The Meaning of Mark 9:13 Explained

Mark 9:13

KJV: But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

YLT: But I say to you, That also Elijah hath come, and they did to him what they willed, as it hath been written of him.'

Darby: but I say unto you that Elias also is come, and they have done to him whatever they would, as it is written of him.

ASV: But I say unto you, that Elijah is come, and they have also done unto him whatsoever they would, even as it is written of him.

What is the context of Mark 9:13?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  I say  unto you,  That  Elias  is  indeed  come,  and  they have done  unto him  whatsoever  they listed,  as  it is written  of  him. 

What does Mark 9:13 Mean?

Study Notes

That Elias See,
Matthew 11:14 ; Luke 1:17

Verse Meaning

The disciples thought Elijah still had to come, but Jesus explained that he had come. His enemies had done to him what the Old Testament recorded. Jesus was speaking of John the Baptist ( Matthew 17:13). The Old Testament passage to which Jesus referred was 1 Kings 19:1-3; 1 Kings 19:10. There Ahab, and especially Jezebel, swore to kill Elijah. They "wished" to execute him. This is exactly what "King" Herod Antipas, and especially Herodias, really did to John the Baptist. Now we see why Mark recorded the story of John"s death ( Mark 6:17-29). It was to show that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecies about Elijah coming.
"In this case Scripture had foretold the future not by prophecy but by a type. The fate intended for Elijah (I Kings xix2 , 10) had overtaken John." [1]
Evidently Mark did not mention John the Baptist as the fulfillment of this prophecy, as Matthew did, because his identity is obvious to the careful reader. The fulfillment was not complete, however, because someone will come in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way before Messiah"s second coming ( Malachi 4:5; cf. Revelation 11).
This discussion clarified for the disciples and for Mark"s readers how Jesus" messiahship harmonized with Old Testament prophecy that seems to contradict it. Disciples of Jesus must have no doubts about His being the Son of Prayer of Manasseh , especially since they can anticipate testing through suffering for their faith. The importance of strong faith comes through in the next incident that Mark narrated.

Context Summary

Mark 9:2-29 - Rapture And Service
The Apostles had been gladdened by the promise of the coming Kingdom. The transfiguring light that shone from our Lord's face differed from the shining of Moses' face. With Moses the light was from without, and faded; but with Christ the light shone from within. Surely at that moment He might have stepped back into heaven by the open door, through which the representatives of the Law and the prophets had come; but He turned His back on the joy of the Father's home, and set His face to endure the cross, that He might become, not the example only, but the Redeemer of men. What a contrast between that scene on Hermon's slopes, where the glory of Jesus was brighter than the glistening snows about Him, and that below, where the demoniac child writhed in pain! Raphael does well to group these two incidents in one picture, for we are shown here that the duty of the Church is not to build tabernacles on the mount of vision, but to take her way into the haunts of crime and misery and cope with the power of Satan. Faith is the channel through which the divine power passes. Its quantity is of less importance than its quality. It may be minute as a mustard seed, but, like it, must contain the principle of life. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 9

1  Jesus is transfigured
11  He instructs his disciples concerning the coming of Elijah;
14  casts forth a deaf and mute spirit;
30  foretells his death and resurrection;
33  exhorts his disciples to humility;
38  bidding them not to prohibit such as are not against them,
42  nor to give offense to any of the faithful

What do the individual words in Mark 9:13 mean?

But I say to you that also Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they desired as it has been written of him
ἀλλὰ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι καὶ Ἠλίας ἐλήλυθεν καὶ ἐποίησαν αὐτῷ ὅσα ἤθελον καθὼς γέγραπται ἐπ’ αὐτόν

λέγω  I  say 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
ὑμῖν  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
καὶ  also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
Ἠλίας  Elijah 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἠλίας  
Sense: a prophet born at Thisbe, the unflinching champion of the theocracy in the reigns of the idolatrous kings Ahab and Ahaziah.
ἐλήλυθεν  has  come 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ἐποίησαν  they  did 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.
αὐτῷ  to  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ὅσα  whatever 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ὅσος  
Sense: as great as, as far as, how much, how many, whoever.
ἤθελον  they  desired 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: θέλω  
Sense: to will, have in mind, intend.
γέγραπται  it  has  been  written 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γράφω 
Sense: to write, with reference to the form of the letters.