November 16 – A Voice from Heaven

"Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.  Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. "While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light." These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. - John 12:28-36 

A voice from Heaven spoke. It was not an angel. It was God the Father Himself. God had spoken at the baptism of Jesus and at the Transfiguration. …and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." Matthew 3:17 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" Matthew 17:5 In both of these situations, Jesus Christ was glorified. In this passage, God the Father is the one glorified.  

Jesus said that He would draw all men to Himself—what could be more specific than that? Lifted up—did the crowd understand that it was that Jesus would be “lifted up” and be crucified on a cross? I don’t think so. They were not seeking the light, so they didn’t recognize the Light—Jesus. Jesus slipped away—that was a way that He was familiar with and that He had used before. He slipped away from the crowd a couple of other times. The crowd couldn’t find Him. 

Can you find Jesus? He isn’t hiding from us now—we can find Him in Scripture and there are numerous books written about Him. Look for Him with all your heart. Even if you already “know” Jesus, when you search for Him, you’ll learn more about Him—new insights. I’ve found that the scripture comes alive and gives me new inspiration each time I study it. Walk in Jesus Light—search for Him. 

Dear Jesus—give us inspiration and understanding of You and Your word.

© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).