Malachi 4:5-6: Behold I am going to send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of Yahweh. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.

What is the ministry of Jesus? He comes to deliver us from sin, death, and the devil. He comes to bring us to everlasting life. He comes to be the Way that leads to the Father by showing us the Father. All those things are true, but in Matthew 17 Jesus describes His ministry as Christ differently.

When the disciples ask whether Elijah needs to come before the resurrection, Jesus answers Yes. Elijah must come before the resurrection, and His ministry will be a ministry of restoration. He comes to “restore all things” (17:11). Of course, the disciples eventually realize that Jesus is talking about John the Baptist, but the weight of that realization doesn’t quite hit them. If Elijah has already come, then the restoration of all things has already begun. John begins the restoration, and Jesus completes it.

This is the gospel, the good news of the New Testament. We are living in a world that is on its way to being restored. We live on the other side of the turning point of history, the moment when humanity, heading for disaster, was turned from disaster toward God. We live on the other side of Elijah and the resurrection, and that means all things are being restored.

The specific prophecy that the disciples and Jesus have in mind is the one from Malachi 4, where the Lord promises to send Elijah before the great day of the Lord. Yahweh is coming to purge and renew His people once last time, once and for all, and Elijah will be the agent of that restoration.

Specifically, Malachi says that Elijah will come to restore fathers to children and children to fathers. Restoring the family is at the heart of restoring all things. Healing the conflicts of the generations will be at the center of the work of Elijah. Harmonizing the spirit of the sons with the spirit of the fathers is what Elijah is up to.

And today, as in every baptism, we see that program of restoration extended. As Toby has pointed out in recent sermons, one of the implications of baptism is that our parents and children are disciples with us. We share the same name, not only the same family name, but the name of the Triune God, the family name “Christian.” The water of baptism, among other things, symbolizes and effects, effects by symbolizing, the restoration of the fathers to children and of children to fathers. Baptism comes with the promise that the Lord is restoring all things, including the Hill family, making it new, making it a little Eden, making your home a fruitful and productive and beautiful garden.

Trust this baptismal promise. Trust this Christ. Look to Jesus, the Risen One, to restore all things.