Mt. 27:46-49 - "Will Elijah rescue Him?"

    "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means ''My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'"
     Matthew reports that "When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah. . .Let's see if Elijah comes to save Him."
      It is likely that Jesus’ suffering and fatigue, combined with his extremely dry mouth and larynx made his words hard to understand by the crowd. In the Jewish Passover Seder, Elijah comes before Messiah. Malachi also says that God will send Elijah before "that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes" (Mal. 4:5). Perhaps some thought Jesus was calling for Elijah's help in His dying hours.
     The truth is these prophecies had already been fulfilled in two distinct ways.
     First, during His ministry Jesus announced that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of Malachi's Elijah prophecy (Mt. 11:14). John the Baptism had come in the spirit and power of Elijah to call Israel back to God before the Messiah's appearance.
     Second, just a week before Jesus' crucifixion, Elijah had literally come to earth, along with Moses, to encourage Jesus as He faced His sacrifice (Mt. 17:1-17). "Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem" (Lk. 9:30-31).
     These two men had suffered so much for Jesus in their earthly life and ministries. Elijah served during a time of great national apostasy in Israel, and after confronting the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and calling Israel back to God, he momentarily lost his courage at Queen Jezebel's death threats.
     Fleeing to the desert, he complained he was no better than his "fathers" and asked God to take his life. But God had better plans for Elijah. He comforted, fed him, and revived his faith. Later God whisked him to heaven in a fiery chariot. And now He sends this hero of faith who had endured discouragement and victory to encourage His Son.
     Moses was God's chosen leader for an often stubborn and unbelieving people for forty years, temporarily losing his grip on God when Israel complained about their desert experience and blamed Moses (as they often did) for their troubles. Moses lost his temper and spoiled an important salvation lesson God wanted to teach. Because of his failure he was not allowed to lead Israel into the Promised Land (Num. 20:1-13; Deut. 1:37). He died and was buried by God but later resurrected and taken to heaven; (Deut 34:5-7; Jude 9).
     Who better could God send to hearten His Son than these two men who understood what it was like to depend on God in times of trial and rejection? They could support Jesus even better than God or angels could. Can you imagine what their conversation with Jesus must have been like? I would love to have heard their encouraging words.
     Plus, they were in heaven now only on the basis of Jesus' coming atonement. If Jesus failed, they had no right to be there.

Michael Brownfield