What Is Good about a Gospel That Is Multilingual?
April 2025
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. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs— we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” (Ac 2:5-12, NIV)
In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit initiates the first major evangelistic Gospel presentation given by someone other than Jesus. God gets the attention of the crowds by having Jesus’ disciples speak in various tongues, known languages to the people in Jerusalem. Specifically, Jews from the diaspora were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks/Day of First Fruits, a harvest festival ordained in the Torah.
Acknowledging there are theological reasons for this that bigger brains can discuss and unpack, the speaking of other languages also has practical reasons. God brought attention to the Gospel to reveal His character and intention for His people. Presumably, Peter spoke in Aramaic or Hebrew (vv.14-41) while proclaiming what God the Father had done through God the Son, Jesus, but what could have been the reason for the initial multilingual appeal?
Consider for a moment the impact of running into someone speaking your heart language/native tongue in a place and time you didn’t expect. What would you want to know about why someone is speaking to you in the language you are most familiar with when the setting would make that fairly unlikely?
What would it be like if you had a similar circumstance — hearing someone speak your language in a place where you weren’t expecting it? Read the following story and consider the following:
How would you feel if someone took the time to learn a language only you and a few others speak?
How important is their motive, for learning your native language, to you? Why does it make or not make a difference?
What would you think/how would you feel about the person making the effort to speak your language? Why?
What if speaking another language isn’t readily possible? How would one express a welcoming attitude? A posture of hospitality? What could this look like?
Some time ago, my wife and I went to a cafe for coffee and a pastry. As we perused the menu, we noticed the establishment had Moroccan tea which caught our interest. The owner was at the counter and suggested both the tea and a dish because it was from his home country. Intrigued, we went with his suggestion. We sat and he brought us our order. Then, he took the time to explain what the tea was and how it was to be served, which he did for us. He described the food and shared memories about why these foods were important to him. This gentleman extended hospitality to us by inviting us into a culture we were unfamiliar with. More importantly, by sharing his story he also gave us the gift of his heart and passion for who he is and his livelihood. In this brief moment and exchange, we went from being customers to guests.
When was the last time you were a guest? What made you feel welcome/unwelcome?
What could you do to help someone who doesn’t speak the language of the majority culture feel welcome to the community? Your church? Your home?
In the practice of language hospitality, creating an environment that welcomes and extends grace to the “outsider” shapes the tone and setting of hospitality.
“...we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
