Matthew 17:9-13 9And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, “Tell no one the vision, until when the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 10And the disciples asked him saying, “Then why do the scribes say that it is necessary for Elijah to come first?” 11And answering he said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things. 12But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer by them.” 13Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them about John the Baptist.
Jesus calls again for secrecy from his inner circle of disciples about his special identity (see 16:20). He again mentions his future resurrection. The disciples seemed to have had trouble remembering or at least understanding his references to resurrection.
Jesus’ favorite self-designation was Son of Man, which hints at his earthly nature as Immanuel. This is the Son of God that people can experience. The disciples and those of the first century experienced the Son of Man as the humble man from Galilee. One day, all creation will witness the coming of the Alpha and Omega on the clouds of heaven. Although Jesus was on his way to the cross, with all of its suffering and pain, he looked beyond this to his resurrection. He had full confidence and hope in the power of the Father to raise him from death.
Verse 10 hints that the disciples were still confused and got caught up in seeing Elijah on the mountain. They had just seen Elijah and wondered what part Elijah had in the ministry of Jesus. The scribes had studied the Hebrew Scriptures, such as Malachi , and believed that Elijah would come before the Messiah. Jesus points out that the Scripture had been fulfilled. He does not mention how here, but elsewhere (11:14) he pointed out how John the Baptist was the Elijah to come. The disciples figure this out after Jesus speaks (verse 13). John came to prepare the way and had a ministry like Elijah’s. He called people to repent and prepare their hearts for God.
The Jewish leaders and others (the generic they) did not recognize John as the prophesied Elijah-like prophet, otherwise, they would have repented and prepared their hearts for the Messiah. Just as people ignored John, they will ignore Jesus. The New Testament does not say how John suffered from the Jews, since he was imprisoned and eventually killed by Herod. The Jews would treat Jesus even worse. The disciples seem still to be clueless. This is one of those deep experiences that only makes sense later on. We can now see the full story from our vantage point. Those who read Matthew must make a choice about accepting or rejecting the identity of Jesus.
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