Language to Which We Were Born

After the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, He spent some time with His apostles and other believers, demonstrating to them His living body, teaching them important truths and preparing them for the huge transition that would take place in them when He had departed into heaven.

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” 

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:6-11

Jesus' disciples didn't understand about the Church. They were still expecting the glorious kingdom, and thrones. Not yet. There is much, much more to be done. More to learn, and they were about to be equipped for that new knowledge. Jesus wouldn't talk timetables with them. Only the Father has that information. "You will receive power" to do the work of evangelizing the world, and here it is again: "you shall be My witnesses." This is not a command. It is a statement of fact. They will be. It is a certain occupation of their immediate and lifetime future. They are changed people. They are about to experience an even more dramatic and permanent change. There is a new and wonderful creation they are part of, and are about to take leadership in. They have become children of God by faith in Christ Jesus and there is no going back.

The transition will begin right here in Jerusalem, the center of all God's dealings with His people. Then it will spread throughout Judea and Samaria, and then into all the earth. Those Galileans standing there were to be the agents of this marvellous work, because of Whose they were.

Then He was taken up, out of their sight, into heaven. They stood there, mesmerized, gazing upward. Two angels stood by and told them to get on about their business. "THIS Jesus," not another, will return someday in just THIS SAME WAY. That is our assurance, when we hear about mysterious men here or there who claim, or whom others claim to be the Messiah. No. When He returns, it will be in this same manner as His disciples saw Him go. And no one knows when that will be, but the Father.

A few weeks passed, and they waited, as the Lord had instructed them to do.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.” Acts 2:1-12

Pentecost: Pent means 50. This is the fourth of the annual feasts of the Jews. It comes 50 days after the Feast of Firstfruits, which is the first Sabbath of Passover. These feasts were important symbolism for the Jews, and intricately timed to commemorate special events in the history of Israel (past and future). The symbolism was heavily Messianic, designed to keep them reminded of the Savior Who was promised of God to His people. Pentecost is an early harvest feast, also called the Feast of Weeks. As we see in this passage, thousands of devout Jews from all parts of the world assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate these feasts. God's timing is perfect.

The believers were still gathered and waiting, when it happened! Sound of rushing, mighty wind. Tongues of fire resting on each one. When they opened their mouths to speak, what came out were "other" languages and dialects that these men had not learned. Not language unknown to humanity, but known languages, in common usage, but which these individuals did not, themselves, know. The Spirit was giving them utterance. The Babel phenomenon was reversed.

Isaiah had prophesied of this sign to the Jews in Isaiah 28:11-12. It was a sign that Israel would soon suffer national discipline for their unbelief: Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,” And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen. "This people:" Israel. "Stammering, foreign tongue:" Gentile languages. Israel, the people of God, the keeper of the Word of God, who took great pride in their beautiful Hebrew language, were to be evangelized in guttural, Gentile languages! Why? Because they had not done their job. Now these uneducated Galileans would do the job, because the Holy Spirit empowered them with abilities they did not naturally have, to distribute His Gospel to Jews from all over the inhabited world.

The Galileans just opened their mouths and spoke the gospel message. The Jews and proselytes assembled there were from at least 16 (count 'em) different nations. Their families had migrated there, and these Jews had grown up speaking the languages of the nations in which they were born. And each was hearing the message in his own language! God, the Holy Spirit was putting His Gospel on the fast track, with as much mass distribution as was possible at that time and place.

The target audience heard it. Most of them were greatly impressed and wanted to know more. Some were skeptical, and as is typical of unbelievers, they made ridiculous accusations of drunkenness; as if being drunk would give an uneducated Galilean the ability to speak fluent Italian.

God's plan is perfect. God's provision is perfect. God's timing is perfect. The Day of Pentecost was the birthday of the Church; an organism who embodies the Spirit of Jesus Christ on the earth until His return in glory to claim His own.