What does the Bible mean when it says “the spirit of Elijah” in Luke 1:17?

Have you ever been lost while on a road trip? Maybe you just kept driving, hoping to find some sign or familiar landmark to get you back on track. Finally, you pulled over and asked someone for help, and the person smiled and pointed out the way. Relieved, you jumped back in your car and were on your way!

In many ways, the person who helped you is like Elijah the Tishbite. The message of Elijah “turned” people in a different direction. Some commentators believe one way to interpret “Tishbite” is “converter”—that is, someone who changes people’s direction and gets them moving in the right way.

That’s what Elijah did on Mount Carmel, proving the uselessness of the priests of Baal. The prophet turned people back to the true God of Israel. The writer Luke explains how John the Baptist would also turn the hearts of children back to their fathers. Even more telling, it would turn “the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.” We know that people who disobey God are walking away from Him.

They’ve turned their backs, much like rebellious children walking away from the wisdom of their parents. The wisdom of the just is found by how the just live: “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). John the Baptist turned hearts back to God. His work of guiding disobedient people to have faith in Christ put many people back on the path to the kingdom of heaven.

It’s exciting to know that the message of Elijah will once more be given before Christ returns. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Malachi 4:5). We are each called to be like Elijah in these last days, turning people to Jesus.

Key Bible Texts

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1:17 KJV)