Acts 2:1-21; Genesis 11:1-9

One Language

            Over the course of my life, I’ve taken numerous language classes to learn other languages. In middle school and high school, I studied Spanish for a total of four years. In college (in preparation for Seminary), I studied Greek and Hebrew. Now, the sad part about all of this is that I remember maybe half of all that I learned. I never learned enough or studied enough to become truly fluent in another language. I’ve found though that I’m not abnormal in this category, at least among Americans. I’ve heard it said before that the average American really only knows English and possibly one other language. We’re a nation that has great difficulty speaking with those from other countries. Now take that struggle and multiply it across the world. I’ve heard of people capable of speaking maybe four to ten different languages, which is very impressive. However, there are currently 7,151 different languages in the world. What’s the likelihood that one person or even a small group of people could learn every last one? So, we’ve learned that language has become a major barrier to human progress. The ability to translate between two different languages is a skill that is essential for scientific studies, academic works, or simply trying to survive in a different country. By this, we’ve learned firsthand the impact of the Tower of Babel. When God confused the languages of the world, it made it nearly impossible for man to work together on the same level that he had before. 

            Yet, today as we celebrate Pentecost, we see the overcoming of this barrier through the sending of the Holy Spirit. As the apostles gather in Jerusalem, they proclaim a message that is understood by all. For despite the barrier created by Babel, Pentecost teaches us that:

EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED!

I.

            Before we get to Pentecost, we must go backwards to Babel to fully understand the miracle which the Holy Spirit performed. If you’ve ever traveled overseas or simply talked with a foreign speaker, you know the confusion which Babel created. Not knowing someone else’s language makes communication very difficult. You have no idea whether someone is giving you directions, teaching you a recipe, or cursing at you. Of course, that’s not how it always was. For so we heard from Genesis, “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words,” Genesis 11:1. Everyone spoke the same language, the same words. They understood each other. Language was something that brought humanity together… united humanity, rather than split them apart. From creation until Babel, there was just one language in the world which everyone spoke and understood. You could almost say that this was the language of God. For language was a gift which God gave in Creation to Adam and Eve, that He had put words in their mouth to be able to communicate clearly. He gave them words and language so that they could speak His name. 

            But here is where I really want you to pay attention to language. The people of the world had sought to use language for one purpose. They sought to build themselves a tower and even a whole city around it. Notice what they say, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth,” Genesis 11:4. What was the purpose for their language? Was it to glorify God? No. Quite the opposite, it was to glorify themselves. Let US build a tower… let US make a name for OURSELVES! The people of the world were gathered together with one language in open defiance of God. They never cared to speak God’s name, to call upon him, to glorify him for His good gifts. When man had one language, it was used to heap sin upon sin. Man was not advancing toward heaven or paradise, but toward hell and destruction. For so God came down to look at their puny tower… and there he pronounced judgment upon them. There, God confused man’s language, as we heard, “Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth,” Genesis 11:9. The people who had so insisted on flocking together were now dispersed away and out to all corners of the earth. 

II.

            You see, for so much of human history, there’s been nothing but confusion. Confusion of languages, inability to communicate, lack of understanding. Until… Pentecost! Yes, I told you, pay attention to the language. For how did Babel end? Everyone was sent away and languages were confused. But now, let us examine Pentecost. For so, we read, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place…And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance,” Acts 2:1, 4. At Pentecost… everyone came together. They were all in one place, singing, worshiping, and praising… God! Of course, all the apostles, the disciples were Israelites. They all already spoke the same language. Then, in comes the Holy Spirit and the tongues of fire resting on their heads. It wasn’t just Israelites in Jerusalem that day. Pentecost was a feast established long before in the time of Moses. According to tradition, it was the fiftieth day after Moses received the two tablets on Mt. Sinai; as well as being the spring harvest. For so, we read, “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language,” Acts 2:5-6. Jews from all across the Roman Empire had come to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. They all spoke different languages. Yet, as soon as the disciples began speaking, they heard… and understood them!

            For this was the true miracle of Pentecost. It wasn’t that the disciples spoke in tongues, that is, in other languages. No, it’s that the Spirit enabled the disciples to speak God’s message to all people. It’s that the Spirit began teaching a new language… not like Spanish, German, French… or even Greek or Hebrew. No… This was the language of God, which is none other than the Gospel. Through the mouths of the apostles, the Holy Spirit would enable them to speak Jesus Christ and him crucified for you. He would speak of the mercy and grace given you through his life, death, and resurrection. He would speak of the forgiveness won for you and given you in the very Word and Sacraments which Christ instituted. The miracle of Pentecost, the very work of the Holy Spirit is faith… faith in Jesus Christ. Just as Peter said, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” Acts 2:21. 

            With all diligence and care, let us hear and learn this language. Let us speak the language of God, the very Gospel of Jesus Christ. With this one language, nothing is impossible for the people of God… not even eternal life! For God shall gather together all who believe from the ends of the earth and grant them salvation through Jesus Christ! In Jesus’ name! Amen!