Acts 2:1-13
When the Day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

I think that as one gets older the word “all” takes on a new meaning of its own. For instance, this past summer may be the last summer that all of my children will be home for the summer. This next Christmas, I may be with all of my family. All of my husband’s employees are coming over for dinner. The word describes completeness, togetherness, a bond. If one part or member is missing, it is not all.

Because it was the time of Pentecost, Jerusalem was certainly busy. The Jews were to come to Jerusalem for this feast and offerings were to be made. It was a foodie’s paradise.

All together

There were about 120 people praying together in the upper room after Jesus’ ascension. They were a group of people with all kinds of opinions, backgrounds, social status and careers, yet in spite of their differences, they were all “in one accord.” They had one purpose, one burden, one desire. It was all to be filled by the Holy Spirit that Jesus said would come, and this 120 put their personal differences aside and focus on Jesus.

All filled

All of the people, men and women alike, were filled with the Holy Spirit. It was visible with the little flames sitting on top of their heads. It was audible because of their sudden ability to speak in other known languages. It was demonstrated because the people in Jerusalem recognized the miracle of being able to hear the gospel in every language.

All amazed

People were stunned. This was unusual, this was abnormal, this was a miracle! When something is amazing, word spreads…and the Word did spread! The critics tried to explain this miracle away by blaming alcohol. God used this to jump start His Church as about 3,000 recognized Jesus as Messiah.

Wonderful things happen when believers are filled with the Spirit. Will you ask the Holy Spirit to fill you today? Warning: He only fills clean vessels.

Written by Kaye Dee Richards. Kaye Dee lives with her husband Colin in Morrison, CO. They have 4 children, Joshua, Amelia, Victoria, and Julia.

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