1Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them. 4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
5Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. 6When this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. 7They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? 8How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabians—we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!” 12They were all amazed and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. 15For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. 16But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
17‘It will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams.
18Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days,
I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
19I will show wonders in the sky above,
and signs on the earth beneath:
blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
20The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22“Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know, 23him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed; 24whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it. 25For David says concerning him,
‘I saw the Lord always before my face,
for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
26Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced.
Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope,
27because you will not leave my soul in Hades,
neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
28You made known to me the ways of life.
You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29“Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31he foreseeing this, spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn’t left in Hades, and his flesh didn’t see decay. 32This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. 33Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear. 34For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself,
‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand
35until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
36“Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 40With many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
41Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls. 42They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. 43Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44All who believed were together, and had all things in common. 45They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. 46Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.
Get Down on the Ground and Look Across
Round Mud House in the Desert
Paul continues the theme of freedom in Christ in this chapter. He explains that in his work as an evangelist, he has learned to adapt himself and to be sensitive in his approach to others. Paul is not advocating hiding or changing what he believes. He is not suggesting that we become two-faced or three-faced, appearing to be something we’re not. His ultimate goal is to share Jesus with others. He is determined not to let some cultural or societal hurdle get in the way. We should always seek common ground when dealing with those who are different from us. Many years ago, we hosted a Home Fellowship on Sunday afternoons. There was a group of believers and seekers in our country neighborhood who would gather for singing, Bible study, prayer, and a meal. We patterned our activities after what is described in Acts 2:42. After a year of meeting, a lady came who had lived among the Navajo Indians for quite a few years. She always had on beautiful Indian jewelry. She suggested that we drive out to Arizona and minister to her old friends.
We loaded up our Chevy Suburban with all sorts of things loaded in a cargo trailer. We took clothes to give to the Navajo people, and my wife packed up a bunch of Bible studies for the ladies, a color printer, and supplies for a vacation Bible school for the kids. It was a long drive out there, but eventually we made it. We set up our tents and cooking gear to settle in for a week or so. As we became acquainted with our new friends, they kept talking about “Uncle Roy,” who had wandered off a few months before, and they couldn’t find his body to have a funeral. They were vexed by this. I thought, “So what’s the big deal here? Why can’t they just have a memorial service and move on?” Of course, I didn’t say this out loud to anyone. The ladies’ Bible lessons my wife brought were of no use, as only a few of the women spoke English. We suggested hosting a celebration of Uncle Roy’s life. They didn’t understand what we were talking about, but they agreed. We made up programs with Uncle Roy’s picture on the front, and on the designated day, about 50 Navajo natives showed up and assembled in a large earth hogan. We sang a few hymns (in Navajo and English), and then the old people took turns speaking. They would hold their hands on Uncle Roy’s image on the front of the bulletin as they spoke in Navajo about him and their memories with him.
When the service was over, everyone in the group seemed relieved. An old man named Pete came up to us, and he said, “Many come here, and they look up to us Indians in some special way. Others come here, and they look down on us because we are poor and so different. You have come here, and you have neither looked up at us nor have you looked down on us. You got down on the ground with us, and you held our hands, and you looked across to us.” That, my friend, is what it means to “be all things to all people.” Get down on the ground with those with whom you want to share the gospel. Hold their hands and look into their eyes, and share the love of Jesus and the gospel message with them.