When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha,
“Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”
“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said,
“yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—
otherwise, it will not.”
(2 Kings 2:9-10, NIV)
The more things change, the more they stay the same.[i] This common expression captures within it the seed truth that history tends to repeat itself. Human nature, social norms and patterns of behavior stay the same across the continuum of time and space. Consequently, though the individual players, time, and location may differ, outcomes frequently are the same or fall into a familiar pattern. For this very reason, Bible stories remain relevant today, despite being written ages ago to people of a different language and culture.
In today’s culture when we use the term dynamic duo, several pictures, or scenarios immediately spring to mind. Batman and Robin from DC Comics popularized the term, but throughout history, and within our own experience we have all encountered dynamic duos—individuals who work together well to accomplish a common purpose.
Can we identify dynamic duos in the Old Testament? We certainly can. Moses and his young successor Joshua spring to mind.
The prophets Elijah and Elisha are a dynamic duo whose miraculous powers and exploits rival the adventures of the finest superheroes in the Marvel Universe. First-century Jewish teens reading accounts of their miraculous feats would be immediately drawn to them. Furthermore, the last book of the Old Testament ends with the promise of Elijah’s return.
“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction” (Malachi 4:5-6, NIV).
And if Elijah is returning, then Elisha, or an Elisha-like figure cannot be far behind. As the New Testament era dawns, the stage is set for the return of the dynamic duo. There is nothing quite like a sequel. In this case it’s a prophetic, dynamic-duo sequel that returns after an absence of about seven centuries. Imagine the anticipation.
Is it any wonder then that Elijah’s name appears twenty-eight times in the gospels? Aside from Peter, none of the apostles are named as frequently as Elijah. It is quite extraordinary for a hero from a previous era to be referenced so frequently. Yet the expectation of Elijah’s arrival was palpable. Jesus was often incorrectly identified as the Elijah who is to come.[ii] With the start of Christ’s ministry, and his demonstration of miraculous powers, the burning question within the first-century Jewish community was “Has Elijah returned?”
In the eleventh chapter of Matthew’s Gospel answers that question directly. He identifies who the new Elijah—the second Elijah really is.
And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written:
‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’
“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! (Matthew 11:2-15, NKJV)
So, there we have the answer to the question on everyone’s mind at that time. John the Baptist is Elijah who is to come. The first member of the New Testament dynamic duo has been identified.
What does Jesus’ identification of John the Baptist as the new Elijah really mean?
It does not mean John is the reincarnation of Elijah. Elijah’s body was whisked away to heaven in a whirlwind on a chariot of fire.[iii] Centuries later, he returns with Moses to meet with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.[iv]
Chapel of the Transfiguration, Grand Teton National Park — Photo courtesy of Matthew Taylor
Clearly, John and Elijah are two distinct persons from two distinct historical eras. In fact, when he was questioned about his identity, John denied being the Christ or Elijah.[v] However, Jesus rightly identified John the Baptist as moving and ministering in the spirit of Elijah. He fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi.[vi]
Elijah’s ministry was a ministry of repentance. His assignment from the LORD was to draw the backslidden people of Israel (the northern kingdom) back to worshipping the one true God. Israel had fallen into the grievous sin of idolatry under the rule of King Ahab and his evil consort Jezebel. Many had bowed their knees to Baal, the male fertility god, and partaken in the worship of the female deity Ashtoreth.
John the Baptist had a similar assignment. He too was to draw the Jewish nation back to God. But in the New Testament era, the sins of the nation were of a more subtle nature. The worship of Yahweh had become cold and formal while the sinful heart was unchanged.
The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught (Isaiah 29:13, NIV).
This corrupt condition of the heart is what John came to address. He did so with a clarion call to repentance followed by baptism. Furthermore, he insisted no one can claim safety from the coming wrath due to their lineage or national heritage.
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:8-10, NIV).
What root was John attacking with the above statement? He was hacking away at the presumption of salvation by virtue of national origin. The Sadducees and Pharisees who John was addressing trusted in their Jewish heritage as being sufficient for eternal salvation. Apparently, your birth certificate doesn’t qualify you for entrance into the Kingdom of God. God is looking for a repentant heart—a changed heart.
With these words, John was laying the groundwork for Jesus’ core message of salvation through regeneration. We must be born again as Jesus revealed in his conversation with Nicodemus.[vii] And the first step in that regenerative process begins with repentance, initially championed by John,[viii] reiterated by Jesus,[ix] and preached by the apostles.[x]
Today, we speak of disruptive technology changing the way business and society operate. John’s message was disruptive theology. His message attempted to completely change how Jewish society of that time viewed their relationship with God. Many Jewish people saw themselves as citizens in God’s Kingdom simply because they were children of Abraham. John’s mission was to shatter that misperception. Something more was needed then, and it is needed now. Salvation begins with a repentant heart. And like Elijah of old, John was calling the nation to repent and turn back to God.
Jesus addressed the same topic in his John 8:12-59 temple discourse with the Jewish religious leadership. In that heated discussion, Jesus’ opponents trumpeted their Abrahamic pedigree, while rejecting the testimony of the Son of God. God is always looking for the fruits of repentance in our lives. But there was an absence of fruit in these religious leaders.
It was John the Baptist who first raised this issue with the Pharisees and Sadducees. If we are not simply born into the Kingdom by natural birth, as the religious leadership claimed, how then do we gain entrance? Jesus provides the answer:
“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’ (John 3:5-7, NIV).
This disruptive theology was introduced by John and advanced to the next level through the ministry of Jesus. John and Jesus truly worked as a dynamic duo. Furthermore, all four Gospel writers recognized John’s foundational contribution. It’s striking that though each Gospel is focused on the life and ministry of Jesus, none of the Gospel writers begin their account with Jesus. They all begin with John. He truly was the forerunner and the way-maker for our Savior.
Many of the underpinnings of the Christian faith were introduced by John. Repentance followed by baptism is a prime example. Baptism, with roots in the Jewish mikvah, a ceremonial washing rooted in the Books of Moses, was an innovation introduced and popularized by John. Baptism represents a soul transforming innovation that was, with only slight modification, incorporated directly into Christ’s teaching and the Great Commission.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20, NKJV).
Baptism is a living picture of new birth. It is the defining symbol and sacrament of the born-again experience. John laid the groundwork for the gospel of Christ. He worked like a bulldozer leveling the way for Christ.[xi] He destroyed the argument that salvation was race based and in so doing he paved the way for Jesus’ teaching on spiritual rebirth.
It logically follows that if salvation is not based on lineage or race, but rather on a spiritual rebirth, then that experience of rebirth is open to all humanity and not the sole domain of the Jewish people.
Both John and Jesus were looking for fruit—the transformative fruit of repentance.[xii] And through the work of the Holy Spirit, that fruit could be found among both Jews and Gentiles. It was no longer confined to the Jewish nation. All could potentially be grafted into the vine through faith in Jesus.
Jesus identified John the Baptist as the new Elijah. Who then is the new Elisha?
Chapter 2 Endnotes
[i] “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”, Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, 1849.
[ii] Matthew 16:13-14
[iii] 2 Kings 2:11-12
[iv] Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36
[v] John 1:19-28
[vi] “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction” (Malachi 4:5-6, NIV).
[vii] John 3:1-21
[viii] Matthew 3:1-2, Mark 1:4, Luke 3:2-3,
[ix] Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:14-15
[x] Acts 2:36-39, Acts 3:19
[xi] Matthew 3:3
[xii] Matthew 3:8, Matthew 7:15-20, Matthew 21:33-46
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