Matthew 17:10-13
And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Eli’jah must come?”
He replied, “Eli’jah does come, and he is to restore all things; but I tell you that Eli’jah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Homily:

Did what the disciples understand from His words match what He meant?

When John the Baptist was asked directly, if he was Elijah, his response was clear and short –

“They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”” – John 1:20-21

But remember in Luke 1:21, when angel Gabriel was speaking of John’s birth to Zechariah, he said –

“And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

The truth is that as we dig deeper into the life of the messenger, we lose sight of the message.

The message of the messenger is, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”