The Sound of Thunder in a Hard Rain

Thanks to Vicke Bailey for the song suggestion.


John 12:28-30
“Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan

"I heard the sound of thunder, it roared out a warnin'." It's funny how people hear things. Some hear the roar of a wave that can drown the world. Others hear drummers while others hear whispers. Some starve while others laugh. Some hear poets and others clowns while some say it sounds like thunder, others say it sounds like the voice of an angel.

It isn't the message that changes, it's how people hear it; if they hear it at all. The voice from heaven says I have glorified my name and will do it again. The people heard the voice, but some heard thunder and others the voice of the angel.

This is when Jesus tells the people this voice has come for their sake, not his. The Lord Jesus has a relationship with his Father. They have an outstanding relationship that while they are separate persons, they share the same essence. They are both fully divine. So Jesus does not need to hear the Father's reassuring words. He hears them constantly in every fiber in his being. The voice wasn't for him, it was for us.

The Lord God tells all with ears to hear that he will glorify his name, he will glorify himself again and again. He will glorify his name constantly without ceasing. This is to reassure us. We live in a hectic, dangerous world, not so different from 2,000 years ago, and God will glorify his name. We can rest assured God will do as he says and glorify his name.

Funny though, some hear it as thunder and others as the voice of an angel. That's the difference, how are we going to hear it. A hard rain's a-gonna fall, Bob Dylan says so. How are we going to handle it when it comes. Will we hear the roar of a wave, a hundred drummers, or a thousand whispers? Will we be there for the one person starving or with the people laughing? Will we hear thunder or angels? The voice is there. The decision is ours.