Lange Commentary - Matthew 17:10 - 17:13

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Lange Commentary - Matthew 17:10 - 17:13


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D. The Church as wholly unknown and hidden. Mat_17:10-13

(Mar_9:11-13.)

10And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias [Elijah] 11must first come? And Jesus [he] answered and said unto them, Elias [Elijah] trulyshall first come [cometh], and [shall] restore all things. 12But I say unto you, That Elias [Elijah] is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him [with him, ἐí áὐôῷ ] whatsoever they listed [would, ἠèÝëçóáí ]: likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of [by, ὑð ̓] them. 13Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Mat_17:10. Why then?—Although the particle ïû ̓ í seems at first sight to connect this query with the preceding prohibition of Christ (Meyer), it rather refers to the fact that Elijah had departed, and was not accompanying them (Grotius, Michaelis, Fritzsche, Olshausen, and the author in his “Leben Jesu”). Euth. Zigaben., and others, erroneously interpret the clause: Why did Elijah not come before Thee (not till now)?—Equally untenable is the view of Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Neander, who understand it as implying the inquiry, whether the appearance of Elijah which had just taken place was that to which the scribes referred, or whether another was till to be expected. Still more erroneous is the glossary of Schleiermacher and others, that the disciples remarked that Elijah had not yet appeared. Light-foot observes (on the passage): It was expected that Elijah should come and settle the controversies pending between the various Jewish schools, bring back the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod, and sanctify the people by a lustration.

Mat_17:11. Elijah truly shall first come, or lit. and according to the true reading: Elijah indeed cometh.—Jesus confirmed this doctrine, which was based on Mal_3:13; Mal_4:5. He adds: êáὶ ἀðï êáôá óôÞóåé ðÜíôá , “which is derived (says de Wette correctly) and somewhat enlarged from Mal_4:6, ‘he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers’ (compare Luk_1:17); and Mat_3:1, ‘and he shall prepare the way before Me’ (Luk_3:4). Properly speaking, the áðïêáôÜóôáóéò ðÜíôùí (according to the Sept. Mal_4:6), comp. Act_3:21, is specially the work of the Messiah, and Elijah could only be said to prepare the way for it.” Of course the expression must be understood as merely implying such a preparation. Meyer: A restitutio in integrum of the position and circumstances of the theocracy, which was to be effected by the Messiah, and prepared and introduced by Elijah.—In the confirmatory reply of Christ, the present Ý ̓ ñ÷åôáé is used in the tense of the future, while the future tense in the next clause indicates that the Lord enters into this dogma. Hence it is not incompatible with what follows: “Elijah is already come.”

Mat_17:12. But I say unto you.—A more distinct explanation of the disclosure which He had already made on an earlier occasion, Mat_11:14. Hence we conclude that the prophecy of Malachi concerning the advent of Elijah was fulfilled, in the proper sense, in the appearance of John the Baptist, who had accomplished the preparatory ἀðïêáôÜóôáóéò by his preaching of repentance, by his testimony to Jesus and by pointing his disciples to Him, as well as by his martyrdom.

They knew him not.—In his peculiar character as the forerunner of the Messiah (or in respect of the fulfilment of the prophecy concerning Elijah). The persons here alluded to were his contemporaries generally, more especially the scribes ( Mat_17:10). Comp. Matthew 11.

Done unto him, or better: with him.— ÉÉïéåῖí Ý ̓ í ôéíé , not classical, taken from the Septuagint, Gen_40:14; Dan_11:7; [Luke 33:39].—Whatever they would, ὅóáἠèÝëçóáí .—In wilful apostasy from their living connection with the prophets, and in opposition to the obedience due to him. A prelude this to the similar and decisive rejection of the Messiah Himself.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. On the fulfilment of the prophecy of Malachi, see the preceding notes and Matthew 11. Otto von Gerlach remarks: “It refers to the ministry of one or more messengers of God, in the spirit and power of Elijah. In this sense, Elijah had reappeared in John and in the same sense will another Elijah precede the second coming of the Lord.” But we must maintain: 1. That the prophecy of Malachi was distinctly fulfilled in John the Baptist. 2. That in the same sense no other Elijah can come, as the Old Covenant, which both represented, is abrogated by the gospel.—Still, in every age, the Lord has His forerunners of the order of Elijah, and especially before His final appearance.

2. On descending from the mountain, the fact of Christ’s future sufferings is immediately brought forward again. Gladly would the disciples have taken the glorified spirits down with them into the conflict with the unbelief of the world. The question seems to have haunted their minds, Could not Elijah prevent the impending conflict and sufferings? To this mental objection, Christ replied, according to Mark, “How it is written of the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things, and be set at nought.” In other words, they were to read the prediction concerning Elijah in the light of those concerning the Son of Man. Then follows the declaration: Elijah is indeed come; but, so far from preventing the sufferings of the Messiah, he himself has fallen in the service and ministry of God. From this the disciples might infer what His future would be. And now, more than ever before, were they to feel that they were about to witness the most solemn and awful conflict, and that a deep abyss of suffering, into which they were immediately to descend, intervened between the old and the new order of things.

3. All mere traditionalism and ritualism are here denounced as arbitrary will-worship, and a demoniacal service of the flesh and of self. The blessed spirits who represented genuine and divine tradition—the prophets, restorers and reformers of the kingdom of God—received the same treatment at the hands of these guardians of outward and legal traditionalism, as civilized men do who land on inhospitable shores, inhabited by savages and cannibals. In short, they failed to understand and see what their own symbols implied, nor did they acknowledge their living embodiments, because their will was perverted, and, while feigning the strictest adherence to the letter of the law, they in reality served the will of the flesh.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The fresh perplexities of the disciples on descending from the Mount of Transfiguration.—After the barrier which separates this life from the other has fallen, the deep abyss of the cross opens, intervening between the old and the new order of things.—How the scribes by their false literality perverted even the word of God into traditions, and transformed it into dangerous error.—The Scripture has been fulfilled in a much wider sense than that elicited by the dead learning of the letter only.—How traditionalism fails to recognize Elijah, even while studying his description as given in the word.—Self-seeking under the garb of traditionalism.—The true Church of the Lord hidden and unknown amidst the old and formal community of Israel.—The great messengers of God, known only by report in the world: 1. They were announced, but not properly expected. 2. They came, but were despised and ill-treated. 3. While actually in the world, their future coming was still expected with fanatical anticipations.—Even in this world, a distance wide as the poles intervenes between the children of God and the servants of the devil.—Traditionalism persecuting and murdering the living prophets, and at the same time adorning the graves of the old prophets whom their fathers had murdered (Mat_23:29).—The glorious day of God is hid in this mortal life from the children of darkness.—Elijah had just been among them; yet they still continued to expect and to teach that Elijah would come. All God’s dealings and works are spiritual, and pass by unknown and unnoticed on account of the carnal services which men mistake for the reality.—The spirit of true religion, and a dead ministry and services.—John the Baptist the Elijah of his age: 1. The affinity of their character; 2. of their mission; 3. of their success (Elijah prepared the way for the Messianic prophecies—John, for Christ Himself).—The age of Elijah and that of John 1. The external difference between them (in the one case, unbelief and apostasy from the law; in the other, traditionalism). 2. Their internal agreement (in the one case, worldliness, apostasy, and hatred of the prophets; in the other, obduracy against the voice and reproofs of the Spirit).—The sufferings of John a foretaste of the sufferings of Christ.—Preserve in your hearts the blessed mystery of the Mount of Transfiguration, and then boldly descend into the terrors of the valley.

Starke:—Majus: We must not take in a literal sense what is intended to be spiritually understood in Holy Writ, as this would necessarily give rise to errors.—Quesnel: There never was an age which had not its Elijah, zealous and jealous for the honor of God; but woe to him who stops his ears!—The world knows not the children and the servants of God, 1Jn_3:1.—All witnesses to the truth must suffer sorrow, ignominy, and tribulation, Act_14:22.—Jesus the best expositor of Scripture.

Heubner:—All preachers of repentance are forerunners of Christ.—Great men have commonly the same fate.—From the fate of His forerunner, the Lord Jesus might anticipate what awaited Himself.— ἈðïêáèéóôÜíáé , i.e., to restore the ancient, divine, and original order of things. But the main point is, to determine the right date, and what the genuine original really is.—Thus we are to go back for our authority to the time of the Apostles, and not, like the Roman Catholics, to the state of things immediately before the Reformation.

Footnotes:

 Mat_17:10.— Éçóïῦò is omitted in Codd. B., D., L., Z., etc [also in Cod. Sinait., and in all the modern crit. editions See Tregelles and Alford.—P. S.]

Mat_17:11.— Áõôïῖò , unto them, is omitted in B., C., D., etc., and by Lachmann and Tischendorf. [The literal tranaslation, therefore, according to the oldest reading, would be: And He answering said.—P. S.]

Mat_17:11.— ÉÉ ñùôïí , first, is wanting in B.,D., and many other witnesses [also in Cod. Sinait.], and looks like a repetitious insertion from Mat_17:10 and Mar_9:12. [So also Meyer and Alford.]

Mat_17:11.—[ Çëßáò ìὲí Ý ̓ ñ÷åôáé êáὶ ἀðïêáôáóôÞóåé ðÜíôá ; Lange: Elias kommt freilich und wird Alles wi-derherntellen;, Ewald: Elia zwar kommt und wird Alles wieterherstellin; Conant: Elijah indeed comes and shall restore all things. The present tense in the first verb is simply an assertion of the certainty at the coming of Elijah without reference to the past or future, and involves, therefore, no contradiction with ῆäç ῆ ̓ ëèåí in Mat_17:12. The verb Ý ̓ ð÷åóèáé , however, like the English to come, and the German kommen, includes in the nature of the case the significance of the future tense, comp. Joh_4:23 : Ý ̓ ñ÷åôáé þ ̓ ñá êáὶ íῦí Ý ̓ óôéí ; Joh_4:21; Joh_14:8; Joh_16:2, and the part. præs. ὁ ἐñ÷üìåíïò of the Messiah, Mat_3:11, and the apocalyptic formula: ä ùí êáὶ ä çí êáὶ ä ἐñ÷üìåíïò . There is, therefore, no necessity whatever to resort in such cases, after the old fashion, to a supposed Hebraism, an arbitrary enallage temporum. which falls with the assumption that the Hebrew language uses promiscus the past for the future and vice versâ, an error which has been amply refuted by Ewald, Krit. Grammat., p. 523 sqq. Comp. also Winer’s Grammat., §40, p. 237; and Alex. Buttmann’s Grammat. des N. T. (Berlin, 1859), p. 176.—P. S.]

Mat_17:12.—[Better: already come, ἢäç Þ ̓ ëèåí .]

[Alford refers ïὖí to both, the withdrawal of Elijah from the eyes of the disciples, and the injunction of the Lord lot to tell the vision. How should this be? If this was not the coming of Elijah, was he yet to come? If it was, how was it so secret and so short[illegible]—P. S.]

[Lange: an ihm gethan]