Jesus. : Trusting Jesus First, Only, Now, and AlwaysSýnishorn

Joseph Barsabbas, Matthias, and the other Eleven disciples were among 120 people who received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit made it possible for them to speak in languages they didn’t know before, but He did not make them do it. They chose to.

They could have come up with many excuses not to leave the safe upper room where they were staying, venture out into the streets where there were people who didn’t believe in Jesus, and draw attention to themselves by speaking in a bunch of random languages, but they didn’t.

The sound of the Holy Spirit descending on the 120 drew a crowd. When the crowd gathered, each person heard about “the wonders of God” in their own language (v.11). This was an impressive spectacle. If some of the 120 had chosen not to use their new God-given gift, this miracle might have drawn less attention. Because all 120 chose to use their new gift, the crowd that gathered stuck around. Amazed and confused, they began to ask questions.

Just as Jesus had used opportunities created by the miracles He performed to preach the Gospel, Peter used the opportunity created by 120 obedient followers of Jesus to preach the Gospel as well, and 3,000 people were saved.

If some of the 120 had decided there were already enough people speaking in tongues or Peter had left the preaching up to someone else, things might not have turned out the way they did, but all of the 120 completed the individual assignments God had given them. The result was a miracle! God still performs miracles today. All we have to do is obey, whether or not our job sounds as important as someone else’s or like something we can do. It’s a privilege just to participate.