Matthew 11:14

11:14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, who is to come.

Malachi 4:5

4:5 Look, I will send you Elijah ¹  the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.

Mark 15:35-36

15:35 When some of the bystanders heard it they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!” ²  15:36 Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, ³  put it on a stick, ⁴  and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!”

¹ 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).

² 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.

³ 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.

⁴ tn Grk “a reed.”