Elijah and John the Baptist both revealed sin and raised people to life to live for God

Part 3...1 Kings 17:17-24

Christ Jesus said, “And if you are willing to receive it, [John the Baptist] is Elijah who is to come.” Matthew 11:14

During a severe drought, Elijah turned a widow’s one-day supply of bread into a bountiful supply that lasted till the rain came. Likewise, John the Baptist did the same for the Jewish people by preaching and teaching in the power of the Holy Spirit mixed with the Old Testament scriptures, as revealed in the previous post of 1 Kings 17:8-16. Unfortunately, the son of the widow died, and she thought it was because her sin was revealed, and blamed Elijah as the source of revealing that sin. Likewise, John the Baptist was very forward in revealing sin in order to cause people to repent and to reconcile to God. As a result, many died to the Jewish leadership of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes as well as being excommunicated from the Jewish culture. Many Jewish people avoided John the Baptist in the same way Elijah was scrutinized. The Jewish people could be heard saying to John, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”

The verses below reveal how John the Baptist was fearless in revealing sin, in the spirit of preparing the way for the coming of Jesus Christ, “‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ” Mark 1:3

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Matthew 3:7-10 “And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.” Luke 3:18-20

Elijah came to the widow to bring life and salvation from the severe drought, not to destroy and cause death. The same as John the Baptist of whom this is written, “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:76-79

Elijah had the widow to give him her dead son, and Elijah carried him to the upper room and laid the dead boy on his own bed [Elijah’s bed]. Elijah prayed to God, saying that He brought tragedy to the widow by killing her son, corresponding to his stay with the widow. Elijah stretched himself out over the dead boy three times and cried out to the Lord that the boy be resurrected and brought back to life. God resurrected the boy back to life. Likewise, John the Baptist knew, by the Holy Spirit, that raising the dead to life was a reality, and He said this about Jesus Christ, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 1:35

John the Baptist preached with the spirit and power of Elijah concerning the ability of God to raise something from nothing, “For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” Luke 3:8 John the Baptist raised many to life in the Spirit after being made dead by the laws of the Old Testament, “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” Mark 1:4-5

After the boy was made alive, Elijah returned him to his mother. The woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.” John the Baptist had the same reputation as Elijah in being a man of God. In fact, multitudes of people believed John was a special Prophet of God, and the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes feared John as a result, “But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Mark 11:29-33

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“Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”

And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.

And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!” Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.”

1 Kings 17:17-24