Heard in Our Own Language? - Acts 2:8

Luke the physician wrote about the disciples, “when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?”, and in chapter two and verse eight of the book of Acts Luke wrote how the multitude asked, “how hear we every man in our own tongue?” where we read:

And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

The verse begins, “And how hear we every man in our own tongue, ...” Luke began with the words, “and how hear we every man” which means “and in what manner and way are we, the Jewish crowd in Jerusalem who gathered, each, all and everyone of us endowed with the faculty of hearing, perceiving, noticing, understanding and discerning” “in our own tongue” or “in our selfsame conversation, speech, discourse and dialect”. Luke shared how the Jewish people in the crowd wondered how they were able to “understand” what the disciples were saying in their own language.

The verse continues, “... wherein we were born?” Luke added the word, “wherein” or “in the place and by which” “we were born” which means “we, the Jewish crowd who assembled, were begotten, birthed and procreated”? Luke shared how the Jewish multitude wondered how they were able to hear the people in the upper room in their own native and birth language.

When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we see how the Jewish people in the multitude wondered how they were able to understand the people who were speaking in different languages known to them from their birth. We can imagine how this miracle must have been confusing to the crowd because they “heard” the people in the upper room using their own birth languages as they spoke. God's plan for spreading the “gospel” of His Son Jesus Christ was being implemented, and since He knows all languages, God gave those who gathered in the upper room the ability to speak in languages previously unknown to them but known to the crowd. God loves everyone in the world, and He desires to have a personal relationship with them through His Son Jesus. Those who yield their lives to Him, regardless of their birth language or speech, will be forgiven of their sins and granted everlasting life with God. Let all people, with all languages and dialects, receive Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Luke shares how the multitude included, “Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites” and more, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".