The fact that many people identified Jesus with the three great figures mentioned here in Matthew 16:14 (John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah) shows how they esteemed Jesus highly, but still did not know him as the Messiah. The disciples mention the view of Herod and his court first (see also Matthew 14:2). In regard to the second view, note that Malachi 4:5 foretold that Elijah would return as the Messiah’s herald. Finally, Jeremiah was the prophet who most closely resembled Jesus, since both showed a combination of divine authority and suffering. As well, various legends had arisen around Jeremiah (recounted in the apocryphal 2 Maccabees 2:1-9, 15:12-16), and some also believed that he might return as a forerunner of the Messiah (see the apocryphal 4 Ezra 2:18).
The fact that the people held Jesus in such high esteem implies that they were close to confessing him as the Messiah, without seeing him as he truly was (Luke 7:16), so they still did not believe in him (John 12:37–50), thinking of him as a prophet—but not of the Prophet spoken of in Deuteronomy 18:15–16. Note that the people generally believed Jesus was someone who had returned from the dead, perhaps thinking that in their time none had been born who could do what Jesus did, nor could any such be expected.
The fact that many people identified Jesus with the three great figures mentioned here in Matthew 16:14 (John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah) shows that the people esteemed Jesus highly, yet they still did not recognize him as the Messiah. In listing the people’s opinions, the disciples mention the view of Herod and his court first (see also Matthew 14:2). With regard to the second view it must be noted that the prophet Malachi (see Malachi 4:5) had foretold that Elijah would return as the forerunner of the Messiah. Jeremiah, in turn, was the prophet who most closely resembled Jesus, since both were marked by a combination of divine authority and suffering. Moreover, various legends had arisen around Jeremiah (recounted in the apocryphal 2 Maccabees 2:1-9, 15:12-16), and some also believed that he might return as a forerunner of the Messiah (see the apocryphal 4 Ezra 2:18).1
The fact that the people held Jesus in such high esteem seems to suggest that they were not far from confessing him as the Messiah, yet they did not see him as he truly was (Luke 7:16). The fact of the matter, however, is that the Jews still did not believe in him (John 12:37–50), merely thinking of him as a prophet—but not of that Prophet spoken of in Deuteronomy 18:15–16. It is furthermore also striking that the people generally believed Jesus was someone who had returned from the dead. They must have reasoned that in their time there were no men who were born who could do what Jesus did, nor could any such men be expected.2
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”