Missed It.

S ~ Then they asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?” Jesus responded, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be treated with utter contempt? But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they chose to abuse him, just as the Scriptures predicted.” Mark 9:11-13

O ~ Elijah would come to ‘prepare the way of the Lord’. However, it was not Elijah the person, it was the ministry of Elijah - fulfilled by John the Baptist. What a surprise this would be for the teachers of the law - they rejected the one that was sent because they were expecting someone different. 

A ~ I can only imagine that if the actual person Elijah showed up, they would not have believed him either. He would have been accessed of being an imposter. I wonder how many scriptures we misunderstand, just as they did then. Truly, the ‘natural man’ can’t understand the things of the Spirit.

P ~ Lord, I don’t want to ‘get it wrong’ as I read Your Word. Please help me to understand.