• CTD009 Was John the Baptist the Elijah who was to come?

    Jesus regards John the Baptist as the prophesied Elijah, indicating a symbolic mission, but John denies this identity literally, according to John 1:19-21. This distinction between mission and personal identity clarifies an apparent biblical contradiction.

    Matthew 17.10-13 (King James Version) :
    And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
    King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org
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    Level: Intermediate Level: Intermediate