Knowing The Word in Matthew 17:9-13

Coming Down the Mountain

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” [Jesus was not there to lead an insurrection but to die, and this information they had from the vision would not be useful until after the resurrection.] 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him [the scribes’ eschatological timetable is wrong], but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.”[Their failure to recognize the returning Elijah as John the Baptist and his subsequent death will be the similar fate of Jesus.] 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.