What Does This Mean?

Read Acts 2:1-21

Credit: Trung Thanh

This is a key reading every Pentecost Sunday. The Holy Spirit came on the disciples who were gathered for the Jewish Pentecost feast. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4).

We know that they spoke in human languages, not in special spiritual tongues, because verse 8 tells us so. Jerusalem was for Jews as Mecca is for Muslims: devout people from around the world would gather there, especially at important times in the religious calendar. All those people from many nations could hear the disciples in their own language.

It was a miracle. “Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’” (Acts 2:12).

Peter then told them what it meant. He quoted Joel, and named the Spirit as the moving force. But what were the products of this Spirit ? Speech! Dreams, visions, and speech! Prophecy! People speaking God’s truth. “I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:18).

And what was the human response? Speech! “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). The miracle was communication. The purpose was to share God’s message. The message was a message of salvation. And how are people saved? By calling on the name of the Lord!

There are surprises today, too, with speakers and listeners – even when we share the same language.

Have you ever been listening to someone, then realised that you weren’t listening at all? You’d turned off! Why did that happen? There can be different reasons. But one reason can be that you don’t have a connection to that person anymore. Sin can distance us from our neighbour. Their sin or ours.

The opposite can happen, too. We have our own little Pentecost miracles. Where we didn’t think our talk would connect, where we didn’t think we could make a difference, something we said was very important to someone.

Sometimes just a few words. In these times of isolation, R U OK? Words which cost us little can have huge value for the person we reach. That’s a kind of miracle!

For the disciples in Acts, the words were words of prophecy. In our acts of kindness, we should not be shy to name where our salvation comes from, so others have a chance to claim that, too.

Will people turn off if we speak of faith? Some will – like the crazy bigots in verse 13 who were turned off and figured the disciples were drunk.

But others will hear. They will listen and hear a truth, even as others hear nonsense. They will hear a truth, even though we are imperfect sinners ourselves.

Speak faithfully with confidence – you never know what your words will plant! Your listener may be one who, in turn, will call on the name of the Lord, and be saved.