Pentecost is a pilgrimage holiday, so the streets were packed with Jews from the surrounding nations, each speaking their own language. It was one of three festivals a year where the men were required to present themselves to the temple, and so there were literally tens – perhaps hundreds – of thousands of foreign-living Jews in Jerusalem at this time. So packed were the streets that when the Holy Spirit came with power upon the apostles it was noticed by many. They rushed to the home where the apostles had received their gift, and just as Moses was given what to say to Pharaoh so Peter was given a message for the people.

As more and more people gathered to discover the source of the sound and light show, the disciples attempted to explain what had occurred. Remarkably each onlooker heard the apostle’s explanation in their own language, which confused the crowd even more. As Galileans, the apostles should not have been conversant in several languages, they were supposed to be simple men of simple work and simple lives. The Bible goes on to explain the breadth of languages these men spoke, as they hailed from as far south as Egypt, as far east as Asia and as far north as northern Turkey. At least a half dozen languages were represented.

While some joked that the apostles were drunk, those paying attention knew that this was an important event asking, “What does this mean?” Perhaps they were thinking of Isaiah 66.18-.19:

“I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming to gather all the nations and languages; they will come and witness my splendor. I will perform a mighty act among them and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, Lud (known for its archers), Tubal, Javan, and to the distant coastlands that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor.”

It would be difficult to describe the day of Pentecost and the resulting missionary journeys of the apostles any more accurately than Isaiah did approximately 300 years before these events occurred.

When the crowd grew too large for the apostles to address in small groups, Peter stood to address the crowd and to likely guide them to the nearby plaza outside the southern entrance of the temple. Here he would declare for the first time to the nation of Israel the New Covenant.