Mark 8:28

8:28 They said, ¹  “John the Baptist, others say Elijah, ²  and still others, one of the prophets.”

Mark 9:12-13

9:12 He said to them, “Elijah does indeed come first, and restores all things. And why is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? 9:13 But I tell you that Elijah has certainly come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”

Mark 15:35-36

15:35 When some of the bystanders heard it they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!” ³  15:36 Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, ⁴  put it on a stick, ⁵  and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!”

Malachi 4:5

4:5 Look, I will send you Elijah ⁶  the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.

¹ tn Grk “And they said to him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

² sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.

³ sn Perhaps the crowd thought Jesus was calling for Elijah because the exclamation “my God, my God” (i.e., in Aramaic, Eloi, Eloi) sounds like the name Elijah.

⁴ sn Sour wine refers to cheap wine that was called in Latin posca, a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.

⁵ tn Grk “a reed.”

⁶ sn I will send you Elijah the prophet. In light of the ascension of Elijah to heaven without dying (2 Kgs 2:11), Judaism has always awaited his return as an aspect of the messianic age (see, e.g., John 1:19-28). Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah, because he came in the “spirit and power” of his prototype Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36).