Acts 2:4-13

Acts 2:1-13

4

Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one time occurence but happens over and over, this happens to Peter, Paul, and others several times in Acts, Acts 4:8 “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,” 4:31, Stephen in Acts 7:55 “But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” Paul in Acts 13:9 “But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him” Being filled in the Spirit is mentioned all over scripture as well, John when he recieved the visions and wrote Revelation. Revelation 1:10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet”

When those who were in the house were filled with the Spirit, they gained the supernatural ability to speak and praise God in languages that they did not already know and speak. These were real languages that they were now speaking, we see this clearly in the following verses, and the word translated here as tongues is also translated as language, Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,” This happens other times in scripture as well as we will see again in Acts 10. We believe that these gifts that are described in Acts like the speaking of different real languages, physical healing, and raising the dead as we will see in Acts 9, are gifts that were given to and used by the apostles, both the twelve and other early church messengers as a sign that the Church of Christ and the New Covenant were from God and ushered in this church age. We do not believe that these gifts continued past this early church era. Not because we have less faith now then those in the early church, these abilities were not granted and given on the worthiness of those who recieved them, but they were for God’s purpose and glory in the early church as a sign that God was establishing his New Covenant with both Jew and Gentle alike.

So is speaking in tongues a necessary sign that the Holy Spirit is at work now?

5-8

Acts 2:5–8 “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?”

Being that this was the day of Pentecost and the feast of the harvest, there were many pilgrims from all over, Luke says “every nation under heaven”, and the sound of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the sound like a great wind, was so loud and supernaturally not normal that many from the surrounding area in Jerusalem heard it and went to where the sound came from. When this multitude arrived at the house they were hearing these Christians praising God, reciting the scriptures, or other God exhausting words in each of their own languages and dialects. Those that were gathered were not generally academically inclined, they were Jews from mainly Galilee, farmers and fishermen, they spoke probably Aramaic and maybe some Greek but not as many languages as there were people there for the feast as is described in verses 9-11.

The vast majority of Americans only speak one language, English, and the rest of the world in a general way, and especially in business, has adopted English as a common language for communication. From my personal experience in dealing with my European colleagues, Americans only speaking English is somewhat looked down upon. So imagine if the members of Jackson Bible Church went on a trip to a city in Europe that was particularly diverse in its population, with people from all the surrounding areas speaking French, German, a multitude of Slavic languages, Polish, Greek, Swedish, Dutch, and so many more, also with each language having regional dialects as well. Imagine we go there, and gather together in the public square, and all of a sudden all of JBC starts reciting scripture, and preaching in all of those different languages and dialects. How amazed do you think all of those people would be at us.

But what happened on the day of Pentecost would have been even more amazing at the time to all that were in Jerusalem, we today have so much information at our fingertips, and multiple apps we can use to learn every language we want, we don’t, but we could. These men from Galilee would not and did not have all the resources we have today, but they were speaking the greatness of God to all who were there in all the peoples native tongues. What a site that would have been to behold.

9-11

Acts 2:9–11 “Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.””

The areas listed here cover even at today’s standard, a great distance. It covers from Rome north of the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, south to Libya, and east to near Iran. Peoples from all over and a great many different languages, and these rural Galileans preaching the greatness and the mighty works of God to them in each of those languages and dialects.

How do you think that this display of multiple tongues, not just the standard language of the Jews, symbolizes God’s New Covenant?

12-13

Acts 2:12–13 “And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.””

People were amazed and confused at what they saw and heard, not being able to fully grasp what was going on. Some of the people dismissed and mocked those who were undeniably speaking in a multitude of languages as being drunk. New or sweet wine would have been undiluted fresh wine that would be more potent in it’s alcohol content. Then just as today there will be some people who, no matter the proof or evidence of God’s glory and majesty, deny God and mock His people.

Next time we will read Peter’s response and his first Spirit indwelt sermon to those who deny and mock God.