“This is my Son, my Chosen One, listen to him!”

Luke 9:35 (ESV)

The voice of God coming in a cloud, while not a common occurrence, happened multiple times throughout the scriptures. It usually meant something big.

In this text, Peter, James, and John have been with Jesus up on a mountain praying. The Spirit of God came upon Jesus and he shone brightly. Not only did Jesus dazzle in appearance, but Moses and Elijah showed up to the party. Now, I’m not sure if Peter, James, and John actually recognised Moses and Elijah (after all, there were no photos or video podcasts kicking around), but the recognised that these were men of great importance and wanted to honour them.

Then a cloud came.

God’s voice spoke through the cloud and commanded that the men present follow Jesus. When the cloud lifted, Moses and Elijah had gone along their way leaving Jesus to stand alone on the mountain.

Even I am unsure of the completely significance of this text, but what I see is God showing men deserving of great respect and honour and then commanding us to listen to Jesus.

All around us are mighty men and women of God. Should we listen to them? Certainly. God, after all, was the one who set up the authority of the local church. We need to honour and respect those in the five-fold ministry (pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists, apostles), but not at the expense of listening to Jesus.

Look to Jesus, God’s Chosen One. Listen to him!

Daily Bible reading: Judges 10-11, Luke 9:1-36