“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.”
Acts 2:5-6
This past Sunday was Pentecost Sunday, which is the day the Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ followers and started moving in them in powerful ways. It began with this scene when Jesus’ followers were praying and speaking in languages from all different nations. It’s pretty remarkable when you think about the context of the Early Church. Much of the world was dominated by the Roman Empire, which had the noble and ambitious goal of uniting the entire world. But the Roman Empire did this by sword, assertion, and colonizing… An Empire driven by fear. Yet here came the Early Church burgeoning unexpectedly in little pockets and uniting the world in a way that the Roman Empire could never do… A kingdom driven by love. What the Roman Empire could not accomplish in several centuries the Holy Spirit accomplished in a day.
