Utterly Amazed
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs–we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Acts 2:1-13

“Utterly amazed”. That’s how the Jews felt on that day of Pentecost 2,000 years ago. Why? Because it is normal for us to make judgements about whom is worthy of respect, judgments based on things such as a person’s education, nationality, sex or age. So when the Jews heard Galileans, who they thought of as backward and uneducated, speaking to them in their own language, they were utterly amazed. This was not the way that things should be.
And yet it was happening. The Jews were amazed and perplexed (verse 12), wondering what it could mean. Some of them could not accept what they were hearing and dismissed the Galileans, saying that they were drunk. Wisdom should come from people with degrees and qualifications, not from people who were looked on with contempt.
But God’s ways are different from ours. In 1 Corinthians 1:27, Paul wrote “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
Perhaps, however, there was another reason why the Jews were utterly amazed. It was not what had happened to the speakers, but what was happening to those who listened. The wonders of God were being declared in their own tongues, without the need for another language. Were they worthy of this? No they weren’t. But whenever we encounter gifts from God, of which we are unworthy, we are utterly amazed.

Prayer:
• When have you been utterly amazed by God? Thank God for all that He has done for you.