The Father's Last Audible
God's Command to Earth
“While he was still speaking [Peter], a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’ (Matt 17:5). NIV
Peter’s Was Interrupted by God
While Peter was still talking about his idea of building “three shelters” (John 17:4), to commemorate Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah. God interrupted Peter to show him where his attention and loyalty should lie—on the Son of God, who is greater than Moses or Elijah, who stood for the Old Testament witness given to Jesus.
This is the last audible commandment from God the Father, more important and authoritative than the Law given on Mt. Sinai. God's first audible commands were written on “tablets of stone.” This audible command from God is to be written on “tablets of human hearts” (2 Cor 3:3). For God "has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter [the Law] but of the Spirit; for the letter [the Law] kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor 3:6).
God Himself is telling the world what he wants us to do—Listen to His Son. “For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval” (John 6:27). Listening to Jesus became the theme of the New Testament; Moses and Elijah carried weight only as witnesses to Christ. “For Moses said,” said Peter, “The Lord your God will raise for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people” (Acts 3:22,23).
To Listen is God's Command
The Greek word for listen is akouó, meaning “to hear, to listen, and to understand.” This is God's second audible commandment to us during Jesus' life.
This command carries the salvation of the world: “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4). Christ fulfills and embodies the Law. The Law demands righteousness; Christ provides righteousness for the sinner that exceeds the Law's demands, as the Son of God is more complete than just ten commands.
"Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (Rom 10:4). Christ is the conclusion of all that the Law wished to teach us. Through the law we had a righteousness that came by obedience; through Christ we have a "righteousness that is by faith" (Rom 9:30).
Before Christ, the Law provided righteousness if you obeyed the law, “if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness” (Deut 6:25). Now after Christ, righteousness comes by faith in Christ, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile” (Rom 3:22).
We are to do a new kind of obedience. Jesus said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he [the Father] has sent” (John 6:29). For today we “know that the works of the law do not justify a person, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So, we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Gal 2:16). To be justified is to be forgiven; on account of the atoning blood of the cross of Christ, all our sins are completely forgiven by grace, through faith.
On Last Commandment
God spoke three out loud to the earth, three in the New Testament. First time at the baptism. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descend like a dove and alight on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matt 3:16-17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22)
The second time, when Jesus’ “face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus” (Matt 17:2-3). God then spoke audibly: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matt 17:5).
At the baptism of Jesus, "a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased '” (Mark 1:11).
The prophet Isaiah: God declared, "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight" (Matt 12:18).
Three times God has declared that He loved His Son. Once He is "well pleased" with His Son, and once He is the one "in whom I delight." Thus, to be in the channel of God’s love is to love His Son, and we should listen carefully to what He teaches. This clearly shows God's character: He wholeheartedly loves His Son; thus, by faith in His Son, we are in the channel of all of God’s love. What more could we wish for?
For those who have listened to Jesus and have experienced love springing up and growing in their heart and soul. They have come to know an overwhelming love. They have tasted a love that is above human love, a love not sourced from this earth. This is what Jesus spoke of when He said, "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matt 10:37). Love for God and His Son will supersede, by depth of emotion, a love that is not of human origin, a love that is primary and first. Yet this love for God and His Son enhances all other loves we have—family and friends—but nothing on earth or in our lives is greater than our love for God and His Son.
Jesus' teachings are not just human in origin. Jesus said, “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me” (John 14:24). No one else could say this, not Moses, not Elijah, not Samuel, not King David or Solomon. No one but Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can claim that his words come from God the Father.
The last Audible Voice of God to be heard on earth
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, for the last few days of his life on earth. Philip brought a group of Greeks who said, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus” (John 12:20). As usual, a crowd surrounded Jesus as the Greeks approached him. Jesus was very open about the trouble he would face in a few hours. He was deeply distressed; there was turmoil on his face, and he said out loud, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
All of a sudden, 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.” (John 12:27,28).
Apparently, some in the crowd did not understand, but the disciples did and have left this record for us. The point is, God will bring honor to Jesus. God has brought Him honor; through the life and death of His Son, He has accepted the atonement for the sins of the entire world. Today Jesus is the most recognizable name in human history. Millions and millions honor Him, scattered across the world over the last two centuries. Millions honor Him every second of the day. Who among good men or women can claim such a lasting record of devotion and love?
Angels Speak to the World
In the book of Revelation, an angel flies in heaven having “the everlasting gospel…saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him…'” (Rev 14:6,7). God is speaking to our world, proud of its accomplishments in technology, science, astronomy, and medicine. If ever there was a society that could boast over all other generations, it is today. God would have our minds turned to Jesus, His Son, to give Him honor and glory, rather than to ourselves and the things we create.
Build on the Words of Jesus
Jesus cites a parable of two houses, one on the sand and the other on the rock. Jesus emphasizes the importance of listening to His word. “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt 7:24)
The Last Commandment
God has added one last commandment to the earth: What is it? It is to listen to and keep the teachings of Jesus, His Son. We are told to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col 3:16). Paul tells us that through Christ we have access to God the Father, “according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Eph 3:11,12). Our access to God is made possible by our continued focus on Jesus, which is called “the gospel of Christ” (Phil 1:27).
So seriously are we to listen to God’s Son; failing to do so is death. Paul says, “When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thess 1:7-9).
“In repentance and rest
is your salvation,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
Isa 30:15 NIV
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All Bible quotations are from the New International Version, unless otherwise indicated.
Written by: Brothers & Sisters in Christ Jesus
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