Acts 2:5-11 5Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6And when this sound happened, the crowd came together, and were confused because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Look, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how do we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? 9Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those who reside in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and those stahing in Rome, both Jews and converts, 11Cretans and Arabs, we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”
In the Bible, the Holy Spirit comes upon people to empower them for special tasks. In the case of the disciples on the day of Pentecost, the filling of the Spirit led to proclaiming the gospel to people from all over the Mediterranean region who had come to Jerusalem as pilgrims for the feast. Pentecost was a well-known feast highly anticipated by the scattered Jews who would make the special trip to Jerusalem for worship. Jerusalem had also become an international city, with inhabitants from all over. Luke notes these various groups in these verses.
Verse 5 is a bit of exaggeration with the phrase every nation under heaven, but it would seem that way to ancient people with all the many languages that were spoken. The most common international language of the time was Greek, but Aramaic would have still been the primary language of the inhabitants of Judea. The Diaspora Jews who lived in Jerusalem were devout (eulabeis) because they had traveled back to Jerusalem to live, possibly in retirement.
Verse 6 is a summarizing statement that compresses the events after the disciples had gathered for prayer. At some point, the disciples moved out to where others were gathered, possibly in the area around the temple courts where the festivities of the feast would have attracted the inhabitants of the city. Luke is not clear what this sound means, whether it points back to the strong wind or the speaking in languages, but as the crowd came together to see what was happening, the disciples began to proclaim the gospel to them. The first result of the event was confusion (synechythē) because of all the commotion as the people heard their native languages spoken (dialektō). Being in a crowd of people speaking various languages can be confusing, but then, when one hears one’s own language spoken, it creates excitement. The confusion turns to wonder and familiarity, which is what happened next in verse 7.
Somehow, the crowd recognized the disciples as Galileans. Luke does not state how they knew this about the disciples, but perhaps the way they dressed or their mannerisms. It is also possible that word about Jesus’ followers had spread to some degree, and the crowd recognized them as such. The reason for the crowd’s wonder comes in verse 8. The languages were the mother tongues of the inhabitants of Jerusalem who had traveled back for some reason. Luke’s list is quite extensive as it includes many nations or regions around the Mediterranean Ocean and the Roman Empire where Jews lived. In the centuries after the Babylonian exile, many Jews had traveled through that part of the world and assimilated into new languages and cultures, but never lost their identity as descendants of Abraham. Those who had gathered also included converts, those who had become believers in God by choice and not by birth. Luke gives another summarizing statement at the end of verse 11 that the crowds heard about the greatness (megaleia) of God, which is another way of saying that the disciples were praising God and proclaiming all the great things God had done.
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