Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 9:13
But I say unto you, That Elijah is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
13. That Elias is indeed come ] that is in the person of John the Baptist, to whom men acted even as it had been written of the persecution of the real Elijah. A few remarks here will not be out of place (i) On the three accounts of the Transfiguration; (ii) On the meaning and significance of the event itself.
(i) The three accounts. ( a) All three Evangelists relate the conversation which preceded, and the Miracle which succeeded it. ( b) St Matthew alone records the prostration of the disciples through excessive fear, and the Lord’s strengthening touch and cheering words uttered once before on the stormy lake (Mat 17:6-7; Mat 14:27), recalling, as the Hebrew Evangelist, the scene in the Exodus when the face of Moses shone, and the children of Israel were afraid to come nigh him (Exo 34:29-30). ( c) St Mark, in describing the effect of the Transfiguration, uses the strongest material imagery, “white as snow,” “so as no fuller on earth can whiten,” and he alone has the sudden vanishing of the heavenly visitors, and the inquiring look around of the disciples, and their questioning amongst themselves what “ the rising from the dead could mean.” ( d) St Luke alone tells us that our Lord was engaged in prayer at the moment of His glorification (Luk 9:29), and mentions the slumbrous and wakeful condition of the three witnesses, the subject of mysterious converse between the Lord and His visitors from the other world (Luk 9:31), and the fact that the Heavenly Voice succeeded their departure (Luk 9:35). ( e) Both St Matthew and St Mark place in immediate connection with the Event the remarkable conversation about Elias, but St Matthew alone applies the Lord’s words concerning that great prophet to John the Baptist (Mat 17:13).
(ii) The meaning and significance of the Event. This we may believe had respect ( a) to the Apostles, and ( b) to our Lord Himself.
( a) As regards the Apostles. This one full manifestation of His Divine glory, during the period of the Incarnation, was designed to confirm their faith, to comfort them in prospect of their Master’s approaching sufferings, to prepare them to see in His Passion the fulfilment alike of the Law and the Prophets, to give them a glimpse of the celestial Majesty of Him, whom they had given up all to follow.
( b) As regards our Lord. As regards the Redeemer we may conclude that the transaction marked His consecration as the Divine Victim, Who was to accomplish the great “Decease” at Jerusalem, even as the Baptism inaugurated the commencement of His public ministry; it was the solemn attestation of His perfect oneness with His Father in heaven at the very time when He was about to descend into the valley of the shadow of death. It was, as it has well been called, “the summit-level” of the Life Incarnate. From this time forward there is a perceptible change. ( a) Miracles, which hitherto had abounded in prodigal profusion, well-nigh cease. Only five mark the period between the Transfiguration and the Passion. Those, for whom “signs” could avail, were already won. For the rest, no more could be done. They were like those, amongst whom in His earlier ministry, “He could do no mighty work because of their unbelief.” ( b) As regards His teaching, public addresses, before the rule, now become few and rare; His special revelations of the future to the chosen Twelve become more frequent, and they uniformly circle, unenshrouded in type or figure or dark saying, round the Cross.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But I say unto you, that Elias is indeed come,…. Meaning John the Baptist, who in prophecy is designed by him.
And they have done unto him whatsoever they listed;
[See comments on Mt 17:12]; which words should be read in a parenthesis, as they are in the Vulgate Latin version; for what follows, as
it is written of him, respects not what the Scribes and Pharisees, and the people of the Jews did to John at their pleasure; despising his ministry and message, rejecting the counsel of God delivered by him, and remaining impenitent and unbelieving, notwithstanding his powerful and awakening ministry, with many other things, which are no where written of him; but the words regard his coming, and the prophecies concerning him, and particularly, that under the name of Elijah, in Mal 4:5 and which had had their accomplishment.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “But I say unto you,” (alla ego humin) “But I tell you all,” you three; Peter, James and John, in privacy, alone.
2) “That Elias is indeed come, (hoti kai Elias eleluthen) “That indeed, surely, or for a truth Elias has come,” Mat 11:13-14.
3) “And they have done unto him,” (kai epoiesan auto) “And they (the scribes in particular) did to him,” to John the Baptist, as they pleased, even as they would to Jesus, Mat 17:10-13.
4) “Whatsoever they listed,” (hosa ethelon) “Just whatever they wanted or wished,” what they liked or preferred, Mat 11:14; Luk 1:17.
5) “As it is written of him.” (kathos gegraptai epi auton) “Even as it has been written (of him) upon his coming,” Mal 4:5, So he thus came to make ready a people prepared for the Lord, Luk 1:17.
The lesson is that a) as Elijah was persecuted by Jezebel; b) as John the Baptist was rejected by the scribes and beheaded by Herod, and c) so Jesus would also be persecuted but be triumphant, eventually, over all in His death and resurrection, Rom 8:11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(13) As it is written of him.The words are peculiar to St. Mark, and probably point (1) to the special prediction of the coming of Elijah in Malachi 4, and (2) to the parallelism between the career of the Baptist and that of the Tishbite prophet. What had been written of or for the one, the record of bold rebuke and consequent suffering for the Truth, had received its fulfilment in the other.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
Ver. 13. See Trapp on “ Mat 17:12 “ See Trapp on “ Mat 17:13 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mar 9:13 contains Christ’s own view of Elijah’s coming, which differs both from that of the scribes and from that of the disciples, who found it realised in the vision on the hill. : the reference is to the persecution of Elijah by Jezebel, the obvious intention being to suggest the identification of the expected prophet with the Baptist . All pointing to one conclusion suffering the appointed lot of the faithful servants of God in this evil world: Elijah, John, Jesus. That, the lesson Jesus wished by all means to inculcate: the , now, and henceforth, to the end.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
is . . . come = has. . . come.
have done = did.
listed = desired, or liked. Greek. thelo. App-102.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mar 9:13. ) , even.-, to him) to Elias. See by all means Mat 17:12.-, even as) Refer this to is come. He intimates, that the coming of Elias rests, not upon the opinion of the Scribes, but on a prophecy of Scripture, which was less known to the disciples. Nor, however, is this not also to be referred to, they have done unto Him whatsoever, etc. For our Lord quickly followed after the forerunner; therefore the forerunner made room for Him, being quickly taken out of the way.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
That Elias See,
Mat 11:14; Luk 1:17
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Elias: Mat 11:14, Mat 17:12, Mat 17:13, Luk 1:17
and they: Mar 6:14-28, Mat 14:3-11, Luk 3:19, Luk 3:20, Act 7:52
Reciprocal: Mat 14:10 – and beheaded Mar 6:15 – it is Elias Mar 11:30 – General Mar 12:5 – and him
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3
Jesus then explained that the prediction had been fulfilled. This matter is explained in more detail at Mat 17:10-12.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 9:13. Even as it is written of him. There is no direct prophecy of the sufferings of the predicted Elijah. But as the prophet Elijah suffered, it might be inferred from the Old Testament, that the forerunner of the Messiah (called Elijah) would suffer, especially in view of the predicted sorrows of the Messiah Himself. So the disciples understood it. See Mat 17:13.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 13
Listed; chose. He referred to John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
The disciples thought Elijah still had to come, but Jesus explained that he had come. His enemies had done to him what the Old Testament recorded. Jesus was speaking of John the Baptist (Mat 17:13). The Old Testament passage to which Jesus referred was 1Ki 19:1-3; 1Ki 19:10. There Ahab, and especially Jezebel, swore to kill Elijah. They "wished" to execute him. This is exactly what "King" Herod Antipas, and especially Herodias, really did to John the Baptist. Now we see why Mark recorded the story of John’s death (Mar 6:17-29). It was to show that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecies about Elijah coming.
"In this case Scripture had foretold the future not by prophecy but by a type. The fate intended for Elijah (I Kings xix. 2, 10) had overtaken John." [Note: Swete, p. 194.]
Evidently Mark did not mention John the Baptist as the fulfillment of this prophecy, as Matthew did, because his identity is obvious to the careful reader. The fulfillment was not complete, however, because someone will come in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way before Messiah’s second coming (Mal 4:5; cf. Revelation 11).
This discussion clarified for the disciples and for Mark’s readers how Jesus’ messiahship harmonized with Old Testament prophecy that seems to contradict it. Disciples of Jesus must have no doubts about His being the Son of Man, especially since they can anticipate testing through suffering for their faith. The importance of strong faith comes through in the next incident that Mark narrated.