God’s Commission
Most of them were unlearned fishermen. Would an educated person listen to the words of such simple people? However, those were the ones equipped by the Lord with the Spirit. The Spirit of power was upon them so they were courageous to speak. The text says that there appeared to them tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them (v. 3). The most important function of the tongue is to speak. We need to use our tongue mainly to speak the Word of the Lord and call on His name.
Saved by Calling on the Name of the Lord In that place there were people from every nation under heaven (Acts 2:5). Even though the Galileans didn’t know other languages, these people heard what they spoke, each in their own language in which they were born (vv. 8-11). Speaking in tongues there was specifically for those people to understand and be saved by the Lord. It was as if Peter was saying, “You killed Jesus a few days ago, but God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ” (v. 36). They were all amazed and perplexed with what they saw and heard (v. 12). Others mocking said that they were full of new wine (v. 13). But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “These men are not drunk. They are full of the Holy Spirit. This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to 17