The apostle Peter distinguishes the gospel from “cleverly devised myths” by rooting the former in eyewitness testimony (2 Pet. 1:16). He bases his case for the majesty of Jesus on the “voice borne from heaven” that accompanied Jesus' transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (2 Pet. 1:17). Ear-witness testimony thus figures prominently too: “we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word made more sure” (2 Pet. 1:18–19).

In combining the prophecies of Isaiah 42:1 and Psalm 2:7, the voice from heaven identifies Jesus by referring to his ordination as Suffering Servant and coronation as Son of God. Peter explains this remarkable piece of theologizing that links suffering to sovereignty by noting that “no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:21). The passage thus alludes, in a pericope-sized nutshell, to the work of Father, Son, and Spirit in the history of redemption from Israel to Jesus Christ. Yet what stands out is the voice from heaven.

Is there a speaking subject up there? If those to whom electrical switches and elective surgery are a matter of course find it hard to believe in miracles, how much more difficult is it for those who have explored space and mapped the human genome to believe in a voice from heaven?