Jn. 12:27,28 – “Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
This is the third time the gospels record the Father speaking to His Son audibly from heaven. I think it is quite [powerful when you consider those three events. The first time was when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Before this Jesus had lived in obscurity in the remote village called Nazareth. His baptism marked not only the beginning of His ministry but Him willingly saying yes to the plan of redemption that was being set in motion on earth.
The next time we see the Father speak from heaven it was on the Mount of Transfiguration. The Lord’s countenance was changed and He began to shine with the glory of the Lord. Moses and Elijah were there speaking about the ‘exodus’ Jesus was about to take. That’s when the Lord spoke from heaven again, ‘This is my Beloved Son, listen to Him.” The significance of this moment is quite important. Moses and Elijah represent the law and the prophets of the Old Testament. This confirmation from heaven was saying just that – “listen to My Son, He is the law and the prophets”. Moses had prophesied about the Prophet that was to come. Elijah represented all of the prophets that spoke about the birth, the ministry, the death and resurrection, as well as the heavenly ministry of Jesus. Jesus was the fulfillment of everything that the old Covenant promised, the Father was declaring this with His voice of approval.
Finally we have the Lord speaking from heaven when Jesus is answering the questions of some gentiles that came to His disciples trying to figure out who Jesus was. He told them about His life being planted as a seed for the harvest of the earth. The Father spoke from heaven His voice of approval, “I will glorify My Name”. This is why Jesus had come, that all the nations of the world could see that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. This is the glory of God, redemption for all who call upon His name. God is speaking to this generation, its time for the final chapter of the glory of God to be written.
