“And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?”
And they asked him, why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first? — the question about Elijah follows naturally from the transfiguration appearance of Elijah: if Elijah appeared at the transfiguration, what is his relationship to the scribal expectation that Elijah comes first (before the Messiah, Malachi 4:5)? The question is a real theological puzzle: has Elijah come? Is the transfiguration appearance the fulfillment? Or is the expectation still outstanding?
Church Fathers on Mark 9:11
After the shewing of the mystery on the mount, the Lord commanded His disciples, as they were coming down from the mount, not to reveal His transfiguration, before the glory of His Passion and Resurrection.
Which He did lest men should be offended, hearing such glorious things of Him Whom they were about to see crucified. It was not therefore fitting to say such things of Christ before He suffered, but after His resurrection they were likely to be believed.
This, which is peculiar to Mark, means, that when death shall have been swallowed up in victory, we shall have no memory for the former things.
Read all 8 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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