An amazing happening on the day of Pentecost followed the descent of the Holy Spirit on the gathered followers of Jesus. It was their ability to speak in the languages of all the people in Jerusalem who had come to take part in the celebration of Pentecost, one of the three festivals at which every Israelite was expected to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem, the sacred city. In fact, the crowd was so cosmopolitan that Luke listed the places they were from to indicate the many languages and dialects the people would have spoken (see the list in verses 9-11a). This list includes people from most of the first-century Roman world. Jews had been dispersed to the regions named and had settlements there. Luke’s list in Acts 2 gives a comprehensive list of the Jewish Diaspora (Jews who had residence outside Palestine). Luke’s list is authenticated also by secular historians (Philo, for one, in his “Embassy to Gaius” and by archaeological and literary accounts). One might argue that since they were witnessing mainly to displaced Jews—except for the “proselytes” to Judaism mentioned in verse 11—that the listeners could have heard and understood if the apostles had witnessed in the Jewish language. However, the listeners could have been several generations removed from the Diaspora, which took place over several centuries. It is difficult to date its exact beginning, but dates back at least to 722 B. C. when the Assyrians captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel and took many captive, and the Babylonians captured the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 586 B. C., likewise taking many away from the land of Palestine. By New Testament times, as many Jews lived outside Palestine (in the countries Luke mentions in his listing) as lived in the Holy Land. The more recent exodus occurred when the Greeks and then the Romans conquered Palestine, even more of the Jews living there then were dispersed to other countries. The fact was that, even if they knew “classical” Hebrew, and could worship in the Temple with that ancient language intoned in the services, they still spoke more fluently in the language of the places they lived. They would have had to know the language of those places to work and dwell in those lands. So there, on that amazing day of Pentecost, as the followers of Jesus shared enthusiastically the good news of the Savior, they were able to communicate in the languages best understood by those to whom they spoke. By the power of the Holy Spirit, and without formally having studied the foreign languages, they spoke and the people understood. As Jesus had said when He was ready to ascend: “Ye sahll be witnesses unto Me...beginning in Jerusalem.” This was coming true, and language was not a barrier to the spread of the gospel right there in the hub city! The faithful spoke; the eager heard and responded, all by the Spirit’s leading.
Since the day of Pentecost, the gospel has gone out to many people of many languages. At first, in Jerusalem, but then the believers and apostles were dispersed, and as they went, they told the Good News of the Savior and a new way of restoration of fellowship with God, “by grace through faith.” It was a new day for the good news! Through the centuries since about 33 AD, the gospel has found a way to break through the language barrier. Nowadays, our missionaries who go to foreign lands—or even places in America with languages not English—spend time learning the language with which they can communicate to the people. Sometimes the studies are hard, time-consuming and seemingly a delay to what they have been called to do. But it is time well-spent, for being able to communicate is necessary to the work of an evangelist, a witness, a teacher of the Word. Why could they not instantaneously know the language, like those on the day of Pentecost? Is it because they are not as close to the Lord or that the Holy Spirit is not as much in control as He was on that day? I think it is not for us to judge, but to follow and to do what is necessary to prepare for the work to which God has called. Today, some missionary friends of mine are in a specialized language study, a newer and more facile method than that previously required of missionaries. “Why did we not have this method 20 years ago when we were first in language school?” my friends wonder. There was an immediacy needed on the day of Pentecost to reach the people and that need was supplied in a magnificent way through the power of the Holy Spirit. This account stands in stark contrast to the confusion of tongues at the attempted building of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). The motivation of the disciples was holy and right and the results were spiritual and life-changing. Dedicated workers have similar motivation and goals today in reaching the people in their native language. The story is told of St. Vincent Ferrer who was preaching in Spanish but was understood by those who spoke English, Flemish, French and Italian. At Pentecost, the unbelieving Jews, the authorities, quaffed and said, “They are filled with new wine!” What they could not believe is that the spokesmen on that auspicious day were filled with the wine of the Spirit, and what a difference that made! Paul wrote in I Corinthians 12:7: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” And when language is no barrier to the spread of the gospel, this gift was and is present and active. Praise be to God!
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