Reading Acts 2 and talking through it with J & B (weekly Bible read-through discussion dudes), I'm still left a bit confused about what exactly the "speaking in other tongues" stuff actually means.
Growing up Pentecostal, there was no question that this was simply a manifestation of the Gift of Tongues which is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I'm no longer certain of either proposition (the initial evidence thing or that this was a manifestation of it).
By the way, I am not going to be able to conclusively state what actually went on back on that day in Jerusalem. I'm just going to throw out a few options.
So, what happened? Let's go to the tape (that is, the written record):
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."
Obviously, the disciples (either the Twelve or the Twelve plus others) started prophesying, and people were able to understand them, and seemed surprised by it. Specifically, they seemed to hear them speaking in their own languages.
So, what happened here? Well, I see basically three possibilities:
- The disciples received, supernaturally, the ability to speak foreign languages.
- The disciples spoke in a "spiritual" language, or their own language, and the Holy Spirit put the translation in the ears of the crowd.
- The disciples spoke in a way the crowd didn't expect, and they could all understand.
Let's start with Option 3 (unexpected speech).
This is the one that's newest to me, as I just read about it this morning. Basically, the idea is this: in the culture of the Judeans, Hebrew was the standard language used in "spiritual" matters (much like Latin in the Middle Ages in the Church). The common folks tended to speak either Aramaic (in Palestine and surrounds) or Greek (in the Diaspora and the wider Roman Empire).
Those in Jerusalem for Pentecost would have been familiar with Judean customs and practices, and might have expected the disciples, if they expected anything from them, to preach to them as the Jewish Establishment did, in Hebrew. When they spoke in "other tongues" (meaning Aramaic and/or Greek), the crowd was astonished, because this made the message more accessible.
The strength of this argument is that anybody coming to Jerusalem for a feast must have been able to communicate on some level with the people they'd encounter there. Greek and Aramaic would be pretty much all they'd need for that.
The weakness here is, the text says they heard them in their "own tongues". Did they have individual dialects back home? Who knows? I'm not a historian (or is that "an historian"?), so I can't pronounce on whether they might have spoken Aramaic or Greek in their ancestral homes. But it's not hard to believe they did.
If this Option is true, there was really no miracle here other than prophecy. Certainly this wouldn't really limit the supernaturalness of what happened. Three thousand people were converted, after all. Certainly we'd credit the Holy Spirit with that, right?
Rather than just go in straight reverse order, let's look at Option 1 (disciples individually speaking actual foreign languages).
Some will look at the list of visitors to Jerusalem and note, "Hey, there seemed to be about twelve people groups represented. So, if there were twelve apostles, and they each spoke a different foreign language, everybody in the crowd would have understood." First off, it looks more like fourteen people groups (although I argue for four in a pinch). Second, do an experiment for me. Gather fourteen people, have them all speak a different language, and see if you can pick out (clearly) what the one person speaking your language is saying. Thought so.
I just really don't see how this position is even tenable, unless we assume that the people groups all voluntarily segregated themselves and each apostle took a station in front of a different group. Possible? I suppose.
I know I didn't really do Option 1 justice, but I'm okay with that. Moving on to Option 2 (disciples speak either their own language or a "spiritual" language, the Holy Spirit does the translation at the ears of the listeners).
This is the option I favor, and I just realized last night why I do. First, it solves the issue of anybody trying to pick out their own language. Second, it seems to fit better with everybody hearing their own language (which to me implies they didn't hear everybody else's).
The clincher for me comes in verse 13:
What's significant about this? Well, basically, these folks were faced with a miracle. If you realized you were standing in a crowd hearing people preach, and realized everybody was hearing the preaching in their own languages, wouldn't you be inclined to pay attention? And yet, these folks made light of the situation and even mocked the disciples. Who would do this? The hard of heart.
These hardened people didn't get it. They didn't receive it. The Holy Spirit was there translating in their ears, and they brushed Him away like a buzzing mosquito. On this assumption, it looks actually more favorable for the apostles to have been speaking a "spiritual" language rather than the Aramaic they would normally have used.
Any input? I'm still not sure what exactly went down, but I know the Holy Spirit was there working on the hearts of those who were open to hearing the message. Maybe that's all that really matters.