Elijah and Elisha sermon series

This Sunday, we will begin a sermon series that will take us through the end of the year. It will follow the story of the prophets Elijah and Elisha in 1 and 2 Kings. Their ministry came during a critical period in the history of Israel, a time of widespread apostasy and idolatry, and not incidentally, their ministry saw the greatest miracles since the Exodus from Egypt.  It was a time of great crisis but also great salvific deeds.

But what is most interesting for us is that Elijah and Elisha are precursors of the ministry of Jesus. This is made explicit in the final words of the Old Testament. At the very end of Malachi, which is the last book in the Old Testament, there is prophecy that Elijah would return before the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5). In the New Testament, that figure is identified as John the Baptist (Matthew 11:14). Jesus himself makes explicit references to his own ministry as the fulfillment of the ministry of Elijah and Elisha (Luke 4:25-27). Indeed, Elijah and Elisha are cited over 30x in the Gospels. What this tells us is that you cannot understand Jesus without understanding something of Elijah and Elisha. There are many parallels: Elijah is the forerunner of John the Baptist, Ahab of Herod, Jezebel of Herodias, and finally, Elisha is a type of Christ. In the sermon series, we will unpack all these allusions and parallels that point us to Jesus.

Captions

Top: Elijah at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 19)

Bottom: Elijah and the chariot of fire (2 Kings 2)