In the previous chapter of Acts, Luke introduces us to the primitive church preparing to share the good news of the resurrection according to the instructions Christ gave them. In this chapter, we meet them, a dozen families or so. Thanks to seeing Jesus ascend to heaven they are full of faith, devoted to one another, and organized. They were well situated over the coming years to meet many Jews -- and converts to Judaism -- and tell them the Good News. Any visitor to them would have to be fluent in Hebrew. That meant Judeans would hear the gospel first, next maybe some folks in Samaria who were devoted enough to come to Jerusalem, then maybe Jews from further away, and so on. Over generations synagogues might appear with a rabbi from the “school of Jesus.”
This, most likely, is how the disciples understood Jesus' plan for them ... a solid plan for steady growth. The Holy Spirit; however, would have no time for solid plans for steady growth. We now know, with the lens of history, that Jerusalem had only a couple of decades before the Romans would lay siege to the city, the temple would be burned to the ground, and its artifacts would be looted and carted away, never to be restored. Christ did not rise from the dead for his students to be lost in the ruins of history. The Gospel was to go out immediately, the folks visiting Jerusalem for the Feast of First Fruits were to be the Gospel's first fruits, and language barriers were not to be an excuse.
In Acts Chapter 2, the Holy Spirit accelerates God's plan for the nations. So, how to move prayerful disciples from their shaded courtyard … into the harvest?
- Step 1: descend like fire. Nothing says "exit the building" like flames over everyone's head.
- Step 2: enable each man and woman to speak praises in different languages of men.
Say you find yourself singing a Psalm in Phrygian, and your family and friends whose heads are on fire can't understand you, you’re going to rush out of the building and find a stranger who does.
And consider the stranger's perspective. You're halfway through weeks of pilgrimage. Hebrew is your fourth language after Latin and Greek and - if you're from nearby -- Aramaic. But, there's also your first language ... in the ancient world it would be known only to you and the people you grew up with. You probably haven't heard it since you left your village. For weeks, you've taken the trouble to sing and speak in your best Hebrew, almost forgetting the sound of your first language. Then, in the crowded streets of this Holy City, you are drawn to familiar words in an unfamiliar voice … perhaps it’s a Psalm you were reciting to perfect your Hebrew. But here, some local is saying the same thing as if he or she had been born and raised on the same street as you! A pilgrim from a different country is listening to another local. And when you ask him, sure enough he is hearing a Psalm in his own tongue. These humble-looking Israelites, whose Galilean accents (when they spoke Hebrew) couldn’t be missed, now have your attention first thing in the morning.
And what about natives of Jerusalem? Obviously, if you believed in Christ's resurrection, you would admire these miraculous speakers. But, if you were a Pharisee, Saduccee, or Zealot, you would see your hold on the throng slipping. The best you could do is toss out a slur, "Drunk Galileans." But, in your heart, your idea of who Messiah should be and what He should do is slipping away. Your feeble retort is overshadowed by God's beautiful praise in foreign tongues. You might have heard Jesus' parable of the master's feast, whose initial guests spurned his invitations, so he extended invites to strangers instead. If so, this would be a very scary morning. Because the sound you hear is keys to the Kingdom of Heaven offered to foreigners.
The 12 apostles rise above the conflicting words and thoughts, and Peter starts his first full day of evangelism. He directly addresses the locals. First with dry humor -- nobody drinks before 9 in the morning. Then with prophetic scripture. He refers to Joel in two parts: The first, explains the outpouring of the Spirit everyone is hearing. The second warns that the great and terrible day of the Lord is not far off. Peter then spells out the theology of the Messiah, truth of the resurrection, and the need for all who wish to be saved to call on the Lord. It has its effect. Those local Jews, for whom all of Jesus' parables were coming to life, ask Peter what their next move should be. Peter replies, "Repent and be baptized ..." and continues his preaching to anyone who would hear. By the end of the day, a church of hundreds had become a community 3000 strong and growing.
The Holy Spirit moved mightily that day. And apostles stepped up. But, as we go forward in our readings, we will see that God is not finished. Three thousand sounds large, but Jerusalem was no small city. The opposition to this new sect is soon to begin. These days of nurturing at the apostles’ feet is to prepare them for days of turmoil. Stay tuned.
Acts 2 - 2
Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. When this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Behold, aren't all these who speak Galileans? How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians--we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!" They were all amazed and were perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" Others, mocking, said, "They are filled with new wine." But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke out to them, "You men of Judea and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. For these aren't drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 'It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood, and fire, and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.' "Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know, him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed; whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope, because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay. You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.' "Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he foreseeing this, spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn't left in Hades, and his flesh didn't see decay. This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear. For David didn't ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit by my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."' "Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself." With many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!" Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were together, and had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.