How amazing would it have been to be present on the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out
and the early Christians were filled?
As I was trying to put myself in the shoes of the early Christians and those watching them, I realized
something that I don’t think I had explicitly noticed before. In Acts 2, the powerful event of the Spirit
coming upon them and the Christians speaking in various tongues caused people to think (Acts 2:12 has
the people asking, “What does this mean?”) but it didn’t convict their hearts (Acts 2:13 has others
mocking and saying, “They are filled with new wine”).
Only after the message was preached, only after the Word of God proclaimed to the people did they
respond by saying, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Why does this stand out for me? It
reminds me that the way the Lord reaches people’s hearts is through His Word and Gospel. It reminds
me of what Paul will say later on in Romans that faith comes from hearing. It reminds me that no
matter what people see in my life (and I hope they see change!), if they never hear the Good News, their
hearts won’t be reached.
People might like signs and wonders. They may ask for big moments and miracles. But what we know is
that the truth will set us free. The Lord has made it so that the truth pierces our hearts and does the
work of reviving, nourishing, shaping, and reforming our lives. The Word is so important—it is life.
Later on in this same chapter, we’re told that “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and
the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Why devote themselves to the
apostles’ teaching? Because the apostles were the ones sent by Jesus to teach them the words of Christ,
that is, the Word of God. For the Christian life to flourish, it must be grounded upon the Truth—Jesus is
the Truth.
May we long for the Word of God daily, may we allow it to reshape and reorient our thinking. May the
Spirit who caused Peter to go from fearful follower to bold leader cause us to be faithful witnesses for
our Savior.
Looking forward to the rest of the book of Acts, as we keep pushing through the New Testament
together.
