The Text (Acts 2:5–12)

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

 

An Insight

The book of Acts tells us the story of how the message of Jesus was spread throughout the world, not only to Jews but also to Gentiles. The story really gets going in Acts’ second chapter, where our reading comes from this week. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus’ disciples and empowers them to speak a variety of languages. Our specific passage tells us how the sound of the Spirit’s coming draws a crowd who are then amazed because they each hear the disciples speaking in their native language. About half of this passage is concerned with simply listing out for us the broad range of languages spoken. Everyone present on the Day of Pentecost was Jewish, but the wide diversity of languages gives us a hint that the borders of Jesus’ kingdom will go beyond the Jewish people to include all nations.

 

A Timeless Principle

The Day of Pentecost reminds us of a central truth in Scripture: God wants all of us to know who he is through knowing his Son, Jesus. Many of us have been taught this our whole lives, so we can forget how wonderful it is. For many centuries before Pentecost, God’s chosen people were a particular nation: the Israelites. Non-Israelites were supposed to be able to look to Israel to glimpse God’s character, but fully joining God’s chosen people meant becoming an Israelite. Through Jesus, God bursts through this boundary and invites all people to have a relationship with him while retaining their native culture, language, and heritage. That includes us! It also includes many people our culture tends to look down upon or exclude. God truly wants all people from all nations to know him through Jesus.

 

Living the Text

God wants all people to know him, without exception. This is why we have the relationship with him that we have. It has nothing to do with our social standing, economic status, or any such thing. It is because he unconditionally loves us. As we move through this day, let’s keep our eyes open for those in our lives who do not yet know him. God wants a relationship with them just as much as he wanted it with all nations on the Day of Pentecost and as much as he wants one with us. We can be tempted to think the gulf between ourselves and those different from us is too wide and too uncomfortable to cross. God, thankfully, did not consider that gulf too wide on the Day of Pentecost, nor did he when his Son took on flesh and lived among us. Let’s prayerfully consider how we can extend that same love to those in our lives as well who are yet to know him.

 

Prayer

In Jesus’ name,