And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance… 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, …how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? …we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
What is your response when the LORD does something that has not been part of your experience or understanding? Do you draw your own conclusions or do you ask questions and listen to His answer?
Christ-followers know Pentecost as the day when the Holy Spirit was ‘poured out’ upon those who were committed in the Name of Jesus to the Way of the LORD which is true but ‘pentecost’ goes back into Judaism to the harvest festival of Shavuot celebrated on the first day after seven weeks following the first day of Passover. 1 Jesus was crucified on the day of Preparation for Passover and then appeared to many of His believers beginning on the day after Passover and in many of the next forty days. Then He ascended and the disciples began the wait He had told them was necessary as they had not yet received the promised Holy Spirit enabling them for the LORD’s service. Ten days later on the fiftieth day, Pentecost, the wait ended.
While much is often made of the ‘sound like’ and ‘divided tongues as of fire’ the true miracle follows in what was being done through this pouring out of the Holy Spirit:
It was not unknown for crowds to form in the Temple square and for someone to shout out a message to the masses—Jesus had done this several times—but what got the attention of the crowds was that everyone was hearing what was spoken in their native language. They all understood what was being said even though the speakers were Galileans illiterate in their languages! They had not heard or seen the outpouring but as the disciples poured out of the house into the public arena, they heard the message of God in their language. Such had never happened. It was only natural for the response, “What does this mean?”
It was not God’s intent to simply create a curiosity and leave them wondering and lost, or to figure it out for themselves. Remember that guy who had denied knowing Jesus three times less than a month-and-a-half ago, who had been preoccupied with ‘what about John’ the last time he talked to Jesus? When the ‘what does this mean’ question is posed by the masses, the Holy Spirit speaks through Peter to answer the question (Acts 2:14-36 4 ) explaining what the LORD is doing at this moment as prophesied hundreds of years earlier.
The crowd listens to Peter still apparently hearing in their own languages even though Peter likely only spoke Aramaic and the trade language of koine Greek.
“What shall we do?” is the Question with the Answer, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The reason for the ‘hearing’ miracle was that all listening could repent, be baptized and receive the gift that had made the Way for them to begin this Life. Nothing hidden, openly offered. Openly received. ‘So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.’
‘What does this mean?’ It means the LORD has made the Way if you will hear, respond, commit and live.