The sinlessness of Christ is affirmed in Matthew 17:5 by the testimony from the ______.

• A. cloud
• B. voice from heaven
• C. dove
• D. thunder

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is how God confirms Jesus’ identity and purity through direct divine proclamation. In the Transfiguration account, a bright cloud covers the scene, and a voice speaks from that cloud declaring Jesus as God’s beloved Son. This shows that the endorsement of Jesus’ sinless status comes through the Father’s testimony delivered out of the cloud—the cloud is the medium that bears the divine message. That’s why the correct word is the cloud: the testimony originates there, signaling God’s authoritative declaration about Jesus. The other options don’t fit because the dove is linked to the Spirit at baptism, not this event; thunder is not the source of a personal declaration; and while the voice conveys the content of the testimony, the verse explicitly ties the source of the testimony to the cloud.