But I say unto you, That Elijah has indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they desired, as it is written of him.
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Bede
AD 735
Or thus; the disciples thought that the change which they had seen in Him in the mount, was His transformation to glory; and they say, If Thou hast already come in glory, wherefore doth not Thyforerunner appear? chiefly because they had seen Elias go away.
Or this, “And how it is written; "that is, in the same way as the prophets have written many things in various places concerning the Passion of Christ, Elias also, when he comes, is to suffer many things, and to be despised by the wicked.
He calls John Elias, not because he was Elias in person, but because he fulfilled the ministry of Elias; for as the latter will be the forerunner of the second advent, so the former has been that of the first.
This, which is peculiar to Mark, means, that when death shall have been swallowed up in victory, we shall have no memory for the former things. It goes on, “And they asked Him, saying, "Why say the Scribes that Elias must first come?”
Hom. in Matt., 56: Where He not only orders them to be silent, but mentioning His Passion, He implies the causewhy they were to be silent.
Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: But they, being ignorant of the mystery of the resurrection, took hold of that saying, and disputed one with another. Wherefore there follows, “And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.”.
The design of the disciples in asking this question seems to me to be this. We indeed have seen Elias withThee, and have seen Thee before seeing Elias, but the Scribes say that Eliascometh first; we therefore believe that they have lied.
Hom. in Matt. 57: But what Christ answered to this, is seen by what follows, “And He answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things;” in which He shows that Elias will come before His second advent. For the Scriptures declare two advents of Christ, namely, one which has taken place, and another which is ...
Which He did lest men should be offended, hearing such glorious things of Him Whom they were about to see crucified. It was not therefore fitting to say such things of Christ before He suffered, but after His resurrection they were likely to be believed.
Now the Lord puts this forward to oppose the notion of the Pharisees, who held that Elias was the forerunner of the first advent, shewing that it led them to a false conclusion; wherefore he subjoins, “And how it is written of the Son of man, that He must suffer many things, and be set at nought.” As if He had said, When Elias theTishbite cometh, he will pacify the Jews, and will bring them to the faith, and thus be the forerunner of the second advent. If then Elias is the forerunner of the first advent, how is it written that the Son of man must suffer? One of these two things therefore will follow; either that Elias is not the forerunner of the first advent, and thus the Scripture will be true; or that he is the forerunner of the fir...
