Miracle 6 Spirit's Coming
Preaching
Preaching the Miracles
Series II, Cycle A
1. Text
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.1 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.2 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.3 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.4
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.5 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.6 Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?7 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?8 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,9 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,10 Cretans and Arabs - in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."11 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"12 But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."13
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.14 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.15 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:16
'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.17 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.18 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.19 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.20 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "21
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
On Pentecost, from heaven a sound with the rush of a violent wind enters the Jerusalem house where the apostles have gathered. The sound fills the house.
Second Point Of Action
Divided tongues, as of fire, appear among them. A tongue of fire touches each person there.
Third Point Of Action
Filled with the Holy Spirit, everyone begins to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gives them ability.
Fourth Point Of Action
At this sound, a crowd gathers. They are bewildered because devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem hear these Galileans speaking in their native tongues. (These included Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans, and Arabs.)
Fifth Point Of Action
Hearing the apostles speak about God's deeds of power, the amazed and perplexed crowd say among themselves, "What does this mean?" Others, sneering, say the apostles are filled with new wine.
Sixth Point Of Action
Peter stands with the eleven disciples, saying they are not drunk because it is only nine in the morning. He addresses the men of Judea and of all Jerusalem, saying they are fulfilling the prophecy of Joel (see Joel 2:28--32):
A. In the last days, God will pour out the Spirit on all flesh.
B. The sons and daughters will prophesy.
C. The young men will see visions.
D. The old men will dream dreams.
E. The Spirit will pour out even upon the slaves, both men and women, and they also will prophesy.
F. God will show portents in heaven and signs on earth: blood, fire, smoky mist; sun turns to darkness; moon turns to blood.
All this will happen before the coming of God's great and glorious day. Then God will save everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
3. Connecting Points - Conversations
Interviewing the Spirit of the Wind at Pentecost
Asker: Where I live, the wind blows freely over open plains. It flutes past pipes. It crackles tree limbs. It pushes at my spirit. Missing nothing, it fills the space as it corners buildings. Whether it blusters or tickles, it invites itself into my soul.
Holy Spirit: Similarly, the Holy Spirit permeated every part of the house at Pentecost. Its divided tongue touched each person, finding the soul of each, and filling all of them.
Asker: "I will pour out my Spirit," the prophet Joel spoke of God. What an image - Spirit poured out like a refreshing, revitalizing drink of water. I hear it flow as I feel the vitality of the divided tongues resting on each person.
Holy Spirit: God does not drip out the Holy Spirit in measured volume but pours it out freely.
Asker: Yet, I sense that none of God's love is wasted.
Holy Spirit: You see, then, that the Holy Spirit is another presentation of God's love and caring for us. Do you perceive also that the coming of the Holy Spirit is no more violent than God's coming as a tender, vulnerable infant?
One at first feels alarm because the tongues were "as of fire" and the sound of the wind was "like the rush of a violent wind." It gained the attention of those gathered. Yet "a tongue rested on each of them." This was not the destructive power of fire but its warming, energizing heat. The Spirit of God comes as a spirit of gentleness wishing well for us.
Asker: How do we know it is the Holy Spirit and not some unholy spirit that has hold of us? How do we know which signs to follow in our lives? How do we know if our imaginations are veering from reality?
Holy Spirit: Look at the result. Is it consistent with the teachings of Christ? When the Holy Spirit filled the people, community happened. It was the uniting of nations. Individuals began to speak in "other languages." The others heard what they said "in the native language of each."
When remembering the holiness of the Spirit, recall kilo, the root word not only of holy but also of health, healing, to hallow, and wholeness.
At Pentecost, the Hebrew blessing of shalom swells to its fullness. Such communication, such communion, is the goal of the Holy Spirit of God. If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, we need to find a common language.
Interviewing An Elamite Woman
Asker: You were in the crowd at Pentecost.
Woman: Yes, we all gathered for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. Looking at faces from lands all around, I was amazed. Moments earlier, babble had filled the house. Suddenly, they spoke in my language. I comprehended what they said.
I attended the coming of the Holy Spirit. Reflecting upon what happened at Pentecost, I think now of the tower of Babel. My relatives came from Elam, a descendant of Noah's eldest son Shem. Retelling family stories, my grandmother related how the whole earth once had one language and the same words (Genesis 11:1). Then, seeing how powerful they had become, the Creator muddled that language. God confused the language of all earth so they could not understand each other's speech.
Asker: The storytellers of Babel saw God's power threatened by a strong community.
Woman: At Pentecost, I experienced the reverse of the tower of Babel. A spark of the divided tongue rested on my skin. I felt its empowerment, as if God too had grown - or was it my idea of creation that enlarged?
Asker: God continues to surprise us with new creation and with signs of the Christ still among us. In the present day, the Holy Spirit is as ethereal and surprising as the mechanics of the Internet. The Holy Spirit travels across a new rainbow, once again connecting Christians from around the world and the neighborhood. As intangible as the wind, a "Prayer Chapel" in as unlikely but legitimate a "place" as the World Wide Web draws Internet users.1 It provides an instant, worldwide, supportive link between persons and congregations whose posted prayer requests and responses make time for the situations of others.
Woman: From Spirit to spirit, we begin again. The people of my time and those of yours meet anew. From our family came many families also with their own languages, lands, and nations. Now, the people of this diverse culture have found the possibility to reconnect in a fresh start. Now, at least in spirit, we are one family again. At the least, we have glimpsed the possibility of being the family of God.
Asker: What makes one stranger or family? What dissolves the foreignness between two persons?
Woman: Those who find a way to dissolve apparent differences and recognize what they share are no longer strangers.
Asker: Many things complicate our communication with each other. Even within a family, we think we are expressing one thing but contradict it by body language, voice inflection, or choice of words. I think of how we sometimes babble in code within our own house. Even within ourselves, we must decipher layers of inner meanings and conversations.
Woman: God persists in returning us to our beginnings. God must wish well for us. God keeps in mind promises and covenants from long ago. Pentecost is about our relationship to God and God's enduring relationship to us. God's presence as Holy Spirit says, "I have faith in you. I choose to stay with you. I shall continue to create. Now it is time for you to carry on the faith."
Pentecost reminds us that as families, we will have breakdowns in communication. Because we are essentially all one family in faith, we have the potential for the great power of unity. We are one in the Spirit; we are one in God's mind. Holy Spirit invites us to continue the adventure of growing our faith.
Interviewing Peter
Asker: Peter, you were the disciple who spoke up. You made sense out of this.
Peter: Empowerment, particularly if unexpected, can make one giddy. Those touched by the tongue of the Holy Spirit may have appeared drunk - intoxicated with the Spirit, perhaps, but not with the wine of the Festival of Weeks. We must view these events within the perspective of Jewish faith. How many times do we miss by falsely dismissing? At turning points, someone needs to clarify what is happening. Otherwise, the moment could be lost. People also were gathering at the time Christ was born in Bethlehem. However, the birth probably went unnoticed by most going to be registered. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the hearts of those with first fruit offerings already turned toward God. What an appropriate time in Jerusalem to acknowledge those gathered from the ends of the earth.
Asker: Part of this miracle is your recognition of the connection between the words of Joel and what was happening. Why did you quote Joel?
Peter: The bigger truth here is found in this prophet's words: "I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh." "Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." These were important words in Joel's day also. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was more than a tribal god. When he came to us at the resurrection, Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations. (See Matthew 28:19.)
At his ascension, he told us again that "repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). He said we would receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon us. We would be his witnesses "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). So far - to the ends of the earth - does the salvation of God extend. Christianity is to be inclusive.
Asker: You suggest these were the last days that Joel spoke about. How do you know that? I find this talk about the last days confusing. When something extraordinary happens, a few people jump to conclusions. Some see it as a sign of the end of everything. Then the end does not come. Such things arouse cynicism.
Peter: So much had happened since Holy Week. Life had not been as usual for some time. We apostles hardly knew what to expect next. The last days might have been at hand.
Faith is more than, in your vernacular, the distracting media hype that talk of the last days will bring. It is other than a series of great prophetic sound bites. Focus on the last days carries the hint of a threat that alerts people to their actions. However, talk of the last days also conveys hope. God continually gives us signs of presence because we are God's people. I will be your God, God says, in the last days and in all days. Growing one's faith has more to do with a way of living and of meeting the last day than with fixation on possible dates and hours of expectation.
Asker: Then, Peter, for the apostles was Pentecost a graduation from being students to becoming teachers who carry on the work?
Peter: In the best sense of graduation, that is commencement. Faith is never finished; faith is always a beginning. People of your day differ little from mine. Spirit God brings salvation, hope, and the strength to move forward. Pentecost encourages us to grow from faith into faith.
4. Words
Spirit
The same word root joins spirit and wind or breath as the life force. "[T]he earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2 NRSV). Biblical scholars translate this phrase variously as: "Spirit of God" (RSV), "Power of God" (TEV), "a mighty wind" (NEB), "a tempestuous wind" (An American Translation).
Might we consider the coming of the Holy Spirit God's bringing anew the presence of that initial Spirit in first creation? This dynamic Spirit acts in human life by inspiring prophets. It came to mean the universal presence of God: "Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?" (Psalm 139:7).
The Spirit belongs to God: "You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit" (Job 10:12). (See also Job 27:3.) "Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it" (Isaiah 42:5). "Thus says the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within" (Zechariah 12:2a).
The Gospel named John continues the metaphor when Jesus said to Nicodemus: "The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).
The early idea of the Hebrew God had physical attributes. The God of the prophets was a Spirit God who is universal, eternal, and without physical likeness. (See Isaiah 40:18--26.) The nature of God's being is immaterial, pure Spirit. (See also John 4:24).
Holy Spirit
From conception, the Christ child connected with the Holy Spirit. (See Matthew 1:18 and 1:20 and Luke 1:35.) John announced one "who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16). The Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), Zechariah (Luke 1:67), Simeon (Luke 2:25--26), and Jesus (Luke 3:22 and Luke 4:1).
On the Mount of Olives, Jesus told the disciples to be at ease about their trial. "[F]or it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11 and Luke 12:12). Jesus served as mediator for this Spirit:
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you (John 14:16--18).
When Jesus appeared to the disciples at the resurrection, "[H]e breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (John 20:22). Before the ascension, he gave instructions "through the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:2). The disciples would be baptized "with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5). They would receive power when "the Holy Spirit has come upon [them]" (Acts 1:8).
Luke reported that all "were filled with the Holy Spirit." "[T]he Spirit gave them ability to speak in other languages" (Acts 2:4). Peter spoke of "the promise of the Holy Spirit" as coming from the Father (Acts 2:33). He spoke of receiving "the gift of the Holy Spirit" through repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38).
Peter himself was "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 4:8) when he spoke up at his arrest. Luke mentions Holy Spirit repeatedly in Acts. For further discussion of Holy Spirit, see Cycle C, Miracle 2, "The Voice From Heaven."
Languages
The Bible reflects the linguistic environment in which its documents were written. Greek influence brought word substitutions for Old Testament Semitic words, such as "Hades" for Sheol, "Christ" for Messiah, and "devil" for Satan. Names, words, and phrases from other languages than Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek abound. Travel, conquests, and intermarriages generated an intermixing of languages that has enriched the meaning of biblical texts.
Scholars found at least 72 languages spoken in the ancient Near East according to the Genesis 10 listing of descendants of Noah's children. The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible2 classifies these languages into eight geographical regions. The language/nations named in Acts 2:9 and 2:10, in italics below, represent these language groups.
Group 1: The Mesopotamian group offered the earliest intelligible written texts. Wedge--shaped characters from about 3200 B.C.E. were the Sumerian texts of a non--Semitic, non--Indo--European language. Semites coming to northern and central Meso--potamia learned the Sumerian script and wrote the first Semitic language, Akkadian, with Babylonian and Assyrian dialects. Two non--Semitic Akkadian dialects are Cappadocian and Elamite. (See Genesis, 1 Chronicles. Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel for Elamite references.)
Group 2: The Zaghros group. As Hurrian hill peoples invaded Mesopotamia, their language influenced the Near East from the Zaghros Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and as far south as Egypt. (Egypt has 419 biblical references.)
Group 3: The Anatolian group. Cuneiform script spreading westward into Anatolia was used to write Akkadian and local languages. It is thought that through the Hurrians, cuneiform came to the Hittites, a people of Indo--European speech who had entered Asia Minor from the west. (See Hittites in Genesis, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Nehemiah, and Ezekiel.)
Later Indo--European invasions brought speakers of Phrygian
into central Anatolia. Their language subfamilies include Indo--Iranian, Armenian, Albanian, and Balto--Slavic. Phrygian inscriptions are written in the Greek alphabet. (Acts 16 and 18 contain other references to Phrygia and Galatia.)
Group 4: The Iranian group. North and east of Elam were the Medes and Persians, invaders speaking Indo--European dialects of the Persian language. Median produced a Middle Iranian dialect used in the Parthian Empire. Medes lies between Egypt and Libya. (See 2 Kings, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel.)
Group 5: The Syro--Palestinian group. Both Egyptian hieroglyphic script and Mesopotamian cuneiform script were in early use in Syria and Palestine. Phoenician, the Semitic language, has an alphabet that adapted Egyptian hieroglyphics. In Sinai, another script based on Egyptian was found.
All Arabian dialects are Semitic, as are the Canaanite languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, Samaritan, Moabite, Edomite, and Ammonite. Writers of The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible suggest that Arabians present at Pentecost were Nabateans. Their modified Aramaic language was in use up to Islamic times.
Group 6: The Aegean group. The Aegean people spoke various Greek dialects. Archaic forms of Achaean Greek were in Cretan pictorial symbols.
Group 7: The coastal languages of Asia Minor are known mostly from proper names. Coin inscriptions exist of Sideto--Pamphylian. Pamphylia is west of Tarsus where Turkey is located today.
Group 8: The Egypto--Berber group. The old Egyptian pictographic language was almost as ancient as Sumerian. After Christianization of Egypt, documents in a new alphabet based on Greek script were called Coptic. The Berber languages were west of Egypt. Numidian is written in a Libyan alphabet. Parts of Libya belonged to Cyrene, west of Egypt on the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Roman visitors were from farthest away.
Last Days - Eschaton
Peter quotes Joel 2:28--32 about "the last days." Growing out of Old Testament beliefs, New Testament eschatology concerns itself with last things. The Prophets expressed the strong apocalyptic yearning of the Jewish people. They waited for a final revelation, a new creation that would give order to their wandering through seemingly endless wildernesses.
The concepts of two realms (of God and Satan), two senses of time (of time and eternity), and the Son of man were ideas resulting from Iranian influence during the Jewish exile. From hope for change grew the concept of a Messiah discovered by recognizable signs.
Jesus taught within the context of this Jewish apocalyptic hope. Because this hope also influenced those who preserved Jesus' teachings in writing, it is difficult to tell which voice is of Jesus, which is interpretation. Some scholars think Jesus' teaching was a continuation of the Jewish apocalyptic teaching. Others assert that Jesus thought himself the "Son of man" about to establish God's dominion on earth.
Still others believe Jesus was the messenger of the kingdom's coming who called all to prepare by repentance and faith. For them, the kingdom would not come in Jesus' lifetime. It would come only from God to individuals. A fourth school of thought concludes that Jesus fulfilled the prophetic eschatological teaching in his life and ministry.
The following words credited to Jesus suggest that for him the reign of God were both a present though not fully accomplished reality and a future expectation:
For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you (Luke 17:21b).
But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you (Luke 11:20).
[Jesus] asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah" (Mark 8:29).
But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come (Mark 13:32--33).
Verses below imply that Jesus saw himself as a mediator of God, the Son of Man, the Suffering Servant of Deutero--Isaiah:
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations (Isaiah 42:1).
But he was wounded for our transgressions ... upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering ... (Mark 8:31ff).
Among the closing verses of Mark 13, the apocalyptic message ascribed to Jesus, he said, "So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates" (Mark 13:29). Luke, however, suggests that Jesus did not want the disciples playing the game of looking for signs. "[Jesus] replied, 'It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority' " (Acts 1:7).
Pentecost
Pentecost was the Greek term for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, the fiftieth day after the ceremony of the barley sheaf during Passover observances. This second of three great pilgrim festivals marked a special sense of the holiness of life. A set time of communal observance in Israel, a feast was a high religious occasion that included processions, dances, feasting, and religious renewal.
Closing the Passover season, Pentecost marked the end of the grain harvest. It began the offering of first fruits as a tribute to God, the owner of the land and the source of its products. Only then could the harvest begin and the new harvest be used for food. (See Exodus 23:16.) Christians reinterpreted Pentecost as the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church fulfilling God's promise to pour out Spirit upon all flesh. (See Joel 2:28.)
Tongue
Biblically, the tongue, as the instrument of speech, represents the various languages and dialects that humanity uses. Speaking expresses to the rest of the world the whole person, including values and purposes. When two persons can speak together can they reach the common ground of communication.
Tongues
Speaking in tongues, called glossolalia or "tongues that babble," was found in many ancient world religions. Christians believed that God's Spirit took possession of those speaking in tongues and spoke through them. In this ecstatic state, incoherent yet impressive utterances appeared beyond the mental control of the speaker. This was a form of unintelligible language that was understandable under the right conditions and by the right people. Was it another example of God's bringing order out of the seemingly chaotic?
Luke reported at Pentecost the first appearance of glossolalia in the Christian church. All gathered "began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." He emphasized that they were not intoxicated. With typical emphasis on the universality of Christianity, Luke connected speaking in tongues with the revival of the prophetic spirit and the giving of God's guidance in every language.
The apostles and other early Christians believed they were the inheritors of promises made to the people of the Old Testament. They accepted speaking in tongues as evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 2:4.)
5. Parallel Scriptures
Cross--references given below may offer further insight to the meaning of Pentecost3;
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.1
God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to bring first fruit offerings of their first harvest after entering the land that God gave them. (See Leviticus 23:10--16.)
And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.2
Wind linked with the Holy Spirit: [Jesus told Nicodemus,] "The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).
After release from the high priests, Peter and John returned to friends. "When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31).
Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.3
God told Moses, overburdened in the wilderness, to gather seventy elders. God "took some of the spirit that was on [Moses] and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied" (Numbers 11:25).
John the Baptist spoke of Jesus' coming after him and baptizing "with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). Jesus said, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (Luke 12:49).
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.4
When Christ appeared at resurrection, he told two disciples that one sign accompanying those who believe is "they will speak in new tongues" (Mark 16:17).
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.5 (See also Acts 2:8--11.)
Among the devout Jews were Simeon (Luke 2:25), those who buried Stephen (Acts 8:2), and Ananias (Acts 22:12).
And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.6
And the Lord said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech" (Genesis 11:6--7).
Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?7 And how is it that we hear [them], each of us, in our own native language?8 ... speaking about God's deeds of power."11
Jesus commented on foreigners whom the scribes and Pharisees converted to Judaism. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert" (Matthew 23:15a).
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"12
(See Acts 2:7 above.)
But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."13
Job spoke of being full of words and his heart as like "wine that has no vent" (Job 32:18).
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say."14
Peter exhibited the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke about at the ascension. (See Acts 1:8.)
"Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.15 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:16 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.17 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.' "18
"[A]nd I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God" (Ezekiel 39:29). (See also Joel 2:28--29 and Romans 5:5.)
"And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.19 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day."20
"Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles" (Acts 5:12).
"[T]he full moon became like blood" (Revelations 6:12).
"Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."21
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).
"By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas" (Psalm 65:5).
____________
1. The website, part of www.ucc.org, was reported in "Praying On The Internet" from "News," in The Christian Century, Volume 114 (April 16, 1997), p. 383.
2. For a fuller description, see "Languages Of The Ancient Near East" in Volume 3.
3. Cross--references are from the self--pronouncing reference RSV edition of The Holy Bible (Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1962). Texts are from the NRSV.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.1 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.2 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.3 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.4
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.5 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.6 Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?7 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?8 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,9 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,10 Cretans and Arabs - in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."11 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"12 But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."13
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.14 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.15 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:16
'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.17 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.18 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.19 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.20 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "21
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
On Pentecost, from heaven a sound with the rush of a violent wind enters the Jerusalem house where the apostles have gathered. The sound fills the house.
Second Point Of Action
Divided tongues, as of fire, appear among them. A tongue of fire touches each person there.
Third Point Of Action
Filled with the Holy Spirit, everyone begins to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gives them ability.
Fourth Point Of Action
At this sound, a crowd gathers. They are bewildered because devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem hear these Galileans speaking in their native tongues. (These included Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans, and Arabs.)
Fifth Point Of Action
Hearing the apostles speak about God's deeds of power, the amazed and perplexed crowd say among themselves, "What does this mean?" Others, sneering, say the apostles are filled with new wine.
Sixth Point Of Action
Peter stands with the eleven disciples, saying they are not drunk because it is only nine in the morning. He addresses the men of Judea and of all Jerusalem, saying they are fulfilling the prophecy of Joel (see Joel 2:28--32):
A. In the last days, God will pour out the Spirit on all flesh.
B. The sons and daughters will prophesy.
C. The young men will see visions.
D. The old men will dream dreams.
E. The Spirit will pour out even upon the slaves, both men and women, and they also will prophesy.
F. God will show portents in heaven and signs on earth: blood, fire, smoky mist; sun turns to darkness; moon turns to blood.
All this will happen before the coming of God's great and glorious day. Then God will save everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
3. Connecting Points - Conversations
Interviewing the Spirit of the Wind at Pentecost
Asker: Where I live, the wind blows freely over open plains. It flutes past pipes. It crackles tree limbs. It pushes at my spirit. Missing nothing, it fills the space as it corners buildings. Whether it blusters or tickles, it invites itself into my soul.
Holy Spirit: Similarly, the Holy Spirit permeated every part of the house at Pentecost. Its divided tongue touched each person, finding the soul of each, and filling all of them.
Asker: "I will pour out my Spirit," the prophet Joel spoke of God. What an image - Spirit poured out like a refreshing, revitalizing drink of water. I hear it flow as I feel the vitality of the divided tongues resting on each person.
Holy Spirit: God does not drip out the Holy Spirit in measured volume but pours it out freely.
Asker: Yet, I sense that none of God's love is wasted.
Holy Spirit: You see, then, that the Holy Spirit is another presentation of God's love and caring for us. Do you perceive also that the coming of the Holy Spirit is no more violent than God's coming as a tender, vulnerable infant?
One at first feels alarm because the tongues were "as of fire" and the sound of the wind was "like the rush of a violent wind." It gained the attention of those gathered. Yet "a tongue rested on each of them." This was not the destructive power of fire but its warming, energizing heat. The Spirit of God comes as a spirit of gentleness wishing well for us.
Asker: How do we know it is the Holy Spirit and not some unholy spirit that has hold of us? How do we know which signs to follow in our lives? How do we know if our imaginations are veering from reality?
Holy Spirit: Look at the result. Is it consistent with the teachings of Christ? When the Holy Spirit filled the people, community happened. It was the uniting of nations. Individuals began to speak in "other languages." The others heard what they said "in the native language of each."
When remembering the holiness of the Spirit, recall kilo, the root word not only of holy but also of health, healing, to hallow, and wholeness.
At Pentecost, the Hebrew blessing of shalom swells to its fullness. Such communication, such communion, is the goal of the Holy Spirit of God. If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, we need to find a common language.
Interviewing An Elamite Woman
Asker: You were in the crowd at Pentecost.
Woman: Yes, we all gathered for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. Looking at faces from lands all around, I was amazed. Moments earlier, babble had filled the house. Suddenly, they spoke in my language. I comprehended what they said.
I attended the coming of the Holy Spirit. Reflecting upon what happened at Pentecost, I think now of the tower of Babel. My relatives came from Elam, a descendant of Noah's eldest son Shem. Retelling family stories, my grandmother related how the whole earth once had one language and the same words (Genesis 11:1). Then, seeing how powerful they had become, the Creator muddled that language. God confused the language of all earth so they could not understand each other's speech.
Asker: The storytellers of Babel saw God's power threatened by a strong community.
Woman: At Pentecost, I experienced the reverse of the tower of Babel. A spark of the divided tongue rested on my skin. I felt its empowerment, as if God too had grown - or was it my idea of creation that enlarged?
Asker: God continues to surprise us with new creation and with signs of the Christ still among us. In the present day, the Holy Spirit is as ethereal and surprising as the mechanics of the Internet. The Holy Spirit travels across a new rainbow, once again connecting Christians from around the world and the neighborhood. As intangible as the wind, a "Prayer Chapel" in as unlikely but legitimate a "place" as the World Wide Web draws Internet users.1 It provides an instant, worldwide, supportive link between persons and congregations whose posted prayer requests and responses make time for the situations of others.
Woman: From Spirit to spirit, we begin again. The people of my time and those of yours meet anew. From our family came many families also with their own languages, lands, and nations. Now, the people of this diverse culture have found the possibility to reconnect in a fresh start. Now, at least in spirit, we are one family again. At the least, we have glimpsed the possibility of being the family of God.
Asker: What makes one stranger or family? What dissolves the foreignness between two persons?
Woman: Those who find a way to dissolve apparent differences and recognize what they share are no longer strangers.
Asker: Many things complicate our communication with each other. Even within a family, we think we are expressing one thing but contradict it by body language, voice inflection, or choice of words. I think of how we sometimes babble in code within our own house. Even within ourselves, we must decipher layers of inner meanings and conversations.
Woman: God persists in returning us to our beginnings. God must wish well for us. God keeps in mind promises and covenants from long ago. Pentecost is about our relationship to God and God's enduring relationship to us. God's presence as Holy Spirit says, "I have faith in you. I choose to stay with you. I shall continue to create. Now it is time for you to carry on the faith."
Pentecost reminds us that as families, we will have breakdowns in communication. Because we are essentially all one family in faith, we have the potential for the great power of unity. We are one in the Spirit; we are one in God's mind. Holy Spirit invites us to continue the adventure of growing our faith.
Interviewing Peter
Asker: Peter, you were the disciple who spoke up. You made sense out of this.
Peter: Empowerment, particularly if unexpected, can make one giddy. Those touched by the tongue of the Holy Spirit may have appeared drunk - intoxicated with the Spirit, perhaps, but not with the wine of the Festival of Weeks. We must view these events within the perspective of Jewish faith. How many times do we miss by falsely dismissing? At turning points, someone needs to clarify what is happening. Otherwise, the moment could be lost. People also were gathering at the time Christ was born in Bethlehem. However, the birth probably went unnoticed by most going to be registered. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the hearts of those with first fruit offerings already turned toward God. What an appropriate time in Jerusalem to acknowledge those gathered from the ends of the earth.
Asker: Part of this miracle is your recognition of the connection between the words of Joel and what was happening. Why did you quote Joel?
Peter: The bigger truth here is found in this prophet's words: "I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh." "Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." These were important words in Joel's day also. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was more than a tribal god. When he came to us at the resurrection, Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations. (See Matthew 28:19.)
At his ascension, he told us again that "repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). He said we would receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon us. We would be his witnesses "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). So far - to the ends of the earth - does the salvation of God extend. Christianity is to be inclusive.
Asker: You suggest these were the last days that Joel spoke about. How do you know that? I find this talk about the last days confusing. When something extraordinary happens, a few people jump to conclusions. Some see it as a sign of the end of everything. Then the end does not come. Such things arouse cynicism.
Peter: So much had happened since Holy Week. Life had not been as usual for some time. We apostles hardly knew what to expect next. The last days might have been at hand.
Faith is more than, in your vernacular, the distracting media hype that talk of the last days will bring. It is other than a series of great prophetic sound bites. Focus on the last days carries the hint of a threat that alerts people to their actions. However, talk of the last days also conveys hope. God continually gives us signs of presence because we are God's people. I will be your God, God says, in the last days and in all days. Growing one's faith has more to do with a way of living and of meeting the last day than with fixation on possible dates and hours of expectation.
Asker: Then, Peter, for the apostles was Pentecost a graduation from being students to becoming teachers who carry on the work?
Peter: In the best sense of graduation, that is commencement. Faith is never finished; faith is always a beginning. People of your day differ little from mine. Spirit God brings salvation, hope, and the strength to move forward. Pentecost encourages us to grow from faith into faith.
4. Words
Spirit
The same word root joins spirit and wind or breath as the life force. "[T]he earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2 NRSV). Biblical scholars translate this phrase variously as: "Spirit of God" (RSV), "Power of God" (TEV), "a mighty wind" (NEB), "a tempestuous wind" (An American Translation).
Might we consider the coming of the Holy Spirit God's bringing anew the presence of that initial Spirit in first creation? This dynamic Spirit acts in human life by inspiring prophets. It came to mean the universal presence of God: "Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?" (Psalm 139:7).
The Spirit belongs to God: "You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit" (Job 10:12). (See also Job 27:3.) "Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it" (Isaiah 42:5). "Thus says the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the human spirit within" (Zechariah 12:2a).
The Gospel named John continues the metaphor when Jesus said to Nicodemus: "The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).
The early idea of the Hebrew God had physical attributes. The God of the prophets was a Spirit God who is universal, eternal, and without physical likeness. (See Isaiah 40:18--26.) The nature of God's being is immaterial, pure Spirit. (See also John 4:24).
Holy Spirit
From conception, the Christ child connected with the Holy Spirit. (See Matthew 1:18 and 1:20 and Luke 1:35.) John announced one "who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16). The Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth (Luke 1:41), Zechariah (Luke 1:67), Simeon (Luke 2:25--26), and Jesus (Luke 3:22 and Luke 4:1).
On the Mount of Olives, Jesus told the disciples to be at ease about their trial. "[F]or it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11 and Luke 12:12). Jesus served as mediator for this Spirit:
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you (John 14:16--18).
When Jesus appeared to the disciples at the resurrection, "[H]e breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (John 20:22). Before the ascension, he gave instructions "through the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:2). The disciples would be baptized "with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5). They would receive power when "the Holy Spirit has come upon [them]" (Acts 1:8).
Luke reported that all "were filled with the Holy Spirit." "[T]he Spirit gave them ability to speak in other languages" (Acts 2:4). Peter spoke of "the promise of the Holy Spirit" as coming from the Father (Acts 2:33). He spoke of receiving "the gift of the Holy Spirit" through repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38).
Peter himself was "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 4:8) when he spoke up at his arrest. Luke mentions Holy Spirit repeatedly in Acts. For further discussion of Holy Spirit, see Cycle C, Miracle 2, "The Voice From Heaven."
Languages
The Bible reflects the linguistic environment in which its documents were written. Greek influence brought word substitutions for Old Testament Semitic words, such as "Hades" for Sheol, "Christ" for Messiah, and "devil" for Satan. Names, words, and phrases from other languages than Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek abound. Travel, conquests, and intermarriages generated an intermixing of languages that has enriched the meaning of biblical texts.
Scholars found at least 72 languages spoken in the ancient Near East according to the Genesis 10 listing of descendants of Noah's children. The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible2 classifies these languages into eight geographical regions. The language/nations named in Acts 2:9 and 2:10, in italics below, represent these language groups.
Group 1: The Mesopotamian group offered the earliest intelligible written texts. Wedge--shaped characters from about 3200 B.C.E. were the Sumerian texts of a non--Semitic, non--Indo--European language. Semites coming to northern and central Meso--potamia learned the Sumerian script and wrote the first Semitic language, Akkadian, with Babylonian and Assyrian dialects. Two non--Semitic Akkadian dialects are Cappadocian and Elamite. (See Genesis, 1 Chronicles. Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel for Elamite references.)
Group 2: The Zaghros group. As Hurrian hill peoples invaded Mesopotamia, their language influenced the Near East from the Zaghros Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and as far south as Egypt. (Egypt has 419 biblical references.)
Group 3: The Anatolian group. Cuneiform script spreading westward into Anatolia was used to write Akkadian and local languages. It is thought that through the Hurrians, cuneiform came to the Hittites, a people of Indo--European speech who had entered Asia Minor from the west. (See Hittites in Genesis, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Nehemiah, and Ezekiel.)
Later Indo--European invasions brought speakers of Phrygian
into central Anatolia. Their language subfamilies include Indo--Iranian, Armenian, Albanian, and Balto--Slavic. Phrygian inscriptions are written in the Greek alphabet. (Acts 16 and 18 contain other references to Phrygia and Galatia.)
Group 4: The Iranian group. North and east of Elam were the Medes and Persians, invaders speaking Indo--European dialects of the Persian language. Median produced a Middle Iranian dialect used in the Parthian Empire. Medes lies between Egypt and Libya. (See 2 Kings, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel.)
Group 5: The Syro--Palestinian group. Both Egyptian hieroglyphic script and Mesopotamian cuneiform script were in early use in Syria and Palestine. Phoenician, the Semitic language, has an alphabet that adapted Egyptian hieroglyphics. In Sinai, another script based on Egyptian was found.
All Arabian dialects are Semitic, as are the Canaanite languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, Samaritan, Moabite, Edomite, and Ammonite. Writers of The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible suggest that Arabians present at Pentecost were Nabateans. Their modified Aramaic language was in use up to Islamic times.
Group 6: The Aegean group. The Aegean people spoke various Greek dialects. Archaic forms of Achaean Greek were in Cretan pictorial symbols.
Group 7: The coastal languages of Asia Minor are known mostly from proper names. Coin inscriptions exist of Sideto--Pamphylian. Pamphylia is west of Tarsus where Turkey is located today.
Group 8: The Egypto--Berber group. The old Egyptian pictographic language was almost as ancient as Sumerian. After Christianization of Egypt, documents in a new alphabet based on Greek script were called Coptic. The Berber languages were west of Egypt. Numidian is written in a Libyan alphabet. Parts of Libya belonged to Cyrene, west of Egypt on the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Roman visitors were from farthest away.
Last Days - Eschaton
Peter quotes Joel 2:28--32 about "the last days." Growing out of Old Testament beliefs, New Testament eschatology concerns itself with last things. The Prophets expressed the strong apocalyptic yearning of the Jewish people. They waited for a final revelation, a new creation that would give order to their wandering through seemingly endless wildernesses.
The concepts of two realms (of God and Satan), two senses of time (of time and eternity), and the Son of man were ideas resulting from Iranian influence during the Jewish exile. From hope for change grew the concept of a Messiah discovered by recognizable signs.
Jesus taught within the context of this Jewish apocalyptic hope. Because this hope also influenced those who preserved Jesus' teachings in writing, it is difficult to tell which voice is of Jesus, which is interpretation. Some scholars think Jesus' teaching was a continuation of the Jewish apocalyptic teaching. Others assert that Jesus thought himself the "Son of man" about to establish God's dominion on earth.
Still others believe Jesus was the messenger of the kingdom's coming who called all to prepare by repentance and faith. For them, the kingdom would not come in Jesus' lifetime. It would come only from God to individuals. A fourth school of thought concludes that Jesus fulfilled the prophetic eschatological teaching in his life and ministry.
The following words credited to Jesus suggest that for him the reign of God were both a present though not fully accomplished reality and a future expectation:
For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you (Luke 17:21b).
But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you (Luke 11:20).
[Jesus] asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah" (Mark 8:29).
But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come (Mark 13:32--33).
Verses below imply that Jesus saw himself as a mediator of God, the Son of Man, the Suffering Servant of Deutero--Isaiah:
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations (Isaiah 42:1).
But he was wounded for our transgressions ... upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering ... (Mark 8:31ff).
Among the closing verses of Mark 13, the apocalyptic message ascribed to Jesus, he said, "So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates" (Mark 13:29). Luke, however, suggests that Jesus did not want the disciples playing the game of looking for signs. "[Jesus] replied, 'It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority' " (Acts 1:7).
Pentecost
Pentecost was the Greek term for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, the fiftieth day after the ceremony of the barley sheaf during Passover observances. This second of three great pilgrim festivals marked a special sense of the holiness of life. A set time of communal observance in Israel, a feast was a high religious occasion that included processions, dances, feasting, and religious renewal.
Closing the Passover season, Pentecost marked the end of the grain harvest. It began the offering of first fruits as a tribute to God, the owner of the land and the source of its products. Only then could the harvest begin and the new harvest be used for food. (See Exodus 23:16.) Christians reinterpreted Pentecost as the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church fulfilling God's promise to pour out Spirit upon all flesh. (See Joel 2:28.)
Tongue
Biblically, the tongue, as the instrument of speech, represents the various languages and dialects that humanity uses. Speaking expresses to the rest of the world the whole person, including values and purposes. When two persons can speak together can they reach the common ground of communication.
Tongues
Speaking in tongues, called glossolalia or "tongues that babble," was found in many ancient world religions. Christians believed that God's Spirit took possession of those speaking in tongues and spoke through them. In this ecstatic state, incoherent yet impressive utterances appeared beyond the mental control of the speaker. This was a form of unintelligible language that was understandable under the right conditions and by the right people. Was it another example of God's bringing order out of the seemingly chaotic?
Luke reported at Pentecost the first appearance of glossolalia in the Christian church. All gathered "began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." He emphasized that they were not intoxicated. With typical emphasis on the universality of Christianity, Luke connected speaking in tongues with the revival of the prophetic spirit and the giving of God's guidance in every language.
The apostles and other early Christians believed they were the inheritors of promises made to the people of the Old Testament. They accepted speaking in tongues as evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 2:4.)
5. Parallel Scriptures
Cross--references given below may offer further insight to the meaning of Pentecost3;
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.1
God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to bring first fruit offerings of their first harvest after entering the land that God gave them. (See Leviticus 23:10--16.)
And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.2
Wind linked with the Holy Spirit: [Jesus told Nicodemus,] "The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).
After release from the high priests, Peter and John returned to friends. "When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31).
Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.3
God told Moses, overburdened in the wilderness, to gather seventy elders. God "took some of the spirit that was on [Moses] and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied" (Numbers 11:25).
John the Baptist spoke of Jesus' coming after him and baptizing "with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11). Jesus said, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (Luke 12:49).
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.4
When Christ appeared at resurrection, he told two disciples that one sign accompanying those who believe is "they will speak in new tongues" (Mark 16:17).
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.5 (See also Acts 2:8--11.)
Among the devout Jews were Simeon (Luke 2:25), those who buried Stephen (Acts 8:2), and Ananias (Acts 22:12).
And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.6
And the Lord said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech" (Genesis 11:6--7).
Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?7 And how is it that we hear [them], each of us, in our own native language?8 ... speaking about God's deeds of power."11
Jesus commented on foreigners whom the scribes and Pharisees converted to Judaism. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert" (Matthew 23:15a).
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"12
(See Acts 2:7 above.)
But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."13
Job spoke of being full of words and his heart as like "wine that has no vent" (Job 32:18).
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say."14
Peter exhibited the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke about at the ascension. (See Acts 1:8.)
"Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.15 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:16 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.17 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.' "18
"[A]nd I will never again hide my face from them, when I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God" (Ezekiel 39:29). (See also Joel 2:28--29 and Romans 5:5.)
"And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.19 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day."20
"Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles" (Acts 5:12).
"[T]he full moon became like blood" (Revelations 6:12).
"Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."21
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).
"By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas" (Psalm 65:5).
____________
1. The website, part of www.ucc.org, was reported in "Praying On The Internet" from "News," in The Christian Century, Volume 114 (April 16, 1997), p. 383.
2. For a fuller description, see "Languages Of The Ancient Near East" in Volume 3.
3. Cross--references are from the self--pronouncing reference RSV edition of The Holy Bible (Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1962). Texts are from the NRSV.
