In Acts 2, after a crowd follows a commotion and finds Galileans speaking in their languages (see the previous article for more information on why that was a big deal), Peter the apostle steps up to address them, including some hecklers who suggested that someone speaking coherently in a language that they didn’t know meant that they were drunk (!).
Peter shuts down the whole “drunk person” argument.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
Acts 2:14-16 NIV
Now, you might have known someone who could be drunk before 9am, but apparently that was not done in first-century Jerusalem.
No, despite the attempt at gaslighting, there is something bigger and better going on here…
In verses 17-21, Peter quotes from Joel (one of the so-called “minor prophets”, but “minor” only in terms of the length of their books, not the importance of them). Joel had prophesied (from God) that God’s Spirit would be poured out on people (among other signs), and here this was literally happening in front of the people who had gathered. That is, this audience was participating in an historic occasion, and I expect that many of them remembered it for the rest of their lives.
However, we don’t always know when an historic occasion is happening. There are events that just take place, and we may not realize until later how significant they were. Yes, there are things that we can anticipate will be big (like when a crewed rocket was sent to the moon), and sometimes marketers today try to stage a major event as something that will be “historic”. On the other hand, many major events just happened, and those who were there didn’t know until afterwards that they would be part of an event that changed history.
Peter is letting the audience know that this is it! This prophecy of the “last days” that many in the audience should have heard about from the Holy Scriptures (in this case, one of the Jewish prophets), well, it was taking place right in front of them.
So, how about us? Does it seem like most of the “interesting” events prophesied in the Bible have already happened? Maybe that’s one of the reasons why so many followers of Jesus look for signs that we are close to His return (which we could be, but God the Father didn’t tell me when Jesus is returning, so I’m waiting just like you).
What if we are experiencing historic events every day, though?
- What if the chance to tell someone about restoration with their Creator resulted in their life being changed for eternity?
- What if we could go through our day with the Spirit of God dwelling in us and guiding us along the way?
- What if we could talk with God directly, without needing to go through someone else (other than Jesus)?
These events aren’t likely to be written down in a history book (if history teachers even still use books), but they are monumental opportunities to be celebrated, and it is worth pausing to realize that we are in an era where God has given us amazing blessings through Jesus Christ. Let’s not worry about what other people consider a major event, and praise God for each day being part of His story: “history”.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for September 3, 2023
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Acts, by Dennis Gaertner. © 1993 College Press Publishing Co.
- New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts, by Gareth L. Reese. © 1976, College Press Publishing Company.
Those Who Sin Differently 