1“For behold, the day comes, burning like a furnace, when all the proud and all who work wickedness will be stubble. The day that comes will burn them up,” says Yahweh of Armies, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out and leap like calves of the stall. 3You shall tread down the wicked; for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make,” says Yahweh of Armies.
4“Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.
5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes. 6He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
Disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus on John's behalf, "'Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?'" (Matt 11:3). That John knew of his unique role in relation to Messiah is evident in our first introduction to Him in Matthew 3:1-3. Identifying Himself by Isaiah 40:3, John was, "'The voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make ready the way of the LORD, Make His paths straight!"'" After Jesus' baptism, John saw the Spirit of God descend as a dove, and He heard the voice of God out of the heavens confirming Jesus as His beloved Son (Matt 3:16-17). However, as Jesus began His ministry, John was taken into custody in Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea (Josephus Antiquities, 18.117; Matt 4:12), for reasons that are explained in Matthew 14:1-12. The question John sent to Jesus by his disciples was in response to his having "heard of the works of Christ" (Matt 11:2). Absent any report of Jesus' judging his enemies, as John had predicted (Matt 3:10-12), John may have wondered whether this work was awaiting the coming of another forerunner, perhaps Elijah Himself (Mal 4:5). At this point in time, John could not have known that Christ would be rejected at His first coming and that Elijah would indeed prepare the way for the Lord's return to judge His enemies (Isa 61:2b; Matt 17:10-13). All John needed was the assurance that Jesus gently provided by His citation of the messianic signs He had performed in fulfillment of Isaiah 29:18-19; 35:5-6; and 61:1. One such miracle was the recent, well-publicized raising of widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17). Thus, Jesus' messianic credentials were demonstrated by the works He performed in fulfillment of prophecy.