End Times
In Matthew’s gospel, Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ (16:16), the long awaited Jewish Messiah, occurs just before what we call the Transfiguration (17:1-8). When Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John, His whole being shone with a brilliance that meant no one could continue looking at Him.
We would think this would solve any concerns the disciples had about who this Jesus really was. Instead it created a new problem. Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first? (17:10). They had heard that the last book of the Old Testament spoke of Elijah coming to prepare the way for the Messiah (Malachi 4:5). If Jesus is here already and Elijah isn’t, could that mean Jesus isn’t really the Messiah?
Jesus tells them that Elijah did come, but not as they expected (17:11,12). They were looking for the actual Elijah whereas God intended all along to send John the Baptist, a man who would show Elijah’s forthright character and carry his prophetic mantle (17:13). So the disciples understanding about “end times” was both right and wrong.
Our understanding of future events suffers similarly. In our Western tradition we read most things literally and not symbolically. A reference to a person coming to us means that very person. Here it meant another person just like the one described but not the very same one.
If the disciples had stuck to their “end times” teaching they would have rejected Jesus as the true Messiah. We need to learn a lesson here. No one “end times” teaching seems to answer all the questions. Hold lightly to what you think is going to happen. God and God alone has it all worked out. Trust Him and Him alone.
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