When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
Act 2:1-11
The day of Pentecost is often considered the Birthday of the Church, because on this day, the Holy Spirit came upon them just as Jesus had promised them. And they were filled with power from heaven, and began to proclaim the Good News of Jesus, who is the Messiah, the Christ.
These men, who had been walking with Jesus during his ministry for the last three years were suddenly filled with the understanding and the courage to loudly proclaim the message of Jesus, and God’s intention for the world. For three years they had walked with him, and learned from him, and now, the Holy Spirit has come upon them, and they have begun to carry on Jesus’ ministry to the rest of the world.
The Birthday of the Church is about these men taking on Jesus’ work and ministry of reconciling the world to himself, and making his ministry their ministry.
And so, they began to proclaim the works of God, explaining to all that were present what the death and resurrection of Jesus meant – not just to them – but to all those who were present. History tells us that in a metropolitan city like Jerusalem at this time there would have been at least 70 or more languages spoken. And all those around them heard the message in their own language.
We often see this as a miracle of speaking in foreign languages, but there is more going on than just this. While it is true the disciples were speaking in languages they themselves did not know, the real miracle is that the people who were listening did not just say, “Oh, how weird, I hear them talking in my own language,” and then just walk away, talking about “that strange thing that happened outside that one house.” Instead, the Book of Acts tells us, these people believed the message, and over 3,000 people were added to the group of disciples that day.
Was it a miracle that the disciples spoke all these foreign languages?
Undoubtedly.
Was it a miracle that the Holy Spirit opened the minds of those who were listening, so that they could understand and believe?
Also true.
We like to think in terms of the message, and how it is delivered. But in many ways the more miraculous thing is that the Holy Spirit opened the minds of those who heard the message. What we call the Day of Pentecost was the Feast of Weeks for the Jewish people, and they were commanded to provide the first fruits of the harvest to God on that day. This means that devout Jews from far and wide came to Jerusalem to offer this sacrifice to God. According to history, anywhere from 150,000 to 300,000 would have been in Jerusalem at this time. And of this enormous number of people, 3,000 came to believe in the message of Jesus.
Was the miracle in the message and the delivery? Or was the miracle in the Holy Spirit opening the minds of those who came to believe? Or… was it both?
In my own experience of preaching the Gospel, I have come to understand that the message can take on a life of its own.
There have been times when people have come up to me after a sermon and have said, “Thank you for that. I really needed to hear that message today.” And then they begin to tell me something that they heard in the sermon that really touched them. What’s amazing, though, is that sometimes I have to tell them that “I never actually said that in my sermon.” Over the years, I’ve learned to not add the part about not saying it, because rather than having the effect of people realizing that the Holy Spirit has given them a new understanding, it can sometimes shed doubt on what they’ve heard. So I usually just say, “Praise God” or “That’s wonderful!”
And then realize that I had nothing to do with any of it.
Was it the message or the delivery? Or was the miracle in the Holy Spirit opening someone’s mind to understand the Truth of God’s work in this world?
The flip-side is also true, however. I have preached sermons where afterwards someone has come up and told me they were offended by what I had to say, and they tell me about something in my sermon that really set them off – that angered them. And again, I have to tell them that “I never actually said that in my sermon.” And then I might add, “Is it possible that the Holy Spirit is convicting you of something?” Over the years, I’ve learned to be a bit sparing with that last question, because I have to determine if people are willing to continue the conversation, or if it will just make them more angry. But I still have to realize that I had nothing to do with it.
Was it the message or the delivery? Or was the miracle that the Holy Spirit opened someone’s mind to understand something that they might not have been ready to hear?
There’s more, however. I’ve preached sermons after which people have come up to me, and by what they have said they make it clear that they did not understand the sermon. Nor did the Holy Spirit grant them understanding and peace. Nor did the Holy Spirit convict them and cause them anger or grief. Instead, they took what they heard, and twisted it into their own worldview, so that so that something I never said solidified their own beliefs, despite being contrary to the scriptures and God’s work in this world.
Was it the message or the delivery? Or was it simply that they were like one of the many thousands of people in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost who heard the message proclaimed by the disciples – and still did not believe?
When Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would remind them of all the things that he had said and done. That the Spirit would teach them everything. The purpose of the Spirit was to give them peace. The purpose was to teach them so that they might do the works that Jesus did. The purpose was that they might proclaim the message of Jesus to the world. And by extension, that means all of us, who are also disciples of Jesus.
We might hear a message and be reminded of God’s truth, which brings us peace. Or we might hear a message and be convicted, so that we can change our lives and then find the peace of God. Or, we might be reminded of things through the Holy Spirit so that we can proclaim the message of God to people of every tribe and tongue and nation.
The miracle is in the hearing, and in the work of the Holy Spirit. We may feel like we lack the skill, or that our presentation of the message of Jesus is frail and feeble. And yet, what we have to remember is that the miracle is not in the delivery, but in the hearing.
The challenge of Pentecost is to rely on the promise. The promise that the Holy Spirit will remind us of all that Jesus has said and done. So that we can accept the challenge to share the Good News of Jesus, the Messiah, to a world that might not know him.
The message of God’s work in the world is not so much dependent upon our delivery, but upon the miracle of those who hear.
And how will they hear, unless we tell them?
[This sermon was delivered at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Wickenburg, AZ on June 8, Pentecost Sunday, 2025.]
