The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 The day of Pentecost came. The believers all gathered in one place. 2Suddenly a sound came from heaven. It was like a strong wind blowing. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw something that looked like tongues of fire. The flames separated and settled on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages they had not known before. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this.

5Godly Jews from every country in the world were staying in Jerusalem. 6A crowd came together when they heard the sound. They were bewildered because they each heard the believers speaking in their own language. 7The crowd was really amazed. They asked, “Aren’t all these people from Galilee? 8Why, then, do we each hear them speaking in our own native language? 9We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites. We live in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia. We are from Pontus, Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia. Others of us are from Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene. Still others are visitors from Rome. 11Some of the visitors are Jews. Others have accepted the Jewish faith. Also, Cretans and Arabs are here. We hear all these people speaking about God’s wonders in our own languages!” 12They were amazed and bewildered. They asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13But some people in the crowd made fun of the believers. “They’ve had too much wine!” they said.