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"He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the
Lord, as said the prophet Esaias" (John 1: 23).
Nevertheless, every reader of the N.T. knows that John only partly fulfilled this
prophecy of Isaiah. It is important that we should know not only what the Scriptures
teach on any given subject, but in what part of the Scriptures the teaching is found, and
this is true of the teaching concerning John the Baptist.
In Matt. 3: there is no hesitancy, no proviso: John's ministry might easily have
fulfilled the prophecy of Isa. 40:, but we find that, so far from this being the case, John is
thrown into prison, and himself began to hesitate at the turn of events (Matt. 11:). After
the Baptist had been cast into prison, the Lord opened His public ministry, and endorsed
the announcement of His forerunner:
"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4: 17).
but following His rejection (Matt. 11:-13:) a dividing line is reached, and the Lord makes
a new revelation:
"From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must
go into Jerusalem, and suffer . . . . . be killed . . . . . raised again the third day"
(Matt. 16: 21).
and the next reference to John the Baptist has a different aspect, introducing somewhat of
mystery, where before all was straight-forward. The disciples asked the Lord:
"Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come? And Jesus answered and said
unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things" (Matt. 17: 10, 11).
The Scribes were right. Elijah indeed cometh, but John was already dead. Elijah
indeed cometh first, and shall restore all things. This, John the Baptist never did. All
flesh did not, then, see the glory of the Lord.
Three statements relative to John the Baptist and Elijah are given in the N.T. Taken
separately they appear to contradict one another; taken together they manifest a uniting
principle.
(1) John said he was not Elijah, but "the voice" of Isa. 40:
"Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not" (John 1: 21).
(2) The Saviour said that John was Elijah.
"This is Elijah, which was for to come" (Matt. 11: 14).
"Elijah is come already, and they knew him not . . . . . the disciples understood that He
spake unto them of John the Baptist" (Matt. 17: 12, 13).