And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come.
Parallel translations
- WEB If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come.
- KJV And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
- BSB And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
- NKJV And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
- NASB And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus identifies John as the 'Elijah' Malachi promised would come. John fulfills that role for those willing to receive it.
Overview
Malachi 4:5-6 foretold Elijah's coming before the Lord's day; Jesus declares John fulfills this in spirit and power (cf. Luke 1:17), not as Elijah literally returned. The qualifier 'if you are willing to receive it' signals that recognizing John's role requires faith. To accept John is to be prepared to welcome the Christ he heralds.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Mal 4:5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
- Mark 9:11–13They asked him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
- Matt 17:10–13His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
- Luke 1:17He will 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 prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”
- John 1:21–23They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”
- 1 Cor 3:2I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready,
- Ezek 2:5They, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house), yet shall know that there has been a prophet among them.
- John 16:12“I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.
- Ezek 3:10–11Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.
- Rev 20:4I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 11:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.