The work of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles would be a great demonstration of miraculous power as a sign for the unbeliever and a confirmation for the saints. Later, we find descriptions of believers who had spiritual gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-ff). But, in all of these, the promise of the Holy Spirit speaks to the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit.
I used to believe in the non-miraculous indwelling of Acts 2:38-39 and the miraculous indwelling that described the events of Joel 2 and fulfilled in the earlier portion of Acts 2. However, I could not prove that a non-miraculous indwelling was ever promised. The absence of such a promise of the Spirit gave cause for doubt that such a gift was ever granted. The Old Testament prophets did not promise it. Most would agree that Acts 2:1-4 was miraculous and Peter emphatically states that it is what Joel predicted. What did Joel predict? He predicted prophetic utterances, dreams, and visions being given as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Daniel 7:9 reveals all sorts of ways but they were miraculous visions. So, when Peter quotes Joel’s prophecy, it is clear that visions and dreams would return as in those earlier days. Hebrews 1:1 tells us that God spoke to the prophets at different times and ways but has spoken to us in the last days by His Son. However, as we will outline, Jesus not only spoke to “us” in these days in person, but he sent the Holy Spirit to continue the same work in those last days among His disciples. They were to receive the miraculous confirmation from the work of the Spirit.
1. Speaking in Tongues
The Greek word translated “tongues” is synonymous with languages. They were intelligible languages that could be interpreted or translated into other languages. Some have taken the idea from Paul’s mention of the “tongues of men and angels” in 1 Corinthians 13 that speaking in tongues involves speaking a heavenly language that is unknown to both the hearer and the speaker. Such a view neglects the fact that speaking in tongues was designed by God to confirm that the message is from God. It is designed to produce the same response that those on Pentecost gave – amazement. The language was intelligible and therefore, measurable. The way it is defined today among many charismatics leaves a very subjective interpretation. The sounds produce a repeated gibberish that does not compare to the common elements of a language and, therefore, confirms an unbeliever’s assessment that they are crazy (1 Corinthians 14:23). Since no one can understand what is being said, we would expect obedience to Paul’s instructions to have an interpreter. In a majority of cases, few today offer any interpreter to give the translation to what has been spoken and if they did, it would also be very subjective. Paul was clear that if no interpreter is present, a speaker of tongues is to be silent. The reason offered is that without an interpreter, or a language understood by the hearer, there is no edification for the hearers. Tongues, according to Paul, were given for the unbeliever and if all he or she hears is a language unknown to them, the effect is not one of amazement and wonder, but one of disappointment and confusion. Paul said, “Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad” (1Cor. 14:23)? This is precisely the reaction received by unbelieving visitors who attend a religious service today where there is a lot of gibberish. Receiving a different reaction in Acts 2 attests to the fact that Acts 2 doesn’t compare to anything witnessed, today.
Furthermore, regarding 1 Corinthians 13 and the tongues of men and angels, Paul is using an extreme example to accentuate the conclusion. A similar text to compare it within Galatians 1:6-9. Paul says, “though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which you have received, let him be accursed.” He repeats this for emphasis. We are not to expect an angel to preach the gospel. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. God chose earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7) to carry the message of the gospel, not angels or the Holy Spirit, directly. After Philip’s work in Samaria, the Holy Spirit told Philip to join himself to a chariot (Acts 8:29). The Spirit did not speak to the Ethiopian in a still small voice but directed Philip where to go to find the man to teach. The same thing is seen in Acts when the Spirit refused Paul going into Bithynia. Then, once He directed the men where to go, He also gave them the words to speak. This is a good example to illustrate the method of the Spirit’s work among humans. He worked through human agents. They were strictly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and could take no credit for having initiated any plan of action on their own. This is to be understood in the context of their teaching, not the ordinary activities of life.
The effect of the argument Paul is making in Galatians 1 is that no one should give heed to a different gospel, even if an angel from heaven delivers it. We are not to expect an angel from heaven to preach another gospel. Such is not possible. Similarly, we are not to expect from the text of 1 Corinthians 13 that someone speaks the language of angels, either. I suppose angels may have their own language. But if so, human beings have no business speaking it. But, like Galatians 1, it is not Paul’s point that men do speak languages of the angels any more than angels do preach the gospel. Once again, the idea is to make an emphatic point that would match something like this: “I don’t care if you can speak the languages of angels, if you do not have love, you are nothing.” The motivation of love is so important that if you could do the most spectacular thing in the world, it is empty. Love must be motivating the action.
Taken together, any example we have of tongue-speaking had the same purpose as all other miracles. It had to be understandable to the hearer to fulfill that purpose or, at the very least, have an interpreter. If any natural explanation could be given to explain why the apostles on Pentecost were able to speak other languages, the purpose would have been voided and all Jerusalem would have walked away thinking the disciples were crazy.
William Barclay explains that this could not have been foreign languages because it was unnecessary. The apostles could speak in Greek or Aramaic. Instead, he thinks they spoke uncertain sounds that were unintelligible unless there was an interpreter.[1] First, if communication was the only purpose, he would be right. He forgets that to gain their confidence and persuade them to pay attention to their message, they had to be convinced that these men were touched by the hand of God. Some reacted with amazement, saying, “Are not those who speak Galileans? How is it that we hear every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born” (Acts 2:7-8)? Second, if these tongues were unintelligible sounds, how is it that everyone heard them speak in their native language. The fact that some accused them of being drunk would account for the times the apostles were speaking different dialects than their own. It’s uncertain whether one apostle spoke one dialect, but they certainly spoke one dialect at a time. This would explain why some were amazed and others accused them of being drunk. If you walked up on this at a moment when you did not hear your language spoken, and if those under the influence of the Spirit were ecstatic, you might make that conclusion.
To assist us in appreciating the effect this day had on those present, we must understand the general knowledge of languages and the attitude toward people from Galilee. First, most Jews would have spoken 3 languages- Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. Aramaic was the vernacular of the area. Hebrew was the Jewish language of the Scribe and students of the Old Testament scriptures. Business, applied on the wider scale of the Roman Empire, was going to be spoken and written in Greek. A minimum of three languages would have been expected among the educated.
Second, Galileans carried a reputation for being uneducated hicks. This prejudice is borne out of negative comments of Jesus being from Nazareth, a town of Galilee (John 1:46) and the Jewish prejudice against Galilee (John 7:41, 52). Gamaliel spoke up at the Jewish Sanhedrin, “Can anything good come out of Galilee?” It indicates a prejudice or stereotype that Galilee could not produce any qualified men of training.
Third, even with the expectation of the known languages expected to be used in a city like Jerusalem, no one expected the most educated person to know all the unique dialects of the indigenous peoples around the Mediterranean world.
Now, these ignorant Galileans are speaking in languages they had not known before. The promise of the Spirit in the last days was a concentrated outpouring that was unprecedented in scope and power. Envision what the people saw and heard on that day when the Holy Spirit came as promised. Imagine the honest Jew witnessing something like fire setting over the heads of these unlearned men of Galilee and hearing them speaking in the native dialect of Jews from all over. They were astounded! It is likely that, because there were 12 porches on the temple mound, the 12 apostles gathered, each one on a porch, to preach the message of the gospel so that all of Jerusalem could hear them. The effect they had on the crowd is easy to perceive if we understand the languages. Whether all the dialects were given to each apostle or only representatively as a whole is not important here. No doubt, for this reason, many believe that the miracle was on the hearer, instead of the speaker. In any case, they were astounded that these ignorant Galileans are speaking to them in their native dialect.
To illustrate the effect this would have, imagine that your American born and bred grandfather, with a fourth-grade education, took you on a trip to Germany and started speaking fluid German, how would you react? That alone would be amazing. But, imagine how you’d feel if he started speaking passionately about the direction your life should take based on some irrefutable evidence that you are implicated in criminal activity that caused the opposite effect than what you had hoped. We are not surprised to see the effect of addition from three thousand souls in the city of Jerusalem to five thousand. Knowing this background causes us to appreciate the amazement experienced on the Day of Pentecost when these Galileans began to speak in the dialects of each Jewish district mentioned in the text.
[1] Barclay, 53-54