3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
13Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine.
(Acts 2:3-13)
The other day I was having lunch with one of my sons at a local sub shop. We were in a little bit of a hurry and when I placed my order the counter lady asked me what ingredients I wanted on my sandwich. She then asked if I wanted hot or sweet peppers, olives and pickles on my sub and not hearing all of the selections she offered I just said "yes" to all of them. When our order arrived, we said grace over the meal and started chomping away on our sub sandwiches when all of a sudden, my mouth began to burn like fire. Instinctively I reached for my drink and began gulping it down, coughing and choking back tears as I did. The more I chewed, the worse it got. Tears rolled down from my eyes and nose. Finally I had to open my sandwich and extract all the jalapeño peppers that were mixed in with the ingredients. However, the seeds from those spicy peppers had permeated my entire meal. Even though I must have consumed 3 more large sodas, my mouth burned for the rest of the afternoon. John, my son, said, "Didn't you hear the lady ask you if you wanted hot peppers on your sandwich?" I said no, but that experience taught me a lesson- I needed to listen better to people who offer me something and not assume I know what they said.
In our devotional passage we read about the church gathering there on the day of Pentecost, and after a mighty rushing wind filled the room where they were located, it says that they saw what appeared to be tongues of fire disseminating out and landing upon each of them. Its not because they had eaten spicy peppers at the local sub shop. This was a little flame that signified the presence of the Holy Spirit, causing each one to begin speaking in what Luke calls "other tongues." I know that this is a controversial thing and many shy away from this passage because of the varying interpretations given to it.
As I interpret this, it says that they spoke in other tongues- not unknown tongues- languages that were understood by those to whom they began preaching to in the crowds around Jerusalem. They were also languages which the disciples themselves had never learned, spoken, or understood before, yet the Holy Spirit gave them the miraculous ability to proclaim Christ in Latin, in Syro-Phoenician, in Egyptian, in Arabic, as well as in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek. Perhaps those overhearing could hear the Gospel preached in his native Ethiopian or even Farsi or Hindi. We know that modern languages such as English, French, German, Italian or Spanish did not exist as such back then but if they had the Gospel would likely have been preached in those languages.
This phenomenon, is different from what is commonly known as glossalalia , which is a repetitive, fabricated or non-meaningful speech associated with religious trances or highly ecstatic state. I vividly recall how controversial this was back in the 1970s. But this is not what I believe is happening here. Rather, it is the miraculous ability to speak a known language previously unlearned by the speaker. I'm not saying that glossalalia cannot happen, I am only saying that it did not occur here in this passage. Granted, there were those in the crowd who mocked them and accused the speakers of being drunk; but that was only because they heard people speaking on other languages- not because they were hearing "gibberish." But most of those witnessing this event knew the disciples were unlearned Galileans who only spoke that particular dialect of Aramaic.
Has this happened before? I'm not aware that it has, but has this phenomenon happened since and can it happen again? Well, because we serve a sovereign God, I believe that it certainly can. I know that in my own experiences preaching in Europe in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were times when I struggled to preach in German the people listening to me must have miraculously understood what I was saying in spite of the terrible way that I butchered their language. It wasn't because they were hearing my words necessarily, but they were hearing my heart. I uttered those inarticulate words, and He did the rest; underscoring the fact that God is still a God of miracles. The thing I want to emphasize however that God will not issue a supernatural gift when we are not making use of what He has given us right now. In other words, why would God give us a supernatural gift of imparting a language we do not already know right now when we are not making good use of the English language to preaching the Gospel that we do know?
You may only know English as your only language. Are you employing it to the fullest to the glory of God?
Prayer: Dear Father, help me to utilize the fullness of Your Spirit today that I may witness to others with simplicity and honesty. Help them to see not how articulate I am, but to see You most of all in my heart.
Have a blessed day
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