⁵Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. ⁷They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?  ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” ¹²And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”

Christians, unfortunately, argue over many points in this Pentecost story, but because of space we limit our comments to a few salient points. Notice first that what took place in the upper room drew much attention. The noise like a violent rushing wind was apparently heard from outside the building. Second, the people in the crowd that gathered were hearing their own languages being spoken—fifteen specific ethnic groups are mentioned. The Greek word translated “languages” in verses 6 and 8 is “dialektos,” from which we get our word “dialect.” It is rightly translated there as “language.” This refers to the same phenomena that is described as “tongues” (“glossa”) in Acts 2:4 and 11. The believers were actually speaking in known human languages they had previously been unable to speak, but were now endowed by the Spirit to do so. This was not a gift of hearing (as some assert), but a gift of speaking.

What were they speaking about with their miraculous communication ability? They were magnifying the “mighty deeds of God.” Peter’s speech, which is coming next, will give insight into the kinds of things they were all saying. The result of it all was great “amazement.” Although it would seem quite natural for people to hear someone speaking in their own native language, it was remarkable that they were hearing it from mere Galileans, people who were certainly not known for being cosmopolitan. They were also perplexed because what they were seeing and hearing was quite out of the ordinary. Naturally, they began to question the meaning of it all.

Yet some accused the believers of being drunk. Some interpreters see this as an indication that the believers were acting ecstatically, as though in a prophetic trance. It is better to envision those with hardened hearts not listening to the message because of their hardened hearts, and focusing rather on what seemed a cacophony of other languages that they did not understand.

Lord, help me to speak the gospel clearly in words that others will understand.