A sound worth hearing
The Voice from Heaven
Three times in the Gospels the Father's own voice breaks in from heaven, and each time it honors the Son. To some it sounded like thunder, but it was the voice of God bearing witness to Jesus. Heaven itself spoke to confirm who He is.
“Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”John 12:28
The sound in Scripture
The sound in Scripture. As His hour drew near, Jesus prayed, "Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him" (John 12:28-29). Jesus answered, "This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes" (John 12:30). This was not the only time heaven spoke. At His baptism, "lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). On the mount of Transfiguration the voice came again from the bright cloud, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Matthew 17:5). At the beginning of His ministry, at its turning point, and as the cross drew near, the Father's voice sounded to identify and honor Jesus. Some heard only thunder, but faith heard the witness of God.
What it means
What it means. The voice from heaven is the Father testifying to the Son. God does not leave us to guess who Jesus is; He declares it Himself, naming Him beloved, well pleasing, and worthy to be heard. This is the highest witness there could be, for there is no greater authority than the voice of God. It also teaches that people can stand in the presence of divine revelation and hear only noise. The same sound that was the Father's testimony was, to some, mere thunder. Hearing truly is a gift, a matter of the heart, not only of the ears. The command on the mountain gathers it all: "hear ye him." Above the law and the prophets, above every other voice, the Father directs us to listen to His Son. To honor the Son is to honor the Father who sent Him, and to refuse the Son is to refuse the voice from heaven.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Every heavenly word centers on Jesus, the beloved Son, the Word who "was with God, and... was God" (John 1:1). The Father's command is our marching order: "hear ye him" (Matthew 17:5). And the Son's own voice carries the authority the Father confirms. His sheep hear it and follow: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). His voice even raises the dead, for "the hour is coming... when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live" (John 5:25). The voice from heaven and the voice of the Son agree perfectly, because the Father and the Son are one. To listen to Jesus is to obey the God who spoke from the cloud, and to trust Him is to receive the very witness of heaven.
Questions people ask
Why did some hear thunder and others hear words?
The same divine sound was revelation to those given ears to hear and mere noise to others. Scripture shows that truly hearing God is a matter of the heart, which is why Jesus so often said, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
What did the voice from heaven say about Jesus?
At the baptism and Transfiguration the Father called Jesus His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased, and on the mount added the command, "hear ye him." The consistent message is the Father honoring the Son and calling us to listen to Him.