Matthew 27:49

And the rest said, Let be; let us see whether Elijah cometh to save him.

All this talk of Elijah sprang from Pharisaical prejudice and the propaganda they had waged, alleging that Jesus could not be the Christ "because Elijah had not yet come." Theirs was a misinterpretation of the prophecy that "Elijah must first come." Christ had already identified John the Baptist as that Elijah which was to come - the Elijah foretold by the prophecies. Doubtless the Pharisees were still harping on their old argument to the effect that Christ could not be the Messiah (see under Matthew 17:10-13).