‘While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed (or ‘enveloped') them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear you him.” '
For even while he was speaking a voice from Heaven spoke out and corrected him. This was also accompanied by a bright cloud which overshadowed ‘them'. This might refer to overshadowing Jesus, Moses and Elijah, or it might include the disciples as well. In the Old Testament this kind of manifestation regularly indicated the presence of God in the past, especially at the time of the Exodus, and would do so in last days (Psalms 97:2; Isaiah 4:5; Ezekiel 30:3; Daniel 7:13; Zephaniah 1:15). So here the Father had come down to testify to His Son ‘from Heaven' in the fulfilment of His ongoing purposes.
Then a voice spoke from the cloud. This was not the faint ‘bath qol' (daughter of a voice) spoken of by the Pharisees. It was a firm, strong and powerful voice that brought dread into the hearts of the disciples. And it repeated the words spoken after Jesus' baptism. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), adding “Hear you him.” ' Once again we have echoes of the Exodus (Exodus 20).
As we have already seen these words indicate that Jesus is the coming King (Psalms 2:7) and the coming Servant of the Lord of Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1). But the combination indicates more than that. It indicates a unique relationship with the Father (Matthew 11:25-27; Matthew 14:33; Matthew 16:16). He is ‘My beloved Son'. The final words ‘hear Him' (compare Deuteronomy 18:15) then turn them away from Moses and Elijah to Jesus, the greatest Prophet of all. He and He alone is the One to Whom they must now look. To us this is so obvious that it hardly needed to be said. But to those disciples, brought up to revere Moses and the prophets, and to look to them for all truth, it was a salutary lesson. Jesus was now to be all in all to them. They would have a totally new view of Him from now on.