Acts 2:1-47
Can you imagine what it must have been like to have been in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost?
By this time Jerusalem had become a cosmopolitan city. There were citizens from all over the known world who were there at the time. It must have been quite a difficult task to communicate among one another. And those guys from Galilee had quite an accent all of their own.
And suddenly the winds came upon the apostles…and they were able to speak in the languages of the other people. Had I been there, I think I would have thought I had gone nuts. Or, perhaps, the apostles had gone nuts. And can you imagine how it would feel if you were all of a sudden able to speak Hebrew, or Latin, or Greek? What would we think? Would we recognize the Holy Spirit in our midst doing as Jesus said would happen?
I am not certain, but I think I would have been intrigued but also a bit fearful. I think of the storm on Friday night and especially the wind. The wind that is spoken of in this passage is described as a “violent wind” which came from heaven and filled the house.
I may not be able to speak languages, but I can certainly carry the Word of God in my life and tell the people with whom I come into contact about Jesus. With the language each of us has, we can carry out our small bit of the Great Commission. If we don’t do it, who will? We must teach the Good News. The world has enough bad news, and it is drummed in our heads so thoroughly by TV, magazines, websites, and other media that it is easy to think there is only evil in the world. There is evil in the world, and we will be taken over by it…unless people of faith ride the winds that came upon us all and tell the world that Jesus lives!
Carol
Bible Breath: Holy Spirit / Jesus lives
