Evaluation And Elijah
As we have come to the final day of the week and the conclusion of this most searching time, we give our Heavenly Father thanks for bringing us to this mind and heart. Even before we are taken into the conclusion, we are being prompted, to look at ourselves in relation to our Heavenly Father’s will for us, where His Son Jesus is concerned.
Is it not God’s will that we:-
Reaffirm Jesus as God’s pleasing Son? This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Matthew 3: 17b.
Respect Jesus as God’s Son? This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Matthew 17: 5b.
Refrain from listening to all carnal reasoning and listen to Jesus alone? Listen to him! Matthew 17: 5c
It is in this attitude of response that we conclude, receiving from our main text. Here is the text. He is Elijah. And still others claimed, He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago. Mark 6: 15.
Evaluation – These people know about Elijah through education, and through stories which have been passed down through the ages, about him. They have never met Elijah, as they never lived in his time. However, they have seen Jesus and many have met Him. They have seen Him healing and helping all kinds of people. They see how demons bow to Him and diseases leave people at His command. They observe how He does not allow the law to stop Him from doing His Father’s business. They see this Man from Galilee and they see in Him, not a likeness of their great prophet, but their great prophet himself. They have evaluated all that they are now seeing, with all that they have been taught, and make the bold pronouncement. He is Elijah.
Check it out carefully. These people are not thinking to themselves, either inwardly or out aloud, what their thoughts are. There are no speculations here. They are firm in their belief that the Man from Nazareth, is Elijah.
Let’s delve a bit more into what these Jews would have known about Elijah of, Olden Times, and what they now see, in Modern Times, in the Man called Jesus. Three images have been singled out to bring before us.
Elijah’s Presence. He was bold to stand before hundreds of prophets and their many gods, and take full charge of the situation, never for one moment doubting that God would not bring his word to fruition. His presence always made a significant difference in any setting, any crowd. Jesus is on the scene and they see the same energy and difference when Jesus is around. In His presence, nothing of evil, deceit or any kind of darkness, can live and thrive. Like Elijah, in His Presence there is boldness. They see a Man who is not afraid to speak what He is given to say.
Elijah’s Power. Elijah was a prophet who was given, by God, supernatural powers of unspeakable weight and scope. He spoke, and the impossible happened. His was no one off power, for this was who the man was, in God. They saw this exact thing in Jesus. They saw, in this Galilean, unmatched power, which was His daily walk and work. He spoke and things happened, impossible things by any human standard.
Elijah’s Prayers. They have read about Elijah’s prayers to God, how intimate, unwavering, sure and confident he was in speaking to God. There was never any tentativeness or doubting in his attitude, whenever he approached his God. He spoke with God as one closely bound in friendship. Elijah was never not heard by God and so prayer for him, was his vital breath. To say that Jesus was Elijah was quite simple, for they saw and heard Jesus in public prayer to Father God. Jesus never was afraid or hesitant in prayer, because of His divine relationship, His unity with God. They saw how Father God always heard, affirmed and stood with Jesus in prayer. They saw how prayer was Jesus’ vital breath.
We may conclude that the supernatural power seen and heard in the works and words from the old days of Prophet Elijah, were being evidenced, brought back, in the Rabbi Jesus. However, Jesus was not Elijah.
What are we longing for, when we think of the good old days of powerful gospel preaching and teaching? What do we desire, when we think of God’s servants, who were powerful in words and works?
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