The Spirit was poured out initially at Pentecost but from that point on it was given immediately to those that repent, or turn, from their wicked ways and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (as Peter declares to the multitude).
What was the significance of the Apostles speaking in different tongues (languages), declaring the works of the Lord?
Take a look at the following site:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jewfaq.org/holidayc.htm
It explains what Pentecost is. Perhaps the Spirit was given this day to signify it's importance and to further show that the works of Jesus have fulfilled the Law (given in the Torah) and we are now directed by the Spirit of God rather than the Law handed down to Moses.
As far as the different tongues - it would be a sign in itself that the gentiles knew all of the different Jewish native languages right? I thought it was interesting that the response was that they must be drunk on new wine - how nice it would be to drink wine and become fluent in a foreign language. I think that just goes to show that sometimes no matter how apparent something is you can still choose to not believe. But in addition to being a sign, language is such a barrier in every situation, and their fluency removes that barrier.
ReplyDeleteThat site was interesting and does explain a lot so thank you.
What about the end of chapter 2 - versus 43 on: how everyone sells everything and distributes evenly amongst the community. This community would be one in which a community health care system would work... :-) *are you going to give me a hard time about he smiley face?
Remember that the apostles were Jewish, not gentile. And the first Christian church which you read about in this chapter consisted entirely of Jews.
ReplyDeleteI agree - the response is interesting and isn't unlike how we would respond today. I think the speaking in tongues is also a prelude to how the Word of God must be preached to every nation and tongue.
Those last verses are interesting to say the least. It almost appears as a Communist society! I think the biggest difference however is how it states, "they gave wherever there was a need" rather than, "they took and redistributed".
I'm sure they didn't have an obesity and diabetes epidemic back then! And no, I like smiley faces! :)
Sorry not Gentile - I meant to say Galillean right? They were from different regions though correct? That's a great perspective on the different languages - I had never heard that or thought it. Man Josh, I'm terrible at languages. I'm going to have to preach in a way other than verbally. Faith in action.
ReplyDeleteThe last verses - I was just kidding (kind of). I know it's different, and a KEY difference would be that it was within a Christian society, so theoretically you would have minimal (hopefully zero) abuse. And of course they didn't have obesity. They had famine, they were without cars = walking, and they had to catch their fish before they ate it.
I always wonder when it's "need" or "excess" and such word choices - I mean I'm not saying that the apostles and even the new followers would be corrupt but any time you have a collaborative community you have someone distributing goods, and they usually have the nice house on the top of the hill looking down on the peasants.