Matthew 11:14-15
KJV: And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. NCV: And if you will believe what they said, you will believe that John is Elijah, whom they said would come. You people who can hear me, listen!
John the Baptist was the promised Elijah. John was to come first before the Messiah. John was Elijah, the fulfillment of the last prophecy of the Old Testament: “Behold, I send you Elijah” [Malachi]. God gave the clue; someone likes Elijah. Note: John was not Elijah in person, but he was like Elijah in spirit and power and work [Jn.1:21-23].
Some believe that John was the promised Elijah and some do not. Everyone knows the story of Elijah and he was an illustration of what John the Baptist would be like. This is what Jesus was talking about: “If ye will receive it.” To receive the truth means that a person also has to receive Jesus as the Messiah, the One whom John predicted. Jesus encouraged the people to listen to Him.
Dorothy: There was a reason why Jesus brought up John, the promised Elijah. The rest of the story from Matthew 11:16-24 related to the generations who did not believe John was the Elijah and then they could not believe Jesus was the Messiah either. They accused John as the devil and they also accused Jesus several bad things. Jesus mentioned the greater judgment falls on them because some of them did not believe that God had send a “forerunner,” the one came to announce the coming Messiah. God’s anger falls on those who do not believe that Christ is the Messiah. The word Messiah means “The Anointed One.” I have come to love this, “The Messiah!” Let us believe His Word and trust Him. Here’s a song to encourage us to sing, “I Believe God.”
I believe God, I believe God,
Ask what ye will and it shall be done.
Trust and obey, believe Him and say,
“I believe, I believe God.”
