Then a voice came from heaven, ”I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said, ”This voice was for your benefit, not mine.”
What would you expect the voice of God to sound like? Small and quiet? Loud and frightening? Now that I think about it, God is capable of both. Certainly one doesn’t expect the Holy Spirit to shout when trying to get our attention. At least not audibly.
But God does have a voice. Occasionally, He chooses to speak. Ezekiel records the sound of God’s voice in his vision as being like “the roar of rushing waters.” (Ezekiel 43:2) Daniel, in his vision, records the voice of God as “the sound of a multitude.” (Daniel 10:6) John, in his vision on the Island of Patmos, heard “a loud voice like a trumpet” that was like, “the sound of rushing waters.” (Revelation 1: 10; 15)
In Acts 22 Paul recounts his conversion on the road to Damascus. While he understood the voice from heaven, the others with him did not. In the case of today’s verse, something similar happens. Some heard the voice, others heard only thunder.
What are we to make of this? The Gospel seems to be quite realistic here. Who hasn’t seen a situation that left people arguing about what really happened? Almost every form of sports, from football to ice skating, leaves people arguing about what they saw if the stakes are high enough. In this case, though, we have one testimony that dramatically shifts the balance in favor of it being a voice. Jesus Himself said it was a voice.
Let’s Discuss: How does it feel when someone argues with you about what you saw or heard with your own eyes and ears?
It doesn’t feel good, because basically they are either calling you a liar or crazy. This testimony had the witness being the Father and the Son. We can trust it.
It feels petty that they wouldn’t believe my firsthand experience.
I agree with both of you. Thank you for sharing. Sometimes such questions make me even question myself. That doesn’t feel good, either.
It doesn’t feel good, but I don’t like taking about my wife behind her back…
Actually trying to make some point how it’s even more painful if the disagreement comes from someone who you feel would love and trust you.
It’s Friday and words are failing me…
Point taken, Robster.
Luckily nobody here knows your real identity!!
🙂