{"id":20125,"date":"2004-06-15T18:29:17","date_gmt":"2004-06-15T18:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/km7.a6a.mytemp.website\/journal\/the-secret-codes-in-matthew-examining-israels-messiah-part-13-matthew-1710-21-by-kevin-m-williams\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T00:19:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T00:19:49","slug":"the-secret-codes-in-matthew-examining-israels-messiah-part-13-matthew-1710-21-by-kevin-m-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/km7.a6a.mytemp.website\/journal\/the-secret-codes-in-matthew-examining-israels-messiah-part-13-matthew-1710-21-by-kevin-m-williams\/","title":{"rendered":"The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel\u2019s Messiah, Part 13: Matthew 17:10-21, by Kevin M. Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"From Pneuma Review<\/i> Spring 2004<\/a>\n

What does the coming of Elijah and the casting out of demons have to do with showing Jesus as Messiah? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Matthew\"<\/p>\n

And His disciples asked Him, saying, \u201cWhy then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?\u201d And He answered and said, \u201cElijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.\u201d Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist <\/i>(Matthew 17:10-13).<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the previous issue of the Pneuma Review,<\/i> we looked at the mount of transfiguration in much greater detail and how the Jewish elements surrounding the event might have been interpreted by the disciples. We also saw that Yeshua\u2019s (Jesus\u2019) final word on the experience was \u201cTell the vision to no one …\u201d (Matthew 16:9). This is curiously followed with one of disciples asking, \u201cWhy then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first.\u201d<\/p>\n

As this was some of their conversation back in Matthew 11:11-14 and is by now what we might call \u201cold news\u201d we may rightly wonder, \u201cWhy are they asking this when Yeshua said it was not to be discussed?\u201d<\/p>\n

There may be several options as to why this question surfaced. Most notably, they were just coming down the hilltop where Moses and Elijah had appeared with Yeshua. The text tells us that only Peter, James, and John were there and that Yeshua had commanded them, \u201cTell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead\u201d (Matthew 16:9).<\/p>\n

The opening of our passage above \u201cAnd His disciples asked Him …\u201d does not give anyone\u2019s specific identity, yet imagine you are Peter, James, or John, having just witnessed the very presence of Elijah when one of your peers asks this question! The knowing glances that passed between the three of them must have been remarkable!<\/p>\n

It is possible that the question came from one of the three\u2014hoping to draw the experience with Yeshua out for the other disciples to hear (and in this cunning way, not break Yeshua\u2019s commandment to remain silent).<\/p>\n

Or, perhaps the passage from Malachi 4:5-6 \u201cBehold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD\u201d had been a part of the prior or approaching Haftarah (prescribed Sabbath reading) and was on the forefront of their minds.<\/p>\n

There may have been any number of reasons for the question to come up, and none of them particularly pointing to any daftness on the part of Yeshua\u2019s chosen.<\/p>\n

Yet if we look again at the Malachi prophecy, it foretells of Elijah\u2019s appearance before \u201cthe great and terrible day of the LORD.\u201d To the Hebrew reared in the synagogue, this meant the Day of Judgment when all sins are revealed before the Judge of all the earth, when the Book of Life is read. Those whose names are inscribed within go on to the Olam HaBah,<\/i> the world to come. Those whose names are not recorded spend the rest of eternity in Sheol.<\/i><\/p>\n

So Yeshua\u2019s statement that Elijah had come, and that \u201cElijah is coming and will restore all things\u201d at some point in the future served to affirm his current role as the Messiah, but also clearly indicated His return, which will again be hailed by the spirit of Elijah.<\/p>\n

This would be consistent with Jewish thought. For instance, this quote from the Seder \u2018Olam Rabbah,<\/i> ch. 17 reads: \u201cIn the second year of [King] Ahazia, Elijah was hidden, and he will not be seen again until King Messiah comes. And then he will be seen but will be hidden a second time, and seen again only when Gog and Magog will come.\u201d1<\/sup> How they reached this conclusion divorced of Yeshua is a puzzlement, yet Paul states that only a \u201cpartial hardening\u201d has come upon them (Romans 11:25), so there remains a partial softening to the Spirit as well.<\/p>\n

Yeshua also gives us a hint to his own future. By comparing his coming trials with those of John the Immerser\u2019s, who was taken captive, jailed, put to death, and according to our passage, is \u201ccoming and will restore all things,\u201d he will have some form of resurrection. These things awaited Yeshua in Jerusalem.

\u201cI kept looking in the night visions,<\/p>\n

And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming,<\/p>\n

And He came up to the Ancient of Days<\/p>\n

And was presented before Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Daniel 7:13<\/div><\/p>\n

Though prophesying about Himself, Yeshua still does not directly refer to Himself the Messiah, rather preferring the title \u201cSon of Man.\u201d The reasons for this have been covered before, but a quick review seems in order. The \u201cSon of Man\u201d euphemism had a twofold meaning in that day and age. It did indeed have direct reference to the Messiah as we read in Daniel 7:13: \u201cI kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man<\/i> was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

This term was also interchangeable when discussing a normal human being. Yeshua\u2019s use of this title in relation to himself was a clever means of imparting information about Himself without necessarily incriminating Himself if He were to be brought to trial. The phrase \u201cSon of Man\u201d is also used in Daniel to refer to an non-divine man, \u201cSo he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, \u2018Son of man<\/i>, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end\u2019\u201d (Daniel 8:17).<\/p>\n

Equating oneself with God was considered blasphemous and as such, a capital crime. Using this title, \u201cthe Son of Man\u201d allowed Yeshua to make implications without incurring incriminations. It would mean one thing to His disciples\u2014and those who had ears to hear\u2014and yet not be admissible in court.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

And when they came to the multitude, a man came up to Him, falling on his knees before Him, and saying, \u201cLord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic, and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.\u201d And Jesus answered and said, \u201cO unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.\u201d And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once <\/i>(Matthew 17:14-18).<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This can be a challenging passage, particularly among charismatics because as we all know, not everyone for whom we pray is healed. Is it due to the afflicted\u2019s lack of faith? Is it due to our lack of faith? Is there some secret sin? Where do the answers lie?<\/p>\n

According to the testimony of this father as well as the subsequent questions of the disciples, this boy had been brought forward before for \u201chealing.\u201d At this time in Israeli history and theology, there was if you will, a procedure to be followed and a \u201cmethod\u201d to help insure deliverance. Many illnesses were directly attributed to demons\u2014whom Jewish exorcists would command by name. It was believed that knowing the name of the demon would give the practitioner \u201ccommand\u201d\u00a0over the spirit. In a sense, it was a type of reverse application of using God\u2019s holy Name, often referred to as Yahweh<\/i> or the anglicized \u201cJehovah\u201d\u2014though the actual pronunciation is lost to antiquity. Invoking God\u2019s Name was akin to invoking the powers of heaven. This, it seems was applied to the demonic realm as well. (It does not seem reasonable however, that pronouncing God\u2019s name correctly would give anyone authority over the omnipotent Creator and King of the universe.)<\/p>\n

Kordicus<\/i>2<\/sup> was one alleged demon believed to cause people to fall down, not unlike today\u2019s mad-cow disease. Another was Shibta<\/i> who was believed to take a hold of the neck of infants and restrict their nervous system. These are two of a host of names listed in the ancient cult. The key to healing for many was, therefore, to \u201cdivine\u201d the name of the demon thereby gaining authority over it, commanding it to leave. This practice appears to have influenced Jewish scholarship and theology during the Babylonian exile, where such \u201cauthority\u201d was invoked by the magi. This practice is recorded at length in the pagan book The Necronomicon<\/i> whose author believed he had control over the demonic realm by use of their names\u2014only to later turn insane, becoming known as the \u201cMad Arab.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously, it must have had some deceptive success or the practice would have been abandoned. This may have been part of the mindset of the \u201cJewish exorcists\u201d in Acts:<\/p>\n

But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, \u201cI adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.\u201d And seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, \u201cI recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?\u201d And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded (Acts 19:13-16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That our disciples had been practicing such \u201cdivination\u201d is highly unlikely, though the father may have attempted this common \u201ccure\u201d among other so-called holy men of Israel.<\/p>\n

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, \u201cWhy could we not cast it out?\u201d And He said to them, \u201cBecause of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, \u2018Move from here to there,\u2019 and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting\u201d <\/i>(Matthew 17:19-21).<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The answer as to why they could not cast the demon out therefore, was that they lacked faith. We may ask, how could they<\/i>\u2014the disciples of all people\u2014have lacked faith? Perhaps is was not \u201cfaith\u201d per se which they lacked, but the proper focus of their faith. The telling statement is the question of the disciples, \u201cWhy could we<\/i> not cast it out?\u201d (emphasis mine). We read seven chapters earlier, in Matthew 10:1, that Yeshua had given them \u201cauthority over unclean spirits.\u201d Casting out demons worked then, why not now?<\/p>\n

Faith can be an ethereal concept around which to wrap one\u2019s mind. Many books have been written on the subject, and many more sermons preached. The question should never be \u201cdo I have faith\u201d enough to accomplish this or that. In and of myself I am powerless, and faith inappropriately directed is equally powerless. The question therefore should be, \u201cdo I have faith in Yeshua\u201d to achieve this or that purpose (assuming it is in harmony with His will)? If the disciples had been self-focused (i.e. \u201cwe\u2019ve done this before, we<\/i> can do it again\u201d), then it is no doubt that they failed.

Yeshua relied solely on the testimony of others to declare that He is Messiah. In fact, He still relies on the testimony of others to this very day.<\/div><\/p>\n

This would seem to be consistent with Yeshua\u2019s final instruction, \u201cBut this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.\u201d One of the purposes of prayer and fasting is to strengthen the intimacy between the person praying and the Lord. This intimacy often leads to the important realization that it is not about \u201cme,\u201d it is about God: His will, His desires, His purposes, and His authority\u2014upon which no one should presume.<\/p>\n

There may be one more indicator here. As has been touched on before, one of the signs the people of Israel were looking in the true Messiah was miracles.<\/p>\n

The belief in these self-proclaimed Messiahs and in their power to perform miracles could be so strong that it could override all normal instincts of self-preservation. Thus in about 448 a Jew appeared on Crete announcing that he was Moses and that he would repeat on a much larger scale the miracle performed by Moses at the Red Sea: he would part the waters of the Mediterranean and lead the Jews of the island dry shod to Judea! When the hour he fixed for the miracle arrived, he ordered his followers to jump into the sea, which they did, with the result that many of them drowned in the waves (Socrates Scholasticus, Historia Ecclessiae <\/i>12:33, as quoted in Encyclopaedia Judaica<\/i>, s.v. Messianic Movements). 3<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As we have noted on many occasions, one of the attributes that separated Yeshua\u2019s messianic claim from other false-messiahs was that he was not self-proclaimed. He relied solely on the testimony of others to manifest such declarations. In fact, He still relies on the testimony of others to this very day.<\/p>\n

Yet here, with the \u201clunatic\u201d son, Yeshua did what no one else had been able to do\u2014deliver him. For those with eyes to see, this was a miracle of \u201cmessianic\u201d proportions and one more proof that this man was no mere mortal, but the Promised One. All other humans up to this point needed to fast and pray. Not Yeshua. His authority stood on its own.<\/p>\n

Matthew\u2019s purpose in writing his gospel for the Jewish people was once again bearing the very evidence they sought: Yeshua is God\u2019s promised Savior.<\/p>\n

___ In the next edition, we examine one teacher\u2019s insight on the miracle of the coin in the fish\u2019s mouth and the parables of Chapter 18.<\/p>\n

PR<\/strong><\/p>\n

Endnotes<\/b><\/p>\n

1<\/sup> The Messiah Texts,<\/i> by Raphael Patai, \u00a91979, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan, p. 134.<\/p>\n

2<\/sup> The listing of these alleged names does not constitute any admission of their reality on the part of the author or the Pneuma Review.<\/i> Neither is it a recommendation to add this practice to your own deliverance services.<\/p>\n

3<\/sup> The Messiah Texts,<\/i> by Raphael Patai, \u00a91979, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan, p. lxi.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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