JOHN—NOTE ON John 1:20 John the Baptist denies being the Christ or Elijah. Elijah, who never died (2 Kings 2:11), was expected to return in the end times (Malachi 4:5) to “restore all things” (Matthew 17:11). John the Baptist did resemble Elijah in his rugged lifestyle (Matthew 3:4; compare 2 Kings 1:8). And Jesus, with his deeper understanding of OT prophecy, saw John as fulfilling the prophecy about Elijah (see Matthew 11:14). John also denied being the Prophet, whose coming was predicted by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15, Deuteronomy 18:18 (see Acts 3:22) and was expected in Jesus’ day (see John 6:14; John 7:40; and notes).

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