; but after his resurrection, they remembered it,

              understood it, and it made the prophecies concerning Jesus more sure to them, and gave an

              illustration of the appearance of the Son of God in the glorified body; so that we may have

              a clearer idea of what we shall be when we see him as he is, and are thereby transformed

              into the likeness of the Son of God” (Dorris, pg 209).

-Having just seen Elijah, the apostles asked Jesus about a popular teaching among the scribes

  regarding Elijah.

            -The scribes taught that Malachi spoke in a literal sense in Malachi 4:5-6.  Therefore, they

              taught that Elijah would literally return.  However, Malachi was using Elijah’s name in

              a figurative sense to describe John the Baptizer.  (see Luke 1:17)

-Jesus indicated that the prophecy had been fulfilled and the apostles then knew that He spoke of

  John.  He then told the apostles that, just as John had come and was killed by men, such would

  also be the case for Himself. 

            -In this we see that Jesus continued to teach the apostles regarding His upcoming death.