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I once attended a Jewish Passover meal. Noting an empty chair, I asked, "Are we expecting another guest?" "No, by tradition we seat place for Elijah," came the reply. For the Jews, Elijah represents a longing for a type of messiah they never got. It occurred to me later that for many Christians, too, Elijah represents what we think we want in a messiah. Who among us does not harbor a secret desire for God to act now as in Elijah's day?

Our cartoon image of a prophet comes largely from Elijah, who lived in the wilderness, wore the skins of animals, and emerged from hiding to make lightning raids on a pagan empire. When John the Baptist appeared centuries later,for many Jews (including Jesus), he brought Elijah vividly to mind.

Observers wondered for a time if Jesus himself might be Elijah reincarnate,but he soon disabused them of that notion. Jesus simply did not fit the Elijah mold:

— Elijah solved problems. Ravens fed Elijah in the desert, and he became a popular house-guest by providing a widow an endless supply of oil and flour. When the widow's son died, Elijah promptly resurrected him. Some of these miracles prefigured Jesus' own, but with an important difference: Jesus' miracles benefited others but not himself. He fed 5,000, yet went hungry in the wilderness. The source of Living Water died with the words "I thirst" on his lips.

— Nobody messed with Elijah. Children love hearing stories about Elijah because, frankly, they have a Terminator aspect to them. This scraggly desert prophet strolled into the gleaming city of Samaria and took on a thousand false prophets in their fancy white robes. He blasted the king for seizing a commoner's vineyard. When a company of soldiers came to arrest him, fire dropped from heaven to incinerate them. The contrast with Jesus could hardly be greater. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him," Jesus said. His disciples earned Jesus' rebuke by calling for fire on unrepentant cities. And when the powers strung him up like a common criminal, he had only these words for his tormentors: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

— Elijah gave absolute proof. Is there a biblical scene more theatrically staged than Elijah's confrontation on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal? It was quite a day: after disposing of the 850 pagan priests, Elijah ended a three-year drought and bested a chariot in a 17-mile race. In great contrast, Jesus declined every opportunity to prove himself ("A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign," he said), resisted Satan's temptations toward a more dazzling style, did not call on rescuing angels, and died listening to the skeptics' taunts.

— Elijah did not die. "Swing low, sweet chariot, comin' for to carry me home," the slaves used to sing, harking back to Elijah's dramatic departure. Those chariots of fire, fodder for spirituals and movie titles, furnished Elijah an escape route around death. A prophet who did not die? Little wonder Jews anticipate his return. As for Jesus, yes, he surely died, an ignominious death reserved mostly for slaves and insurrectionists. In a great irony, when he called out from the cross, "Eli, eli … ," onlookers presumed he was calling for Elijah's help.

On reflection, I easily understand why the Jews value Elijah.He stands for what I want in a prophet, what I want in a God: someone to solve my problems, protect me, give me absolute proof, and offer an escape route around life's messiest problems.

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December 8 1997, Vol. 41, No. 14