<p>17:10&nbsp;<em>And his disciples asked him: Why do the scribes say-&nbsp;</em>The disciples were evidently still under the influence of Judaism and the religious world around them, and this background died hard for them. &ldquo;Why say the scribes&hellip;?&rdquo;, they reasoned, implying that their view was of at least equal if not greater weight when compared with that of the Lord Jesus [as they also did in Mt. 17:9,10]. He had to specifically warn them against the Scribes in Lk. 20:45,46; He had to specifically tell them not to address the Rabbis as &lsquo;father&rsquo; (Mt. 23:8,9), implying they had too much respect for them. The way the disciples speak of the Scribes as if they have such a valid theological position reflects their upbringing and respect for the ruling elite of the synagogue (Mt. 17:10), with whom the Lord was at such total variance. They were concerned that the Pharisees had been offended by the Lord&rsquo;s words (Mt. 15:12). We again see here how the disciples were out of step with the Lord&rsquo;s thinking, pursuing their own mental agenda, and not doing that they had just been told- to &lsquo;hear Him&rsquo;. For the Lord has just told them very seriously (&ldquo;charged them&rdquo;) to not say anything about this experience until He was resurrected. But instead they are grappling with another issue- if this Jesus was really Messiah, well why hadn&rsquo;t Elijah come first, as the Scribes taught? Clearly we see them pursuing a line of thought which precluded their attention to what the Lord was so earnestly seeking to tell them.</p>
<p><em>That Elijah must first come</em>- This provides another insight into the shallowness of their understanding. The transfiguration had persuaded them, at least for the moment, that Jesus was Messiah. But they were confused as to why the Elijah prophet hadn&rsquo;t come first. John the Baptist, whom they had followed and believed, had clearly cast himself in the role of Elijah. But it seems that they hadn&rsquo;t really grasped the significance of John&rsquo;s ministry at all.</p>