John Calvin Commentary Matthew 17:11

"And he answered and said, Elijah indeed cometh, and shall restore all things:" — Matthew 17:11 (ASV)

Elijah indeed will come first. We have stated elsewhere the origin of that error which prevailed among the Jews. As John the Baptist was to resemble Elijah by restoring the fallen condition of the Church, the prophet Malachi (Malachi 4:5–6) had even given to him the name of Elijah; and this had been rashly interpreted by the scribes, as if Elijah the Tishbite (1 Kings 17:1) were to return a second time to the world. Christ now declares that everything Malachi uttered was true, but that his prediction had been misunderstood and distorted from its true meaning. “The promise,” He says, “that Eliah would come was true, and has been already fulfilled; but the scribes have already rejected Elijah, whose name they idly and falsely invoke in opposing me.”

And will restore all things. This does not mean that John the Baptist restored them perfectly, but that he conveyed and handed them over to Christ, who would complete the work which he had begun.

Now, as the scribes had shamefully rejected John, Christ reminds His disciples that the deceptions of such men should not cause them uneasiness. It should not be considered strange if, after having rejected the servant, they should, with equal disdain, reject his Master. And so that no one might be distressed by such a strange proceeding, our Lord mentions that the Scripture contained predictions of both events: that the Redeemer of the world, and Elijah his forerunner, would be rejected by false and wicked teachers.