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"The disciples asked Him, `Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must
come first?'. Jesus replied, `To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I
tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him
everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their
hands'." (Matt. 17: 10-12, N.I.V.).
Three of the disciples had just seen Elijah, but the Messiah had come first and the
prophet had not come in person. Yet the Lord insisted that he had come in the purifying
and restoring ministry of John the Baptist, thus identifying him with the promise in
Malachi. John was Elijah in spirit and ministry as foretold at his birth.
This is another example of how the fulfillment of prophecy can be contingent as
regards time. It must be fulfilled if a God of truth has spoken it, but the timing may
depend upon the reactions of those to whom it is addressed. At last the disciples
understood (13) and the Lord adds that He is going to be treated in the same way as John.
They killed the Baptist as shortly they will the Son of Man.
As they approached the crowd, a demon-possessed boy, who had symptoms like
epilepsy, was brought to the Lord. It was evidently a severe case, so much so that the
disciples could not heal him. And yet, at their commission, the Lord Jesus had given
them the ability to cast out demons (10: 8), so what had gone wrong?
The Lord first addresses the crowd, "O unbelieving perverse generation". They were
a fair representation of the nation at large. The word translated perverse means distorted,
twisted in two. How could such ever understand the truth that He was making known?
"How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?" He asked. Here
was weariness and a small insight given as to the cost of someone Who is utterly holy
having to live and have dealings with sinful and perverse men. This is something that we
can never fully appreciate. The Lord now casts out the demon and delivers the boy. The
disciples want to know why they had failed to do so. They ask the Lord, Who puts His
finger on the reason straight away and says "because of your unbelief". The word means
"little faith". The fault lay in their minds. They were trusting too much in themselves
and their own ability, and therefore too little in Christ. How easy it is for self-confidence
to come in suddenly and dominate our thoughts! The Bible makes perfectly clear how
destructive unbelief can be. It limits God; no wonder then that we read "without faith it
is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11: 6).
The disciples' faith was so small that it could not be represented by the tiny mustard
seed (17: 20). Had they had this, they could have removed mountains of difficulties.
Nothing would then be impossible and this reminds us of Phil. 4: 13 "I can do
everything through Him Who gives me strength" (N.I.V.).
The Lord now tells them again of His approaching death and resurrection (17: 22,
23) with the result that they were filled with grief. Not yet had they appreciated or
understood the fact of His resurrection and what it involved. This was not fully grasped
until after this mighty event.