Learning about the character of Jesus by His tones of voice …

A lanky country youth entered the crossroads general store to order some groceries. He was seventeen years old and was passing through that stage of adolescence when a boy seems all hands and feet, and his vocal organs, rapidly developing, are wont to cause his voice to undergo sudden and involuntary changes from high treble to low bass.

In an authoritative rumbling bass voice he demanded of the busy clerk, “Give me a can of corn” (then, his voice suddenly changing to a shrill falsetto, he continued) “and a sack of flour.”

“Well, don’t be in a hurry. I can’t wait on both of you at once,” snapped the clerk.

A person’s tone of voice can sometimes confuse us or cause us problems. Someone once stated that 90 percent of the “friction” of daily life is caused by the wrong tone of voice. But it’s a person’s tone of voice that often adds clarity to what the speaker is communicating, or something about the communicator himself.

The same is true with Jesus.

In fact, “The tone of His voice matters to those who love Him,” noted Michael Kanlianos.

Jesus himself said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me,” John 10:27.

If we, being the sheep of Jesus’ flock, listen to His voice, what can we understand from Him — and learn about Him — by the tones of voice He uses? Let’s briefly explore what we can learn about the character of Christ by looking at the tones of His voice as captured in scripture. Following are just 10 of the different tones of voice Jesus used:

Gentleness – The first 29 verses of John 4 tell the story of Jesus having a conversation with a Samaritan woman by a well. Her life was a mess, and being a woman, one who had had multiple husbands and was now living with yet another man, plus being a Samaritan would have meant she was often not addressed with any measure of gentleness by people. But the woman was drawn into conversation with Jesus, and opened up to Him, because He was gentle with her.

Inviting – Jesus often spoke words of invitation, using a tone of voice that made them believable. For example, “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light,'” Matthew 11:28-30.

Direct – Clarity and conciseness was a primary way of how Jesus communicated, doing so by speaking with a very direct tone of voice, such as in John 14:6, “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.'”

Stern – Sometimes Jesus needed to cut through excuses and the nonsense people would proffer by using a stern tone of voice, like this: “But Jesus told him, ‘Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God,'” Luke 9:60.

Scolding – Jesus lived with and taught His disciples for three years, yet sometimes you would think they hadn’t learned anything! There were times when “gentle Jesus” had enough of the lack of focus with his students and corrected them with a stern tone of voice, as you can see in this passage of scripture:

“At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, ‘Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? “You have eyes — can’t you see? You have ears — can’t you hear?” Don’t you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?’ ‘Twelve,’ they said. ‘And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?’ ‘Seven,’ they said. ‘Don’t you understand yet?’ he asked them,” Mark 8:16-21.

Pleading – From great love, care, and compassion can come pleading. In one of Jesus’ greatest moments of passion, He would make a plea to the Father: “He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, ‘My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine,'” Matthew 26:39.

Kind – A woman caught in adultery was in the hands of a crowd just waiting for an opportunity to stone her to death. The people in the crowd were not kind! But Jesus is, and He extended His kindness to this guilty woman in her life-threatening moment: “Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more,’” John 8:10-11.

Passionate – When Jesus had little voice left, He cried out to the Father with a passionate tone: “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’ And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice,” Luke 23:34.

Commanding – Jesus likely used a commanding tone when He issued this command, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other,” (John 13:34) or when He said, “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” (Matthew 5:43-44), or when He stated, “Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me'” (Luke 9:23).

Reassuring – When Jesus spoke reassuring words using a reassuring tone, you could really be reassured! Such as, “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid,” John 14:27.

As you read and study the Bible, let me encourage you to not only take note of the content of what Jesus said, but examine His tone of voice as well. What do the different tones of voice used by Jesus teach you about Him and what He had to say?

Scotty