‘The crowd standing around, heard it and were saying it thundered. Others were saying, “an angel spoke to him”.

The actual words of the thunderous cry from Heaven were not understood by the crowd, although Jesus understood them. But the crowd were moved by the roar. Some ‘were saying’ – there were awed discussions among the crowd. All had heard something, but not all were willing to accept what it was. Some, the sceptical, claimed it was thunder, others, the half-believing, were convinced it was the voice of an angel. But all had heard it and none was unmoved. We can compare with this how the multitude at Sinai heard the thunder of God’s voice but did not discern the words (Exo 20:18-21; Exo 24:3). John may well have intended the comparison. A new covenant was being enacted (Mat 26:28; Luk 22:20).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Joh 12:29. The people thereforesaid that it thundered: The sound of this voice was evidently supernatural, being strong and loud as thunder; but at the same time so articulate that all who heard Jesus address the Father, heard also the words. The word rendered voice, and that rendered thunder, are used promiscuously by the inspired writers, according to the Hebrew idiom, wherein the word koloth, voices, usually signifies thunder. Thunder frequently attended a voice from heaven: in allusion to which, perhaps, the voice itself was called by the ancient Jews bath-kol, or “the daughter of the voice,” being ushered in with thunder, and as it were produced from it. This will serve to explain the different sentiments of the people concerning this circumstance. Some of them said, It thunders; and others, that an angel spake; each of them declaring the truth so far as there was thunder joined with the voice from heaven; though that voice was of one much greater than an angel. See Rev 4:5; Rev 8:5 and Mat 3:17. Dr. Lightfoot has well observed, that our Saviour had thrice the testimony of a voice from heaven;first, when he entered on his public ministry, as the high priest of our profession at his baptism; Mat 3:17 the second time, when a command was given to hear him, as the great Prophet of the church, at his transfiguration; Mat 17:5. And now again when he had made his public entry into Jerusalem as a king.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it , said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.

Ver. 29. That it thundered; others said, An angel, &c. ] But the apostles and some few others understood that it was neither thunder nor an angel, but God that spake. Fuerunt praeter Apostolos etiam aliqui minus sinistri interpretes. (Calvin.) In like sort today God speaks by his word, but few hear him in it. The word of God (saith Forbes on Rev 14:1-20 ) hath three degrees of operation in the hearts of men. First, it falleth to men’s ears, as the sound of many waters; a confused sound, which commonly bringeth neither terror nor joy, but yet a wondering and acknowledgment of a strange force, and more than human power, Mar 1:22 ; Mar 1:27 Act 13:41 . The second effect is, the voice of thunder; which brings not only wonder, but fear: these two may be in the reprobate, as Felix, and the multitude in our text. The third effect, proper to the elect, is the sound of harping; while the word not only ravisheth with admiration, and striketh the conscience with terror, but also filleth it with sweet peace and joy.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

29. ] Some heard words , but did not apprehend their meaning; others a sound , but no words. I should rather believe this difference to have been proportioned to each man’s inner relation to Christ, than fortuitous.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Joh 12:29 . . The mass of the people which was standing by and heard the voice did not recognise it as a voice, but said it thundered. Others caught, if not the words, yet enough to perceive it was articulate speech, and said that an angel had spoken to Him.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

thundered, &c. They heard a sound, but could not distinguish what it was. Compare Act 9:4; Act 22:9.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

29.] Some heard words, but did not apprehend their meaning; others a sound, but no words. I should rather believe this difference to have been proportioned to each mans inner relation to Christ, than fortuitous.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Joh 12:29. , having heard it) They had heard the sound, not the words. In the greatest revelations there remains something whereby faith may be exercised.-, thunder) It was spring.[321]

[321] When thunder is frequent.-E. and T.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Joh 12:29

Joh 12:29

The multitude therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it had thundered: others said, An angel hath spoken to him.-This voice most likely spoke in the Hebrew or Aramaic tongue as the voice to Saul did. The people hearing the sound and not understanding what was said, thus concluded from the temperament of the hearers. [They heard it as well as Jesus, but their ears were not attuned to heavenly speech. Others realized that it was more than a sound, that it was a “voice, but were not able to distinguish it from a clap of thunder.]

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

As we closed the previous address we were considering those words of the Savior recorded in verses 24-28: Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit (v. 24). He was speaking of Himself, for He came into this world, the incarnate Son of God, a Man of a different order to any other, absolutely sinless, holy, and without blame. Had it not been that in grace He went to the cross and died for us, He must have remained alone as Man for eternity. But as a result of His death there is now a glorious harvest of redeemed men and women. The corn of wheat fell into the ground and died, and millions have been saved through His death.

To those who are saved there comes the challenge, If any man serve me, let him follow me (v. 26). Then our Lord, realizing that the cross was just before Him and that on that cross He was to drink the cup of judgment that our sins had filled, said, Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? (v. 27). No, He did not ask that. He said, But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven [in immediate response], saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again (v. 28). God was glorified in the perfect life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He would be glorified in His sacrificial death and in His wondrous resurrection.

The people heard the noise of the voice, but they could not make out the words, and so they said it thundered. There are only a very few who have an ear for the voice of God. It is just the same today as it was then. When God is speaking in power, possibly through one of His servants in some great gathering where the message is gripping individuals who are in earnest about spiritual realities, the great majority say, Its only a noise, just thunder; nothing to it. They dont hear the voice of God. Other people rise a little higher. There were those who said, An angel spake to him (v. 29). But it was neither thunder nor an angel; it was the Father Himself.

Long before this, after His baptism in Jordan, the Fathers voice was heard, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Mat 3:17; Mar 1:11; Luk 3:22). And again on the Mount of Transfiguration that same voice may be heard authenticating the works and the message and the perfection of the Son, in almost the same words: This is my beloved Son: hear ye him (Mat 17:5; Mar 9:7; Luk 9:35). And now He speaks of Jesus in connection with the glory of His name, and says, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again (Joh 12:28), that is, through the work that He was about to accomplish on the cross. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes (v. 30). And then He made the tremendous statement, Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me (vv. 31-32).

There are really four parts to this great statement of His. He speaks of a judged world, a vanquished prince, a lifted-up Savior, and a coming Judge. The first thing is, Now is the judgment of this world. What was He referring to? The judgment of this world was expressed in the cross of Christ. The world said of the Lord Jesus, We dont want Him. He came and presented Himself as the King who would have set everything right if men would have received Him, but they cried, We have no king but Caesar (19:15), so they refused Him, and in refusing Him they brought judgment upon themselves, and the entire world has been under judgment ever since.

Do you wonder sometimes why God permits certain dreadful things to happen in this world? It is because people rejected the Prince of Peace. Think how different it might have been if Jesus had been received, had the men of His day accepted Him, had He set up His kingdom in power and glory. Then wars would long since have disappeared from the earth, sorrow and sighing and sickness would be done away with, and millennial blessings would have been enjoyed during these past centuries. By rejecting Christ men brought judgment on themselves, and so no one need be surprised at the dire things that are coming on the world. The surprise, rather is, that God holds back His wrath and does not deal in summary judgment with men because of their sins. The world is like one condemned to die, but still permitted to live on until that sentence will be executed. Soon the day of Gods red heavens will come; soon the vials of the wrath of God will be poured out upon this world, and then indeed will men know its judgment to the full.

But now grace is mingled with judgment. God is sending out a message of mercy. He is calling upon people to repent and to receive the Savior they once rejected. Have you done that? Have you accepted the Lord Jesus? Do you remember those striking words of the apostle Peter to the Jews: Save yourselves from this untoward generation (Act 2:40)? What does he mean? Somebody might well ask, We cannot save ourselves, can we? No, we cannot save ourselves, so far as salvation from hell is concerned. We can only be saved from that through the finished work of Christ on the cross. For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (4:12). What, then, did Peter mean when he said, Save yourselves from this untoward generation? It is just another way of saying, Break with the world that is under judgment, step out from that world and take sides with the One who is now rejected. If you do that, then you are secure from the judgment that is coming upon the world.

One often grieves to see Christians who seem to enter so feebly into this. Why is it that some Christians are not interested in separation from the world? It is because they have never realized that the world is a judged scene, that all that men delight in will soon be burned up in the day of Jehovahs wrath, and that God is calling His people to walk in separation from the world. Sometimes our dear young people think their godly pastors and teachers and parents are too severe and strait-laced because they try to warn them against things that are of a worldly character. Remember, from this blessed Book of God they have learned the end of all these things, and it is in order that youth may be spared the sorrows of the coming judgment that they call upon them now to separate themselves from the world. Save yourselves from this untoward generation. One thing I know, in that day when the seven vials of the wrath of God will be poured out upon this world, nobody will be sorry that he lived a separated life and that he walked apart from the world that God is going to judge. Now is the judgment of this world. It is already judged, but the judgment is not yet executed.

The second thing the Savior says is, Now shall the prince of this world be cast out (Joh 12:31). Who is the prince of this world? Satan. How did he become the prince of this world? He is a usurper. God put this world under the charge of our first parents. He said to Adam, Have authority over the world; I have given it all to you, and you are to take charge of it for Me. But Adam gambled away his title as prince of this world to the Devil, and ever since then Satan has been the prince, and not only the prince but the god of this world.

But you remember the promise when the Lord said, in pronouncing judgment upon the serpent, The Seed of the woman shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel (see Gen 3:15). In the cross of Christ the heel of Jesus, the Seed of the woman, was bruised, but in that same cross the head of the serpent was bruised. And so Satan is now a vanquished prince, and yet there are still thousands and millions of people who own his authority. In the coming day when he is to be cast down from heaven into the bottomless pit, and at last into the lake of fire, Gods full judgment will be carried out upon him.

Now notice the third thing. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth (Joh 12:32). What was the Lord referring to there? The sentence as a whole reads like this: And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me. I think this verse is often entirely misapplied. I have frequently heard it used in this way: If the preacher lifts up Jesus, all men will be drawn unto Him. We all believe that the only way to draw men to Christ is to preach the gospel, and that is our mission-to preach the gospel. But did one ever know all men to be drawn to Jesus through the preaching of the gospel? I have had a continual sorrow in my heart for fifty years because men are not all drawn when I lift up Jesus in preaching.

I remember over fifty years ago when I accepted Christ on my knees in my own room in Los Angeles, and how three nights later I stepped out with a group in the open air to give my first testimony for Christ. Some way or another as I began to speak I forgot all circumstances. I hadnt studied any sermon, but I found I had preached a half-hour when the leader of the meeting stopped me and said we should have been in the hall twenty minutes ago.

I had to stop, but my heart was full. I thought, These people only need to know about Jesus, and they will all be saved. I remember my text as though it was yesterday: He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isa 53:5). Oh, how I preached with all the fervor of my young heart, and I thought, They only need to know, and they will come to Jesus. But they didnt come. There was a great crowd gathered around and some of them looked on curiously and said, Whats that youngster talking about? What does a lad of fourteen know about this? And they turned and went away and only one came to me and said, My boy, you seem to have found something that I have been looking for all my life and never been able to get. He was an aged black man with snow-white hair crowning his face, and I led him to Christ-my first convert. But the rest passed on and seemed totally indifferent, and for fifty years I have been trying to lift up Jesus. I hope I can say before God I have had no other message. I recognize there are a great many different lines of truth in this blessed Word, and my commission is not merely to preach the gospel but to preach the Word, for all these different lines of truth center in Jesus. I hope I can say with Paul, Whom we preach (Col 1:28).

I trust the day will never come when I will be found preaching what instead of whom. But I testify to this, that after fifty years of trying to lift up Jesus in preaching, I havent seen all men drawn unto Him. Sometimes as I look out over the audience here on Sunday night with thirty-five hundred to four thousand people present, my heart trembles. I say to myself, What an opportunity! And again I think that in that great multitude there are only about two hundred or three hundred who do not believe in Jesus-the great majority are already Christians. But the others, where are they?. The people you would like to reach. They are on the streets, in the theaters, in other places of worldly amusement, and dont care. Lift up Jesus? Yes. But that does not draw all men to Him. You say, Well, then, is the Bible wrong? No, but sometimes our interpretation of it is wrong. It does not say here that if the preacher lifts up Jesus all men will be drawn unto Him. Note carefully what it does say, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. And then look at the Holy Spirits explanation in verse 33: This he said, signifying what death he should die.

There you have it. The lifting up here is not referring to preaching. That lifting up is a reference to Calvary. Its the same thing as that which was brought before Nicodemus when Jesus said, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life (Joh 3:14). When the people of Israel were bitten by the fiery serpents in the wilderness, God said to Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live (Num 21:8). And Jesus practically says to Nicodemus, That serpent of brass is a picture of Myself. A writhing, twisting serpent a picture of Jesus? Yes, of Jesus made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him (2Co 5:21). You see, it was the serpent that caused the trouble. They were bitten by the fiery serpent, and the serpent is the recognized symbol in the Bible of Satan and sin, and that is how all the trouble began in the world. We are all infected by the poison of sin, the poison of asps is under our lips. Every one of us has been infected by the serpents poison, but Jesus came and when He was lifted up on the cross He was made sin for us.

He took the guiltys sinners place,

And suffered in our stead;

For man-oh, miracle of grace!-

For man the Saviour bled!

The serpent in the wilderness was made of brass, and brass is the symbol of judgment. It spoke of Christ bearing our judgment. It was a serpent that had no poison in it. It could not injure anyone, and Jesus-holy, harmless, and undefiled-has been lifted up. He says, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth [that is, on the cross], will draw all men unto me.

Jesus is the uplifted Savior. Of course, the preacher is to tell all men that Jesus died for them. Of course, he is to point to the crucified One.

There is life in a look at the Crucified One,

There is life at this moment for thee;

Then look, sinner, look, unto Him and be saved.

Unto Him who was nailed to the tree.

Oh, why was He there as the Bearer of sin,

If on Jesus thy guilt was not laid?

Oh, why from His side flowed the sin-cleansing blood,

If His dying thy debt has not paid?

And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me. But it is not now that all men are drawn to Him. The great majority pass on their way unheeding. The Son of God seems to cry, as it were, to mankind: Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger (Lam 1:12). What is your answer? Do you go on your way, saying, Its nothing to me.

Ill live for myself, for myself alone,

For myself and none beside-

Just as if Jesus had never lived,

And as if He had never died.

You can turn away from Him if you desire. You can refuse His grace and spurn His love and trample on His gospel, if thats what you want to do. Nobody is ever going to force you to accept Christ. You can go on in your sins and be lost forever. But one thing you cant do-you cant evade Him at the end.

If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Some day the One who was lifted up on the cross will sit on the throne of judgment. Some day the One who took our place in grace on the tree will be the occupant of the Great White Throne, and then all men will be drawn to Him. The word translated drawn here suggests compelling power. Its exactly the same word that is used in the last chapter of this gospel, where it speaks of the net enclosing one hundred and fifty-three great fishes, and they came, we are told, dragging the net to the land. You see, the fish were helpless; they were dragged in the net to land. I, if I be lifted up, will draw [drag] all men unto me. Men may say, But I dont want to come to Him. I dont want to face Him. I dont want to give an account to Him. But you will not be asked if you want to or not. You will have to face Him and stand in the presence of Him who says, If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.

Oh, how much better to be drawn by love divine and come to Him in the day of His grace, than to wait to be drawn to Him in judgment when it will be too late to be saved!

But now we must notice our responsibility in view of all this. We read, in verse 34: The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man? They practically say, We dont know what you are talking about. We are looking for a Messiah who is coming on earth to destroy our enemies, and the one you are talking about is the Son of Man. We dont understand that. You speak of the Son of Man. Who is this Son of Man? It is Jesus, who is God over all, blessed forevermore, who became man in grace for our redemption. Jesus said to them, Yet a little while is the light with you (v. 35a). He had told them before, I am the light of the world. I am only going to be here a little while and then I am going out to die. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them (vv. 35b-36).

These words should come home to our hearts today. We have every evidence that we are getting near the close of the present dispensation of the grace of God to be succeeded by the darkest night this world has ever known. Our Lords words may well have a special message for all of us. Walk while ye have the light. Accept the truth of God while you have the opportunity. Believe the message while it is still being proclaimed, for darkness is coming, and he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. We are told that thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Psa 119:105), and again, the entrance of thy words giveth light (v. 130). And so the light is shining today, and all men who will may walk in the light. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (1Jn 1:7).

Come to the light, tis shining for thee,

Sweetly the light has dawned upon me;

Once I was blind, but now I can see,

The light of the world is Jesus!

But it is not only to men outside that the message comes: Walk while ye have the light, but oh, Christians, this Word was given to shed light on your path. Yet how many believers there are who are opposing the light, who are going on in ways of their own devices, refusing to submit to the truth of the Word of God. We only have a little while longer in which to be faithful to the Lord who saved us. Let us yield ourselves wholly to Him to walk in the light while we have the light. The night cometh, when no man can work (Joh 9:4).

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

angel

(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

thundered: Exo 19:16, Exo 20:18, Job 37:2-5, Job 40:9, Eze 10:5, Rev 6:1, Rev 8:5, Rev 11:19, Rev 14:2

An angel: Act 23:8, Act 23:9, Rev 18:1, Rev 18:2

Reciprocal: Exo 19:9 – that the Psa 18:13 – thundered Psa 29:3 – thundereth Psa 68:33 – his voice Joh 11:42 – but Act 22:9 – but 2Pe 1:17 – there came

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

VOICES OF GOD

The people therefore, that stood by An angel spake to Him.

Joh 12:29

We know the group who thus failed to recognise the voice of GodJews, Greeks, unbelieving priests, etc. No voice reached them.

There are voices of God still speaking to us, and according to our spiritual readiness we hear them or let them pass.

I. The voice of Providence.Illness comes; bereavement comes; happiness comes. To none the voice is wanting, but to some the ear.

II. The voice of Nature.The glories and wonders of day and night. But this voice is a sound of awe, without a message to him who knows not the God of grace.

III. The voice in our hearts.The restlessness, the ache, the reaching-out of empty hands to grope for we know not what. To many these are rebels that must be crushed. But some know the meaning of such voices, and cry out, My soul is athirst for God. To them Christ will give rest.

IV. The voice of the Gospel.To some this is an empty sound; they hear the voice, and seek to know what it is. Others seek no Gospel; content without a God. To the best of us how far less meaning does this voice convey than we ought to discern in it!

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Bishop Chadwick.

Illustration

The reason why persons so seldom hear God speaking, and sometimes even go the length of doubting whether He does speak nowadays, is that they do not go to Him with a mind prepared to receive everything He says, and so ask Him to speak to them. When they read the Scriptures, they do not read them without a bias; they are determined to cleave to their old ways and habits of life, though the Scriptures should forbid them; and, as to their religious opinions, they have made up their mind upon those before they go to the Bible, and whatever the Bible may seem to say, they do not mean to change them. Or, if they think of praying to God for guidance in any perplexity, they pray with some secret inclination to one line of action, or some secret aversion to another, and are not perfectly open and ready to take any line whatever which God may indicate. Let not such persons think that they shall ever hear Gods voice. He is a searcher of the heart. We must go to Him with singleness of purpose, really bent upon carrying His will into effect, however hard the doing so may be to flesh and blood, if we desire the guidance of His wisdom.

(SECOND OUTLINE)

A DIVIDED CROWD

The passage is an interesting one. At the sound of the voice the crowd divided itself into two distinct parties. What is the lesson for us?

I. A severe trial (it must have been) to the men of His generation to believe on the Lord. Why did God so disguise Himself as the carpenters son? Why did He not reveal Himself so that all might recognise Him? In reply to these queries see that to have done so would have (1) violated the whole order of the universe, would have overturned the whole principle of Gods dealings with men. That principle is to try men and to prove them. We are sent into the world for a probation of our faith and obedience; and (2) there is no reason to think that any wonder in heaven above or earth beneath could have altogether prevented unbelief. Here comes in text. Men of our Lords day wanted proof; but what proof could be greater than a voice from heaven?

II. Upon all the verities of God the multitude, from the first Advent until now, have been divided. See how it is now with ourselves

(a) The coming of Christ to judge the world. Large numbers wholly disbelieve; large numbers still practically disbelieve.

(b) The Church of Christ. It is the very Kingdom of the Eternal Son, Gods own Household, to forsake which is to forsake Him. Yet half of those who hear the Creed, I believe in the Holy Catholic Church, believe not. To some it is the truth of God; to others it is nothing.

(c) How is it with the Sacraments? Baptism and the Lords Supper? To some a source of spiritual thought; to others a common thing, neglected, forgotten.

III. With whom shall we range ourselves?The whole world, every parish, every family divided between those whose ear is opened, and those whose ear is stopped, to the voice from heaven. The voice is speaking even now.

Bishop Woodford.

Illustration

This verse apparently is meant to describe the various opinions of the crowd which stood around our Lord, about the voice which spoke to Him. Some who were standing at some little distance, and were not listening very attentively, said it thundered. Others, who were standing close by, and paying great attention, declared that an invisible being, an angel, must have spoken. Both parties entirely agreed on one point. Something uncommon had happened. An extraordinary noise had been heard, which to some sounded like thunder and to others like words. But nobody said they heard nothing at all. That the voice must have been very loud seems proved by the supposition that it was thunder. That the reality and existence of angels formed part of the popular creed of the Jews seems proved by the readiness of some to take up the idea that an angel had spoken. Some think that the Greeks, not knowing the Hebrew langage in which probably the voice spoke, fancied the voice was thunder, and the Jews of the crowd thought it an angels voice.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

9

The voice from heaven was somewhat indistinct so that the people did not understand it, yet sufficiently different from the noise of thunder that some of them knew it was some form of speech addressed to Jesus in answer to his prayer, and they interpreted it to be the voice of an angel.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Joh 12:29. The multitude therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it had thundered: others said, An angel hath spoken to him. That a real voice had been heard is obvious from the fact that the words are actually given by the Evangelist in Joh 12:28, and that some at least of the multitude imagined that an angel had spoken. It had not, however, been understood by all: and Johns object in stating this appears to be his desire to bring still more clearly out the mysterious nature of the voice,one the apprehension of which belonged to the higher regions of the spiritual life, and which was necessarily dark to those who had not entered into the Fathers plans. Jesus understood it. The Evangelist did so too. But the multitude felt only that God was there.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Observe here, 1. The way of God in speaking to his people by a voice in thunder for the greater declaration of his glory and majesty. Thunderings and lightnings usually attended the voice of God, even in consolations, and when he spake comfortably to his own servants.

Oh! how dreadful and terrible then must the voice of God be to his enemies, when he shall come in flaming fire, to render vengeance to them! If there was such dread and terror, such thunderings and lightnings at the giving of the law: Lord! what will there be another day, when thou comest to punish the violation of that law!

Observe, 2. The end why God the Father now spake with an audible voice to Christ his Son: it was for his consolation, and the people’s confirmation. His soul being troubled, he stood in need, as Mediator, of comfort from his Father: and the people had here a farther and fuller confirmation of his being the promised and true Messias, that so they might believe in him, This voice came not because of me: that is, not only or chiefly because of me, but to confirm your faith in the belief of this great truth, that I am the Son of God, by whom the Father hath glorified, and will further glorify, his name.

Observe, 3. Our Saviour declares a double effect and fruit of his death and passion.

1. The judgment of this world; Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

That is, my death will be the devil’s overthrow; will bring down sin, and deliver the world from the tyranny and dominion of sin and Satan.

Thence learn, 1. That Satan is the prince and ruler of all those who live in sin; not a prince by legal right, but by tyrannical usurpation.

2. That this usurper, Satan, will not quit his possession, unless he be cast out.

3. That Christ by his death has cast out Satan, dethroned him, and deprived him of his tyrannical usurpation. Now is the prince of this world cast out; that is, I will shortly by my death deliver the world from the slavery of sin, and dominion of Satan, and particularly from that idolatry, which the greatest part of the world were then in slavery under.

The second effect and fruit of Christ’s death which is here declared, is his drawing all men unto him: When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.

There is a twofold lifting up of Christ:

the first ignominious, when he was hung upon the cross;

the second glorious, in the preaching of the gospel:

by this he draws all men unto him; that is, by the preaching of the gospel, he calls and invites all persons to himself;

he offers the benefits of his death to all, and gathereth a church to himself out of the Gentile as well as the Jewish world.

Learn, 1. That all persons are naturally unwilling to come to Christ, they must be drawn.

2. That Christ meritoriously by his death, and instrumentally by the preaching of the gospel, draws sinners unto himself.

3. That it is not a few, or small number, but a very great number, consisting both of Jews and Gentiles, bond and free, persons of all nations, all are effectually drawn to Christ, so as savingly to believe in him: but, by the preaching of the gospel, they are called and invited to him, and the benefits of his death are offered to them.

Thus Christ being lifted up upon his cross, and on the pole of his gospel, draws all men unto him; that is, doth what is sufficient to prevail with all men to believe on him, and to render those that do not so, everlastingly inexcusable.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament