Jesus & Economic Life (10) Restore

The transfiguration confirmed the authority of the law and the prophets. After this event, Jesus gave an interesting response to a question about why Elijah must come first.

To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist (Matt 17:11-13).

Jesus explained that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy that Elijah would come. His role was not to create something new, but to "restore all things". John could only restore something that had already existed. They only thing that he could restore in Galilee was the Torah, and especially the economic stuff that was most relevant to their daily lives. This is why John preached about economic issues. Jesus validated John’s message after the transfiguration.

Jesus preached a message of repentance. This was not repentance for general sin. Jesus demanded repentance for failure to obey the Torah. The ordinary people were not guilty of legalism: trying to achieve righteous by observing the cultural markers like the Pharisees. They needed to repent of neglecting the economic stuff that the law promised would keep them and their economies strong.

This full series of posts can be found at Jesus and Economic Life.