September 1, 2022

Acts 2: 1–13 (NIV)

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. . . . All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. . . a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. . .  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

The church grew and permeated Greco-Roman society for centuries in the face of official hostility and mob hatred.*

Upon first reading that the disciples began to speak in other tongues, we might picture a rather chaotic scene. Lots of babbling and confusion and miscommunication. But keep reading. “Each one heard them speaking in his own language” it says. That presents a more orderly picture, doesn’t it? What would be the point of the Spirit’s enabling the disciples to speak another language if it only resulted in pandemonium? Instead, they opened their mouths and whatever came out was understood by their foreign listeners. There is no indication that they were rudely speaking over each other.

It’s odd that some observers preferred to make fun of the disciples’ new linguistic abilities and to accuse them of being drunk. A drunk does not suddenly begin speaking a language he has never learned; but perhaps the skeptics didn’t hear their mother-tongue because they were not filled with the Holy Spirit. In any event, it is a reality 2,000-plus years later that sometimes people think you’re drunk or crazy when you speak God’s language.

The new-improved version of Peter did not take offense at the mockery or false accusations. We might have been embarrassed or felt inclined to launch a counterattack but Peter took advantage of an opportunity to preach. It was following that sermon that about 3,000 were added to their number - on that very day.

Being made fun of is never fun but following the Spirit’s leading in confronting your mockers is exhilarating. Let Peter’s example encourage you to speak God’s language bravely. The results could be astonishing!

Sermons may be clever, powerful, convincing, and yet, unless the Spirit’s power be sought . . . no spiritual harvest can be expected.*