# 16 No Contradictions

Joh 1:19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."

 22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said: "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."

Sometimes little things bother me in Scripture, like the Baptist’s denial here, that he is Elijah. I mean if he’s not, why does Jesus say this about him in  Mt 11:14 "And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. And in  Mt 17:11,12 we read, “ Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 "But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.”

 Even though such seemingly contradictory statements bother me at times, I know this: The Bible has no contradictions! The problem always lies with my own lack of understanding! If I find myself confused over such statements I take great comfort from the words of Peter in  2Pe 1:20, “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,”

In other words, let Scripture interpret Scripture! All of it is God-breathed (2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”

Being God-breathed, I can trust it as truth! Will I, or anyone else for that matter, understand fully all that is said in Scripture? No! Not this side of heaven! That’s good enough for me!

However, sometimes, with a little bit of cross-referencing and applying context, these little matters can be cleared up.

The Baptist rightly denied he was Elijah because the religious leaders of the Jews were anticipating a PHYSICAL reincarnation of Elijah to appear in accordance with  Mal 4:5, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.”

John the Baptist and Jesus knew differently based on what the angel told Zacharias before John the Baptist was born. This “Elijah” would not be a physical reincarnation! He said in  Lu 1:17 "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

John would be a type of Elijah! He would be like Elijah in spirit and power, but he would not be a physical reappearing of Elijah. He would come from the loins of Zacharias and the womb of Elizabeth, a unique individual, created by God for a specific purpose. In that sense, he was no different than you or I.

So what can we learn from this. First of all, let’s be careful not to get so locked in on private interpretation of Scripture that we miss the boat like the religious leaders of the day did.  Be willing to be corrected by the Spirit of God. Think about it, if they would’ve been willing to receive John as God intended, they wouldn’t have missed Jesus! (“Behold the Lamb of God!”)

Second, understand that you are not going to understand it all! Don’t be afraid to work at understanding through careful methods of interpretation, but rest in the fact that you won’t know it all. What you may view as a contradiction will be straightened out when Jesus returns. In the meantime, trust that God will reveal all you need to know concerning your life in the here and now and for all eternity with Him.