And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (Acts 2:4)
Sometimes, you hear people say they would have loved to have been present at certain historical events. A sports fan might cite a certain World Series game from the 1950s, or an engineer would have loved to have been present the day the Brooklyn Bridge opened, or a science buff might say that she wished she could have been in attendance at the first heart transplant procedure. The list goes on.
For me, I would have loved to have been present on this Pentecost Day of Acts chapter 2, when the people there were suddenly speaking in languages other than the ones they normally spoke. As a linguist I’m particularly fascinated by that! After having lived as an adult in multiple cultures and language environments different from the one in which I was raised, I know how hard it is to acquire another language. It takes extraordinary time to think in a new language, to form sentences and paragraphs and stories that actually make sense. It takes immersion in another language situation (not just “learning” from a textbook and taking tests in a controlled classroom environment). It takes untold numbers of mistakes and life situations for practice, correction, and eventual hoped-for fluency. In fact, we feel so proud when we begin to master elementary parts of a language, use it with a native speaker, and report back, “I only asked for a drink of water, but they understood me! I’m making progress!”
A new evidence surfaced of the presence of the Holy Spirit among these followers of Jesus: a gift of language. The wind and fire were absolutely phenomenal and we stand back in awe as we read of their sudden intrusion and say, “What about that!” But the wind and fire were external to humans. The ability of these folks to intelligibly speak languages that were unknown to them, languages that they had never learned, was a miracle that topped the others. It was internal. This miracle was carried out within their bodies, minds, and mouths. God needed people for this miracle, and he found them.
Our text here says “everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit.” God chose these unsuspecting folks to fill up with His Spirit. This was not a “touch” or “brush” or “taste” or a “few drops” of the Holy Spirit but a filling. We treat a full glass differently than an empty glass. Empty glass: “Here, put this in the cabinet for me.” Full glass: “Let me hand this to you…careful! It’s really full!” Same with bank accounts. Empty: “Oops, can’t do that; no money.” Full: “Sure, let’s do it! We’ve got plenty!” These folks were now in a different state—they were full of the Holy Spirit.
All of these signs are pointing to the not-to-be-missed presence of the Holy Spirit. God has something to say, and he doesn’t want anyone to miss it. And to make sure they get it, he’s using human speech, in a way it had never been used before, to capture the attention of participants and observers. So, is everybody ready for what’s next?“Father, thank you for letting these common folks speak in languages unknown to them—you used them mightily to demonstrate your presence.”
Freddy Boswell 