Not Lost in Translation

It was a wild scene in that upstairs banquet room (Acts 2:1-4).  That jet engine roar followed flames falling on each person.  The arrival of the Holy Spirit was nothing ever scene before.  

Those 120 people began talking in other languages.  This supernatural ability was clearly part of how Jesus' followers would take His message of grace to the entire world.

But the arrival of God's Spirit could not be contained to an upper room or even one house.  He would soon pour out into the streets of Jerusalem and the world would never be the same.

Luke sets the scene for what's going on in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost (v5).  "Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven."  

The fact that Pentecost was only 50 days after Passover, many Jews simply stayed in town for both holy days.  

Historians and theologians tell us that the city would double and possibly triple at such times each year as Jewish pilgrims poured into town.  Let’s just say, Jerusalem was slammed with people.

But are these worshipers simply made up of pilgrims?  I think Dr. Luke is telling us something more.  He writes that these Jews "were dwelling in Jerusalem."  The Greek verb katoikeo carries the idea of settling somewhere, inhabiting or even colonizing.  

This has led Doug Bookman of Shepherds Seminary to believe that many of these were actually foreign born Jews returning from the Dispersion.  

This was a time of relative peace and prosperity for Rome in general and Israel in particular.  So many Jews were returning to the Promised Land.

So these devout men were most likely a mix of pilgrims and Jewish immigrants who have come home.  The good doctor gives us a demographic breakdown in a couple of verses (v9-11).

"And at this sound the multitude came together" (v6).  The passage is not specific about what "this sound" is.  Was it the roar of the Spirit's arrival?  Or Jesus' followers speaking in foreign languages?  

Honestly, it could be either one or both.  I lean toward the sound of the languages for a couple of reasons.  

First of all, Luke uses two different words for the "sound like a mighty rushing wind" (echos) and "this sound" (phone) in v6.  

Secondly, the last mention of any kind of noise was when they "began to speak in other tongues" (v4).  But it could be either or both that gathered the crowd.

These devout, foreign speaking Jews were freaked out by what they heard when they arrived at the house.  

They are described at various times as "bewildered" (v6) "amazed," "astonished" (v7), "amazed" and "perplexed" (v12).  They couldn't figure out what in the wide world of sports was going on.

They knew what was happening.  They just didn't know how.  These hicks from Galilee were actually speaking in international dialects (v6-7).  

Apparently Galileans had a distinct accent.  Earlier, someone identified as Peter as Galilean simply by how he talked (Mt 26:73).  

Luke gives us a demographic breakdown of these Jews (v9-11).  He starts in the east with the Parthians, Medes, Elamites and Mesopotamians.  

Then he moves west to list those from Judea.  Next he tells of those from what is modern day Turkey, folks from Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia.  

Following those, we see a list of north Africans, Jews from Egypt, Libya and Cyrene (remember Simon, who carried Jesus' cross?).  

He finishes with folks from across the Mediterranean, Romans (Jews and converts), Cretans and Arabs.  

That's a LOT of different languages!  But then again, there were 120 people translating in the power of the Spirit!

So just what were they using their newfound, Spirit-empowered linguistic ability to say?  They were proclaiming "the mighty works of God" (v11).  

In other words, they explained the miraculous events of Passover surrounding Jesus.  He IS Messiah.  He was crucified, dead and buried.  He IS alive!  

Most certainly they used OT Scriptures to explain how Jesus is the fulfillment of everything Moses and the prophets wrote about.

There is NOTHING lost in translation.

While this mind-bending mass translation blew everyone away (v12), there were plenty of naysayers (v13).  Some of them accused these followers of Jesus of hitting the sauce.  "They are filled with new wine."  

Hmm.  An interesting choice of terms.  Earlier Jesus had talked of putting new wine into new wineskins (Mt 9:17; Mk 2:22; Lk 5:37-38).  In mocking these Spirit-filled followers, they may have actually hit on EXACTLY what was going on.

God's Spirit had fallen.  Jesus' followers proclaimed the Gospel in every language.  Game on.  Nothing would be lost in translation.   

©2011

Jay Jennings