His Voice is Sweet

"Let me here your voice for your voice is sweet" (Song of Solomon 2:14)

In a number of occasions in the gospels, the answers Jesus gave to his opponents’ questions left them speechless.

Mark’s gospel records that, when being grilled by the Saducees concerning marriage in the afterlife, Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.” Mark 12:24. Jesus then proceeds to open scripture and truth to them.

On another occasion in Mathew 12, Jesus and his disciples were walking through a grain field on the Sabbath, picking grain as they went along because they were hungry. Confronted by the Pharisees, Jesus once again points to their own scriptures and enlighten their darkened minds.

I love these parts in scripture. The sound of triumph resonates as Jesus unveils truth. His enemies are confounded. Who among them can challenge these revelations?

However, although the Saducees and Pharisees were incensed by Jesus’ teaching, the opposite was true of the common people; they flocked to hear him. They were willing to sit down on the ground for hours on end to listen to the rabbi whose teaching brought with it something new, something vibrant; it brought a challenge and it brought hope. 

In Mark 12:37 we read,
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“The large crowd listened to him with great delight.”

Unlike the preaching of the Saducees and Pharisees, whose words were often harsh and accompanied by heavy burdens, Jesus’ words were liberating for those who applied them in their lives. What a feast it must have been for them spiritually! What a breath of fresh air! Many a spirit must have come alive in those sessions.

However, that wasn’t just for two millennia ago. With each new day that dawns, God is waiting to speak to us also. He knows what we need to hear each day. He knows when we need words of comfort and healing. He knows when we need a rebuke or a reminder. He is ready to give encouragement and assurance.

Friends, with such a treasure available, make sure to take time today, and every day, to hear His voice. 

​Pauline Anderson