Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
At Pentecost the disciples spoke real foreign languages by the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim God's works, and while some were amazed and asked what it meant, others mocked them as drunk on sweet wine instead of recognizing the work of the Spirit. The charge was false, and Peter stood with the eleven to deny drunkenness because it was only the third hour of the day. He explained the tongues as that spoken by the prophet Joel, that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh with prophecy and visions and wonders before the great day of the Lord, and Pentecost was the beginning of that fulfillment. The Lord was working in His own unexpected way, and the same manifestation in the last days will meet the same mocking from those who do not discern the Spirit and mistake spiritual power for fanaticism. The history of the early church at that time is an experience God's people today are to study because they must pass through similar experiences and watch for revelations from heaven in warnings and explanation of the Word.
Setting and Meaning at Pentecost
Acts 2:13 stands within Acts 2:1-47, the record of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, after the Spirit descended on the disciples as they bore witness to the risen Christ before people gathered in Jerusalem with the Spirit's power resting on them. At that time the disciples miraculously spoke real foreign languages to proclaim God's works, so that devout Jews from every nation each heard them in his own language. Those who knew the languages testified that they spoke them accurately.
The multitude was divided in response, with some amazed at the divine manifestation and asking what it meant, while others mocked. The mockers claimed the men were drunk on sweet wine, dismissing the Spirit-given sign as drunkenness rather than recognizing it as the work of the Holy Spirit. Those who mocked did so because they had not come under the influence of the Spirit and therefore did not know it, took no decided interest in the work, and were unfamiliar with it. They spoke in an attempt to counteract the influence of the preaching.
The charge was false, for Peter stood up with the eleven and denied drunkenness because it was only the third hour of the day. Peter explained the tongues as that spoken by the prophet Joel, that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh so sons and daughters would prophesy and young men see visions and old men dream dreams and servants and handmaids prophesy, with wonders in heaven above and signs in earth beneath and the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and notable day of the Lord, and whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. The events at Pentecost were the beginning of that fulfillment. The manifestation was heaven's communication that Christ with the angels who accompanied Him had been received in the heavenly courts, where all heavenly intelligences joined in His coronation service and His inauguration was complete.
The Pentecost preaching whose great subject was the Spirit unfolding Jesus and glorifying Him before eyes that had seen no beauty in Him to desire Him was preached in the demonstration of the Spirit and with power, with Jesus lifted up as Prince and Saviour whom God exalted to give repentance and forgiveness of sins. The glorious inner beauties of Christ's work and character are not discerned with natural eyes, for it is the Spirit that quickens, so Jesus must be lifted up and beheld as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The disciples went out and preached the Word everywhere, bringing three thousand souls to repentance and conversion in one day.
Prophecy and Present Warning
Acts 2:6-20 is a prophecy that will be manifested among God's people, meaning revelations from heaven are to be expected in warnings and reproofs and explanation of the Word, so that all may understand they have come to the very period prophesied and every soul must be on the watchtower. The history of the early church during and just after Pentecost is an experience to be studied, because the same experience must be passed through again. The Lord was working in His own unexpected way at Pentecost, and the same manifestation in the last days will meet the same mocking from those who do not discern the Spirit.
At Pentecost there were mockers in the assembly who did not recognize the work of the Holy Spirit, and because they had not come under its influence they did not know it, so that Spirit-filled disciples seemed to them like drunken men full of new wine. Some took no decided interest in the work and mocked it as drunkenness, saying the disciples were filled with new wine, which shows how the Spirit's work may be dismissed as fanaticism by observers who fail to recognize it. The same charge may be made against those who experience a genuine work of the Spirit, because those content with outward religion may mistake spiritual power for fanaticism.
When the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost and began to speak in other tongues, devout Jews from every nation each heard them in his own language, and the multitude was divided, with some amazed and asking what it meant while others mocked as full of new wine. The mocking charge was false, for Peter stood up to declare they were not drunken since it was only the third hour of the day, but that what was seen was that spoken by the prophet Joel about God pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh with prophecy and visions and dreams and wonders in heaven and earth before the great day of the Lord, when whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That event lays solemn responsibility on God's people at this time because salvation was purchased at infinite cost.
The closing of the account of amazement and mocking carries the lesson that the gospel is to go to all parts of the world. It presses a burden for unworked cities that forbids sleep and drives night after night of pleading with the Lord for an awakening of minds, and it rebukes being buried in little items of this life while letting those within reach go without personal labor and sending missionaries away to do the work. It calls for arousing to take hold of the work after the message has been given over and over with little response, with distressed pleading over whether they will ever awake and what can be said or done to arouse them. The day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they went out and preached the Word everywhere and thousands were converted in a day, shows that sinners are to be converted and believers have something to do in it by receiving the self-denying life of Christ and taking the Bible from house to house to make people hungry to hear the Word, and by waking from stupor and indifference to give the message to a world to save in the judgment hour.
At Pentecost the disciples spoke real foreign languages by the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim God's works, and while some were amazed and asked what it meant, others mocked them as drunk on sweet wine instead of recognizing the work of the Spirit. The charge was false, and Peter stood with the eleven to deny drunkenness because it was only the third hour of the day. He explained the tongues as that spoken by the prophet Joel, that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh with prophecy and visions and wonders before the great day of the Lord, and Pentecost was the beginning of that fulfillment. The Lord was working in His own unexpected way, and the same manifestation in the last days will meet the same mocking from those who do not discern the Spirit and mistake spiritual power for fanaticism. The history of the early church at that time is an experience God's people today are to study because they must pass through similar experiences and watch for revelations from heaven in warnings and explanation of the Word.
Setting and Meaning at Pentecost
Acts 2:13 stands within Acts 2:1-47, the record of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, after the Spirit descended on the disciples as they bore witness to the risen Christ before people gathered in Jerusalem with the Spirit's power resting on them. At that time the disciples miraculously spoke real foreign languages to proclaim God's works, so that devout Jews from every nation each heard them in his own language. Those who knew the languages testified that they spoke them accurately.
The multitude was divided in response, with some amazed at the divine manifestation and asking what it meant, while others mocked. The mockers claimed the men were drunk on sweet wine, dismissing the Spirit-given sign as drunkenness rather than recognizing it as the work of the Holy Spirit. Those who mocked did so because they had not come under the influence of the Spirit and therefore did not know it, took no decided interest in the work, and were unfamiliar with it. They spoke in an attempt to counteract the influence of the preaching.
The charge was false, for Peter stood up with the eleven and denied drunkenness because it was only the third hour of the day. Peter explained the tongues as that spoken by the prophet Joel, that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh so sons and daughters would prophesy and young men see visions and old men dream dreams and servants and handmaids prophesy, with wonders in heaven above and signs in earth beneath and the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and notable day of the Lord, and whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. The events at Pentecost were the beginning of that fulfillment. The manifestation was heaven's communication that Christ with the angels who accompanied Him had been received in the heavenly courts, where all heavenly intelligences joined in His coronation service and His inauguration was complete.
The Pentecost preaching whose great subject was the Spirit unfolding Jesus and glorifying Him before eyes that had seen no beauty in Him to desire Him was preached in the demonstration of the Spirit and with power, with Jesus lifted up as Prince and Saviour whom God exalted to give repentance and forgiveness of sins. The glorious inner beauties of Christ's work and character are not discerned with natural eyes, for it is the Spirit that quickens, so Jesus must be lifted up and beheld as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The disciples went out and preached the Word everywhere, bringing three thousand souls to repentance and conversion in one day.
Prophecy and Present Warning
Acts 2:6-20 is a prophecy that will be manifested among God's people, meaning revelations from heaven are to be expected in warnings and reproofs and explanation of the Word, so that all may understand they have come to the very period prophesied and every soul must be on the watchtower. The history of the early church during and just after Pentecost is an experience to be studied, because the same experience must be passed through again. The Lord was working in His own unexpected way at Pentecost, and the same manifestation in the last days will meet the same mocking from those who do not discern the Spirit.
At Pentecost there were mockers in the assembly who did not recognize the work of the Holy Spirit, and because they had not come under its influence they did not know it, so that Spirit-filled disciples seemed to them like drunken men full of new wine. Some took no decided interest in the work and mocked it as drunkenness, saying the disciples were filled with new wine, which shows how the Spirit's work may be dismissed as fanaticism by observers who fail to recognize it. The same charge may be made against those who experience a genuine work of the Spirit, because those content with outward religion may mistake spiritual power for fanaticism.
When the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost and began to speak in other tongues, devout Jews from every nation each heard them in his own language, and the multitude was divided, with some amazed and asking what it meant while others mocked as full of new wine. The mocking charge was false, for Peter stood up to declare they were not drunken since it was only the third hour of the day, but that what was seen was that spoken by the prophet Joel about God pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh with prophecy and visions and dreams and wonders in heaven and earth before the great day of the Lord, when whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That event lays solemn responsibility on God's people at this time because salvation was purchased at infinite cost.
The closing of the account of amazement and mocking carries the lesson that the gospel is to go to all parts of the world. It presses a burden for unworked cities that forbids sleep and drives night after night of pleading with the Lord for an awakening of minds, and it rebukes being buried in little items of this life while letting those within reach go without personal labor and sending missionaries away to do the work. It calls for arousing to take hold of the work after the message has been given over and over with little response, with distressed pleading over whether they will ever awake and what can be said or done to arouse them. The day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they went out and preached the Word everywhere and thousands were converted in a day, shows that sinners are to be converted and believers have something to do in it by receiving the self-denying life of Christ and taking the Bible from house to house to make people hungry to hear the Word, and by waking from stupor and indifference to give the message to a world to save in the judgment hour.