We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard… (NLT)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard … (KJV)

We already know John heard what Jesus said – he wrote a whole Gospel about all that he heard Jesus saying; and he records in it more of the day to day doings of Jesus than any other Gospel-writer. So we expect that he heard what Jesus said. Why is he telling us this, again?

What, exactly, is John’s deal? His little nickname, beloved disciple, tells us. John is all about love. Later in this same book he tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). So I think , maybe here he wants us to know, in hearing Jesus speak, we hear the voice of love! Just listen to the old hymn, “Draw Me Nearer” …

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee …

She heard His voice – and it told of love! Consider that Fanny Crosby, the author of this hymn, was blind. Her primary way of sensing and processing information would have been to hear it. And when she heard the voice of Jesus, she heard love. That “hearing” was her experience of Christ, and it told His love for her.

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend.

This is my experience of what it is to hear Jesus, too. Pure delight of communing, friend to friend. I believe that the beloved disciple, although he wanted to stress that He had heard the words of Jesus when Jesus was a Man on earth, would also want us to apprehend that we, now, may also hear His voice.

And it tells His love for us. Think about that today – and listen for His voice!