“Did Christ finish His work for us? Then there can be no doubt but that He will also finish His work in us.”
John Flavel
Jesus was on his way to the cross and confessed, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (John 12:27-29) The Father answers the prayer of the Son and does so with a voice from heaven. This is the third time that the Father’s voice from heaven is heard. The first time was at the baptism of Jesus, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:21-22)
The second time was on the Mount of Transfiguration, “As he [Peter] was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:34-35) The first time the voice was heard was when Jesus was beginning his public ministry. This ministry would take him to Jerusalem where he would be sacrificed as “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) The second time the voice was heard was on the Mount of Transfiguration when “two men were talking with him [Jesus], Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:30-31) His departure means his suffering and death.
The voice of the Father is heard at key moments as Jesus begins, continues, and ends his earthly ministry. But here’s the kicker. The message of the voice is always for others and serves as a pointer. In the Gospel of John passage, Jesus instructs the crowd, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.” (John 12:30) What is the voice pointing to? It is asking the disciples or the crowds to listen to the Son and know that he is glorifying the Father by going to the cross and completing the work the Father gave him to do. Do you believe this? Have you come to trust Christ and his completed or finished work? If not, then turn to him today in repentance and faith and find rest. Have a blessed day and we will see many of you soon.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale
