The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
The Father answered Jesus shortly before His betrayal and death with the assurance that He had glorified His name and would glorify it again. The crowd standing by did not agree on what they had heard, some calling it thunder and others saying an angel had spoken to Him, while the inquiring Greeks and the disciples caught the words and recognized Him as the Messiah sent from God. It was the Father's third public testimony to His Son's divinity and mission, given for the people's sake to confirm that He had spoken truth. That division reveals the enduring pattern that God's audible voice is heard by unbelievers only as thunder and earthquake, while believers know and understand His words. So at the last, when He announces the day and hour of Jesus' coming, the living saints, the sealed 144,000, will know and understand the time and shine with His glory, while the wicked will hear only thunder and an earthquake and cannot understand the jubilee words that set the pious slave free.
Hearing the Heavenly Voice
The voice spoke shortly before the betrayal and death, as Christ faced the cross. It declared that the Father had glorified His name and would glorify it again, and Jesus said it came for the people's sake. Those standing by heard it but did not all recognize it as a voice, and they disagreed about what they had heard.
Some thought it was thunder, while others said an angel had spoken to Him. Their different explanations stood in contrast to others present who caught the words. The inquiring Greeks understood the voice's meaning and discerned Jesus as the Messiah, God's Sent One. The disciples likewise caught the words of the voice and knew that an angel had spoken to Jesus.
The voice was the Father's third testimony to His Son, spoken just before the betrayal and testifying to His divinity. Unlike the earlier testimony, it was followed by no further public word in His defense during His suffering. At the cross, by contrast, no voice from heaven spoke in His favor while He suffered mockery.
Testimony to Christ's Mission
The voice from heaven answered prayer by declaring that the Father had glorified His name and would glorify it again, and it came for the sake of the people standing by. Those bystanders heard it yet did not all recognize it as a voice, for some supposed it had thundered while others supposed an angel had spoken to Him. It was given as a public witness to God's revelation of Himself in Christ. The inquiring Greeks caught its words and understood its meaning, discerning Jesus as God's Sent One, for the Father's testimony confirmed His mission and Messiahship and affirmed that He had spoken truth.
His death would cast out the prince of this world. His being lifted up would draw people of every nation. Yet not all would accept the evidence and obey the message of salvation.
Pattern for the Final Proclamation
What happened beside Jesus becomes the pattern for what will happen at the end, for God's audible voice from heaven is not understood by everyone. Unbelievers who hear it perceive only thunder and earthquake, while believers know and understand the words. The wicked hear the voice but do not grasp its words, mistaking it for thunder, while others recognize speech from heaven, and the righteous recognize it as God's voice and rejoice in deliverance.
So it will be again when God announces the day and hour of Jesus' coming with a voice like many waters. The living saints, the sealed 144,000 in number, will know and understand the voice and the time of that announcement. The wicked will hear it only as thunder and an earthquake. When God speaks the time He pours the Holy Spirit upon the saints, and their faces begin to light up and shine with the glory of God as Moses' face shone when he came down from Mount Sinai.
At the jubilee proclamation the same division appears, for the wicked cannot understand the words of God's voice. Then the pious slave rises in triumph and is freed from his chains.
The Father answered Jesus shortly before His betrayal and death with the assurance that He had glorified His name and would glorify it again. The crowd standing by did not agree on what they had heard, some calling it thunder and others saying an angel had spoken to Him, while the inquiring Greeks and the disciples caught the words and recognized Him as the Messiah sent from God. It was the Father's third public testimony to His Son's divinity and mission, given for the people's sake to confirm that He had spoken truth. That division reveals the enduring pattern that God's audible voice is heard by unbelievers only as thunder and earthquake, while believers know and understand His words. So at the last, when He announces the day and hour of Jesus' coming, the living saints, the sealed 144,000, will know and understand the time and shine with His glory, while the wicked will hear only thunder and an earthquake and cannot understand the jubilee words that set the pious slave free.
Hearing the Heavenly Voice
The voice spoke shortly before the betrayal and death, as Christ faced the cross. It declared that the Father had glorified His name and would glorify it again, and Jesus said it came for the people's sake. Those standing by heard it but did not all recognize it as a voice, and they disagreed about what they had heard.
Some thought it was thunder, while others said an angel had spoken to Him. Their different explanations stood in contrast to others present who caught the words. The inquiring Greeks understood the voice's meaning and discerned Jesus as the Messiah, God's Sent One. The disciples likewise caught the words of the voice and knew that an angel had spoken to Jesus.
The voice was the Father's third testimony to His Son, spoken just before the betrayal and testifying to His divinity. Unlike the earlier testimony, it was followed by no further public word in His defense during His suffering. At the cross, by contrast, no voice from heaven spoke in His favor while He suffered mockery.
Testimony to Christ's Mission
The voice from heaven answered prayer by declaring that the Father had glorified His name and would glorify it again, and it came for the sake of the people standing by. Those bystanders heard it yet did not all recognize it as a voice, for some supposed it had thundered while others supposed an angel had spoken to Him. It was given as a public witness to God's revelation of Himself in Christ. The inquiring Greeks caught its words and understood its meaning, discerning Jesus as God's Sent One, for the Father's testimony confirmed His mission and Messiahship and affirmed that He had spoken truth.
His death would cast out the prince of this world. His being lifted up would draw people of every nation. Yet not all would accept the evidence and obey the message of salvation.
Pattern for the Final Proclamation
What happened beside Jesus becomes the pattern for what will happen at the end, for God's audible voice from heaven is not understood by everyone. Unbelievers who hear it perceive only thunder and earthquake, while believers know and understand the words. The wicked hear the voice but do not grasp its words, mistaking it for thunder, while others recognize speech from heaven, and the righteous recognize it as God's voice and rejoice in deliverance.
So it will be again when God announces the day and hour of Jesus' coming with a voice like many waters. The living saints, the sealed 144,000 in number, will know and understand the voice and the time of that announcement. The wicked will hear it only as thunder and an earthquake. When God speaks the time He pours the Holy Spirit upon the saints, and their faces begin to light up and shine with the glory of God as Moses' face shone when he came down from Mount Sinai.
At the jubilee proclamation the same division appears, for the wicked cannot understand the words of God's voice. Then the pious slave rises in triumph and is freed from his chains.