Wednesday 26 April 2017
- Bible Book:
- Acts
“Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?’” (vv. 5-8)
Psalm: Psalm 138
Background
Here we are, on the Day of Pentecost, bystanders at the momentJesus had promised the disciples would come (
Jerusalem was bulging at the seams because it was festival time,and the air was filled with all the languages of the Jewish people.Suddenly the crowd realised that a bunch of uneducated Galileanfishermen were making themselves heard - everyone understood!
Luke (the writer of Acts) tells us that the onlookers were"bewildered" (v. 6), and "amazed and astonished" (v. 7) at thisphenomenon. How could it be?
For those with quick enough wits, their minds would go back intothe Jewish Scriptures and a story of the people trying to build theTower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) to reach into the heavens whereGod dwells.
God said: "Come, let us go down, and confuse their languagethere, so that they will not understand one another's speech" (
Luke stresses that these were the devout Jews, gathered in thecity to worship. It is to them that Peter stands and declares thatthe day promised by the prophet Joel has dawned (verses 17-21,quoting Joel 2:28-32). The Holy Spirit is on the move,uniting young and old, female and male … "every nation underheaven" (v. 5).
To Ponder
- What languages should you and the church use to share the GoodNews with your neighbours? How do we learn to communicate betterwith unreached people groups?
- How can local churches improve their interaction with peoplewho don't speak 'church-ese'? And what can you do to help?