“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 marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God,” Acts 2:4-11.

I want to deal with an important matter that undoubtedly in this day of deception you will encounter sooner or later. There are many otherwise good Christians who are taken up with a very false view of what happened on the day of Pentecost. 

There is a widespread notion that ‘tongues’ is a mystical, spiritual means of ‘talking with the Lord’! 

This passage makes it very clear just what were the ‘tongues’ they spoke in! 

1. THE HOLY SPIRIT INSTANTLY ENABLED THE DISCIPLES TO SPEAK IN OTHER LANGUAGES.

The Greek word translated ‘tongues’ means ‘the organ of spech’. It is used to describe the ‘appearance’ of the fire that sat upon each one of them. If you have ever looked in the fire burning in your fireplace, you will have seen that the flames, as they rise upward are exactly like large ‘tongues’ in shape and movement.

2. THE LANGUAGES WERE THOSE OF THE GENTILE NATIONS ALL AROUND. 

There was nothing ‘mysterious’ or ‘mystical’ about what those who gathered around the Christians, who were  anointed by the Holy Spirit, heard from them as they spoke. That is stated plainly in verse 8. “How hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born.” They came from all over but heard the Gospel in their own language. “Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,  Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians,” verses 9-11.

3. NOTE WHAT THEY SAID AS THUS ENABLED BY THE LORD. 

“We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God,” verse 11. That is what the Bible is all about - CREATION AND REDEMPTION!

(1). ‘Works of God’. Mankind is taken up with its ‘own works’, all of which are but short-lived and of little value!

(2). ‘Wonderful works of God’. Mary used this word to describe what the Lord had done for her when she was made to be the mother of the Messiah!

(3). ‘We do hear’. The word means to ‘understand, to hearken to, to perceive the sense of what is said’.

This is a wonderful mercy of grace granted to a people who had previously been unable to to understand the Words of Christ!

4. WE HAVE A CLEAR INDICATION HERE THAT IT WAS THE WILL OF GOD THAT THE GENTILES WERE TO HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM!

This was greatly resisted at the first and Paul was greatly persecuted by some Jews for so doing. Indeed, he ended up in a jail in Rome as a result and was eventually taken from that jail and martyred!