John 12:27-36 (ESV)

²⁷ “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. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰ Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. ³⁴ So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵ So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus repeatedly foretold that his hour was coming. Now he made clear to those in the temple with him that the hour had come for him to be glorified. Although this was exactly as God had planned before the earth was even formed, Jesus’ soul grew troubled. The horrible pain and intense suffering Jesus faced was real, and no human has ever experienced such agony. The Greek word for “troubled” is a strong one and means “to cause inward turmoil, stir up, disturb, unsettle, or throw into confusion.” Jesus asked himself, “What shall I say?” Then he called out to his Father in distress, exclaiming, “Father, save me from this hour!” It is impossible to imagine the anguish he felt as he prepared himself for the cross. Even before the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus felt the weight of his impending execution and separation from his Father, yet he knew and agreed that this was exactly what he had come to earth to accomplish. In full obedience, Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify your name.” God responded audibly to Jesus, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd around him heard God’s response too and debated the source and meaning of the voice.

Jesus declared to those discussing what they heard, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.” Some said the voice of God was like thunder. Others said it was an angel speaking. So too today, some will hear God’s voice via creation, their conscience, or even the Scripture, and attribute it to “thunder” or something natural. Some will hear it, but remain unable to quite figure out what he said. It’s easy to forget that if you have responded to God’s call upon your life to repent and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, that means God actually allowed you to hear his voice. God gives us the ability to understand and respond to his word. We can’t see God, but he is present with us. We don’t hear him audibly, but we listen to him through the pages of the Bible as he speaks to us. We embrace the hope of heaven by faith, but the life to come is real. May we remember today that much exists beyond our ability to perceive, and may we never foolishly believe that reality is limited to what we can observe.