And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
Jesus is speaking here about John the Baptist, a prophet who lived in the wilderness and called people to repent before Jesus began his public ministry. In the Hebrew scriptures, the prophet Malachi had written a promise that God would send 'the prophet Elijah' before a great day of restoration — a messenger who would prepare people's hearts. Elijah was one of the most revered figures in Israel's history, a prophet taken to heaven without dying, so his expected return was deeply significant. Jesus makes the startling claim that John the Baptist fulfilled that ancient prophecy. The phrase 'if you are willing to accept it' is striking: Jesus acknowledges this is a conclusion people might push back on. He is not forcing the logic — he is inviting a kind of willingness before understanding.
Lord, give me the kind of willingness that comes before certainty. I do not always recognize you in the unexpected — the uncomfortable form, the unlikely messenger, the answer I did not ask for. Soften whatever in me resists what you are doing. Amen.
There is something quietly radical in that qualifier — 'if you are willing to accept it.' Jesus does not say 'if you can prove it' or 'if the reasoning holds.' He says willing. As if understanding this truth requires a prior decision of the heart, not just the head. That is uncomfortable for people who prefer to think their way into belief. But Jesus seems to understand something about how we actually work: we often already sense what we are not yet willing to accept. John the Baptist did not look like anyone's idea of Elijah. He lived rough, wore animal hair, ate locusts — and many dismissed him for it. The religious leaders of the day had studied those prophecies for decades and still missed the fulfillment standing in front of them. That is worth sitting with. It is possible to be deeply knowledgeable about scripture and still be closed to what God is actually doing. Where in your life might God be at work in a form you were not expecting? And what would it cost you to become willing — even before you are certain?
Why do you think Jesus used the phrase 'if you are willing to accept it' — what does willingness have to do with recognizing spiritual truth?
Have you ever experienced a moment where you sensed something was spiritually true but were not yet ready to accept it? What was that like, and what changed?
The religious experts of Jesus' day knew the prophecies but missed their fulfillment. What does that tell us about the relationship between biblical knowledge and genuine, living faith?
How does expecting God to work in familiar or predictable ways limit your ability to recognize what God might actually be doing in your life or community right now?
Is there something you believe God might be inviting you toward that you have been holding at arm's length? What would taking one step of willingness look like this week?
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
John 1:21
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
1 Kings 17:1
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
John 16:12
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Malachi 4:5
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
John 1:23
And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is [the fulfillment of] Elijah [as the messenger] who was to come [before the kingdom].
AMP
and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
ESV
'And if you are willing to accept [it], John himself is Elijah who was to come.
NASB
And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
NIV
And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
NKJV
And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come.
NLT
Looked at in this way, John is the 'Elijah' you've all been expecting to arrive and introduce the Messiah.
MSG