Title Acts 02:5-13 Pentecost 2
Contents Pentecost (2) (Acts 2:5-13)
The text publicly explains how this special gift suddenly bestowed upon the disciples occurred.
I. Now a great crowd had gathered in Jerusalem, apparently far exceeding the usual meetings of the Feast of Pentecost. "At that time devout Jews were living in Jerusalem." These were interested in the faith and feared God, some of them being circumcised and entering the Jews as "reformed righteous men." They were those who forsook themselves and gave themselves to the worship of the true God. Some of the people in Jerusalem at that time were scattered Jews, converts, and "from all the nations of the world." The expression "every country under the world" was an exaggeration to mean people from the partial world known at the time. Just as London now or Tire at that time was a gathering place for traders from all over the world, Jerusalem at that time gathered people from all over the place for religious purposes.
2. What, then, was the motive for the gathering of all these Jews and proselytes in Jerusalem at that time? Judging that they sojourned in Jerusalem, it seems that they did not make a temporary visit for the Feast of Pentecost. They settled here and stayed because of the general expectation at that time that the Messiah would appear. The last week prophesied by Daniel has just ended, and the reign of Judah has just come to an end. Therefore, it was generally thought that “the kingdom of God will appear immediately” (Luke 19:11). For this reason, the most devout and devout people gathered in Jerusalem to sojourn, hoping that they would be the first to participate in the Messianic Kingdom and share the blessings of that kingdom.
II. Their surprise when they heard the disciples speak in the language of strangers from all over the world. The disciples apparently spoke several languages before the gathering of people from different provinces who spoke other languages. For this fact has become so widely known that a large crowd, especially people from different provinces, have gathered, and it seems that these people have been deeply moved by the wonders more than the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
1. They knew that the speakers were Galileans who spoke only their native language (v. 7). They were lowly human beings who could not expect any learning or courtesy from them. God chooses the weak and foolish of the world to shame the wise and strong. Christ was also treated as a Galilean, and his disciples were ignorant and ignorant Galileans.
2. They acknowledged that the disciples spoke coherently in their language (these strangers were the most appropriate judges in this matter) and that even the natives could not speak more accurately and fluently than them. “How is it that we hear each one of us in our own tongue” (verse 3). That is, "We have heard some of them speaking in our own tongues." The Phathaeans heard one of them speak the Medes, and the Medes heard them speaking, and so did all the others (v. 11). "We all hear in our tongues speaking the great things of God." Their own language was not spoken in Jerusalem, and perhaps even despised. Therefore, it was surprising and delightful to hear them speak their own language, as it was a natural thing for a stranger to a foreign land.
(2) They heard them praising God for these great things and teaching people about these things. They spoke outspoken "according to the language of their listeners" or in the language they demanded. Of course, these strangers had come and gone to Jerusalem many times, so they had acquired quite a bit of Jewish language, so even if the disciples spoke in Jewish, they could understand what it meant. However, the reason for the use of dialect is as follows.
[1] This event was quite bizarre and therefore helped us to judge that this teaching was of divine origin. Because “tongues are a sign for unbelievers” (1 Corinthians 14:22).
[2] This event also shows a clear favor to the Gentiles, which can be favored by the crowd as a sign that the knowledge and worship of God is no longer limited to the Jews and that the local barriers have been broken. It also teaches us clearly that God's will is that the Holy Word of God's wonderful works should be preserved and read "in the language of every nation" and that worship should be conducted in the native language.
3. They were astonished and regarded it as a marvelous event (v. 12). "They were all amazed" means that he could not understand with a clear mind. They were puzzled by what this meant, and wondered if it was a sign of the realization of the long-awaited Messianic kingdom. So they did not hesitate to inquire of each other. ti, avn qe,loi tou/to ei=nai - Quid hoc sibi bult? - I mean, what's the matter? Certainly this was not considered an ordinary event, and these samas were regarded as messengers from heaven, and therefore, like Moses standing by the thorns, they "stand beside him and behold this marvelous sight."
Ⅲ. The ridicule of the people of the mainland of Judah and Jerusalem. The sons were probably the scribes, the Pharisees, and the high priests who always resisted the Holy Spirit. They laughed, saying, "They are drunk with new wine or sweet wine." They said they drank too much at the feast (v. 13). Of course, the mockers were not foolish enough to think that they spoke in a language they had never been taught because they were drunk. In fact, the native Jews, like others, did not know that the words they spoke were indeed the language of another nation, and therefore regarded them as meaningless murmurings, such as the murmurs of the foolish and drunkards of Israel. They did not believe in the work of the Holy Spirit, which appeared in the miracles of Christ before, and erroneously interpreted it as "He casts out demons under the guise of the king of demons" (Matthew 9:34). Likewise, they do not believe the voice of the Holy Spirit working in the teachings of the apostles, and they return, saying, "We are drunk with new wine." If they called the Lord, the Lord of the world, a drunkard, it is not surprising that his honest disciples called him a drunkard.