1 Seven weeks had gone by since Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the Day of Pentecost had now arrived. As the believers met together that day, 2 suddenly there was a sound like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on their heads. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in languages they didn’t know, for the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
5 Many godly Jews were in Jerusalem that day for the religious celebrations, having arrived from many nations. 6 And when they heard the roaring in the sky above the house, crowds came running to see what it was all about, and were stunned to hear their own languages being spoken by the disciples.
7 “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “For these men are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking all the native languages of the lands where we were born! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, men from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia Minor, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the Cyrene language areas of Libya, visitors from Rome—both Jews and Jewish converts— 11 Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these men telling in our own languages about the mighty miracles of God!”
12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
13 But others in the crowd were mocking. “They’re drunk, that’s all!” they said.
The Power of the Holy Spirit
Jesus had promised His followers that shortly after He ascended to heaven, He would send a "Comforter," the Holy Spirt, to empower them. In today's reading, we see that day, when the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus' followers. We call this day "Pentecost," and it is usually commemorated in churches 7 weeks after Easter Sunday.
So what's the significance of this day?
It represents a shift in the way God works in the world. Prior to Pentecost, God worked in the world either by His direct command (such as in His creation of the universe or His orders to Moses through a burning bush) or through the words and actions of Jesus. But after Pentecost, God is introducing another means by which He works: through His Holy Spirit. In other words, God is sending His Spirit to live in His followers, and as the Holy Spirit works in people, that becomes God's work.
I can't say I honestly understand how this works exactly, but I do know that when we become true followers of Jesus, it is His Spirit that resides in us. That's why we shouldn't do things that defile us because God is in us. God will also give us power to do new and amazing things. In this passage, the followers of Jesus were suddenly able to speak foreign languages they had never learned. Today, God's Spirit could certainly help us learn new languages, but He could also help us to resist sin, to forgive other people, to think of revolutionary ideas to make the world better, to overcome obstacles, and so forth.
The same power of the Holy Spirit that was available to Jesus' followers in the 1st century is still available to us today. Claim the power of the Holy Spirit in your life today. And then let God use you to do great things.
- Brian Hall
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