Acts 2: 1-13

(Acts 2: 1-13)

 

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.  And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?  Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

 

The Bible says two things about the Holy Spirit. The first is Pentecost, and the second is language. 『When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 』Pentecost is a word derived from the Greek word pente meaning the number 5, meaning the 50th day. In other words, it is a Greek expression of the Seven Days, one of the three major feasts of the Old Testament. For the Israelites, Pentecost is not only remembered as a day of thanksgiving for the harvest, because for the Israelites, the Passover was the day when God declared the end of captivity and was saved by God's mighty hand. It is because he received the word of God on Mount Sinai.

Therefore, Pentecost was a day to enjoy the joy of fullness through the harvest, and at the same time, the day to receive the Word of God and become a distinct covenant people. On that day of Pentecost, the Bible describes the coming of the Holy Spirit as promised when Jesus ascended into heaven. The Bible explains the coming of the Holy Spirit in two ways. The first is wind and the second is fire. The Hebrew word for wind, luah, means the Holy Spirit. “There is a sound like a strong wind,” and that sound filled the space where they were. First of all, you have to listen to the word. The expression ``the tongue of fire'' comes out. Words are spoken by mouth.

Therefore, the Bible tells us to listen to the Word of God and to speak with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, "When a tongue of fire comes upon each Christian who lives in faith, it is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks in different languages as the Holy Spirit makes him speak. "Beginning" is written. We can see that it is Christians who hear the Word and have faith, and who live by letting them speak by the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost is a day of thanksgiving for those who are filled with the harvest, and at the same time, it is a day to become covenant people who receive the word of God. Therefore, Pentecost is a festival day in which Christians whose ears and mouths have been renewed by the Holy Spirit live under the guidance of the Word and the Holy Spirit, and through this, the New Testament church is established. When the Holy Spirit came to the crowd as promised, their ears and mouths were renewed. Through this, the language has changed. But obviously they started speaking in different languages, and Jews from all over the world heard it and began to riot. 『They were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans? 』

『Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 』The tongue began to twist as if drunk. So, when the listeners spoke in different countries, they felt drunken.