“Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.”
Others said, he is Elijah. And still others claimed, he is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago — the three options (John raised, Elijah, one of the prophets) represent the range of prophetic categories available in the popular imagination. None of them is correct, though all acknowledge that Jesus belongs in the category of divinely sent prophetic figures. The comparison to Elijah is significant given that John has already been identified with Elijah (Mark 1:6) — the crowd's Elijah category for Jesus reflects the Elijah-level ministry they are witnessing. The correct answer (the Messiah, the Son of God) is not on the popular list.
Church Fathers on Mark 6:15
It goes on, 'For His name was spread abroad.'
Here we are taught how great was the envy of the Jews. For, lo, they believe that John, of whom it was said that he did no miracle, could rise from the dead, and that, without the witness of any one. But Jesus, approved of God by miracles and signs, whose resurrection, Angles and Apostles, men and women, preached, they chose to believe was carried away by stealth, rather than suppose that He had risen again.
For John confuted many men, when he said, 'Ye generation of vipers.'
Read all 5 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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