2026 Easter Devotions
Monday, May 18
Acts 2:1-13
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. 2 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. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
“… All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” …”
“What is the meaning of this?”
It’s a question I have been asked many times, especially as a youth. Perhaps it was the time my dad discovered the upstairs window in the cabin had been newly replaced. Perhaps it was the time my aunt cried to my mother that I’d terrified her. Perhaps it was the time I returned home with road tar all over the side of our family car. (Each an interesting story too long for this devotion.)
“What is the meaning of this?” was a common expression in our house, at least with me.
So, it’s no wonder that those folks who were gathered in Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival would inquire, after hearing and seeing the arrival of the Spirit that included Galileans speaking in the foreigner’s native languages, “What is the meaning of this?” After all, what they saw and heard was out of the ordinary.
Perhaps, that’s just how the Holy Spirit comes upon us – unawares, unheard of, and never-before seen. The Spirit comes, causes an uproar, and changes everything. Like those ancient witnesses, we too might be tempted to ask: “What is the meaning of this?”
Of course, we who trust and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God already know the answer. “It is the coming of the Holy Spirit who will make all things new!”
Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for sending upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Help me to see, hear, and understand the Spirit’s coming in my life, in the lives of others, in the life of the world. Amen.