2:1 When the Day of
Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them
divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.
Pentecost was a harvest festival. The feast of the first
fruits. It was when the first ripe produce was taken from the fields and
offered to God symbolizing that all the harvest bounty came from Him.
Multiple things are converging on this particular day. The
120 people in that room represent the first fruits of those trained and ready
to make Jesus known to the world as the Lamb of God that takes away their sin.
It will also be the first day that thousands understand and join them in
following Jesus. Another first fruits harvest.
The day begins with God pouring out His Spirit on those 120
in a way He has never done before. Another first. The dramatic events of
roaring wind and tongues of fire serve not only the purpose of impressing on
the 120 that God is at work, but it also draws a crowd wanting to know what is
happening.
Jerusalem is full of people from all over who have come to
celebrate. Because of the international and multicultural circumstances God
equips His first fruit missionaries with exactly what they will need. The
tongues of fire on their heads becomes languages in their mouths so that they
can speak to the various peoples in their own language. Nothing is accidental,
random, coincidence, or left to chance with our God. In one moment he reversed
the curse of the tower of Babel and miraculously tore down the language barrier.
In 1994 I had the privilege of going to the Ukraine to teach
English and help share Jesus just 5 years after communism fell. Language was a
barrier. We had to have translators. It was amazing to me to discover that two
of our translators knew no English only one month before we arrived.
Translating a speaker as they preach is really tough even if you know both
languages well. For a person who never knew one of the languages a month
previous it is impossible. However nothing is impossible with God.
He had prepared people to speak for Him and people to listen.
His Spirit bridged the gap by an instantaneous gift of languages. He did it on
the day of Pentecost and He is still doing it today. Pretty simple for a God
who walks on water, walks through walls, and travels through space without a
ship or even a suit.
The only limitation He has is our will. He is love and love
never forces. He will speak our language but He won't force us to hear or
follow. This truth makes me love Him even more - He is strong enough to run the
entire universe but gentle enough to let me choose. Why wouldn't we choose Him?
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