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Have you ever had a conversation where you felt like the other person was not present? Telling this person something important and meaningful, but they seem to not be listening? Maybe you have confronted them and asked if they have heard you. They might respond that they did hear you, but it is clear they are not really listening. This is a very frustrating and common experience, especially frustrating with something important. There have been times for me when I just want to shake the person and go HEY! LISTEN!
This is a frustration we all see throughout God’s Word. Where people hear important truths yet are not really listening. One excellent example is the Shavuot recorded for us in Acts 2, the day of Pentecost. This is a great example of the difference between hearing words vs. actively listening or truly hearing. We are reminded that while many hear the Good News of Messiah Yeshua, not everyone listens.
Now Pentecost is a very special Shavuot, which came after our Messiah was resurrected and ascended to heaven. This is the day the promised Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, was first given to Messiah’s disciples. On this momentous day one of the most important and powerful sermons was given by the Apostle Peter. A message empowered through the Holy Spirit so that everyone present heard it in their own language. Everyone heard the same message, but there were two very different responses.
Acts 2 opens with the Holy Spirit entering the hearts of all the apostles. They then went out to preach and teach the Good News of Messiah Yeshua. But this was no ordinary preaching. We read that everyone present supernaturally heard their own language being spoken, with over a dozen languages identified. The Lord acted so that everyone could truly listen, truly understand, what was being said to them.
There were two initial responses to this miracle by the Lord. Many were amazed and confused by what was happening. Others though mocked the Apostles and claimed they were drunk, even though it was 9:00 AM. They refused to acknowledge what the Holy Spirit was doing and absurdly attributed it to drunken babbling. Both groups of people heard the same message, but only one group chose to really listen.
Acts 2 continues with one of the most powerful and moving presentation of the Gospel in all of God’s Word. This sermon weaved together Old Testament prophecy, eyewitness accounts, and the truth of Messiah Yeshua’s life, death, and resurrection. After hearing this message, Acts 2:37 tells us many were cut to the heart. They were moved deeply by what they had heard. This group asked Peter what to do with what they had just listened to. We read in Acts 2:38-39, “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Messiah Yeshua for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.””
Scripture records that many became disciples that day. But also, that many others did not. What was the difference? We can get into all sorts of theological arguments here, but I think that makes us miss the basic point. They all heard the same message, but only one group was really listening.
Hearing, but not listening, is all too common throughout human history, especially the history of our people. We go around mocking and trying to explain away the Lord’s power at work in this world. Desperately trying to find a human explanation, even if it is absurd like we see on Pentecost. A common refrain among the Lord’s prophets is that people have eyes to see but they do not see, they have ears, but they do not hear. It is the same for us until the Lord’s righteous judgement comes and then it is too late.
Shavuot and Pentecost remind us that the Lord has clearly communicated His truth and will in every generation. The same Good News the Apostle Peter preached almost 2,000 years ago is the same Gospel for us as well. Messiah Yeshua has risen, and He is the promised Messiah. All of us today, those who are here right now, and those who are far off, need to do more than hear and mock. We must listen and obey.
All of us need to repent and be baptized in the name of Messiah Yeshua. When we do so we will experience the Holy Spirit in our lives, living in us in a very special way. This is the one who empowered all those we read about in God’s Word. So, we then share in the Lord’s holiness and power through His Spirit, which enables us to speak words that bring life not death.
Our Messiah taught that those who have ears, let them hear. To really listen to what is being preached in God’s Word and to then act on it. As we consider Shavuot and Pentecost, we need to truly know where we stand before the Lord. If you have not yet placed your faith in Messiah Yeshua, through repentance and baptism, then I encourage you to take hold of the promises of the Lord you have heard today. If you have placed your trust in Him, then be encouraged that He who lives in Messiah Yeshua, the Apostles, and all Adonai’s disciples, lives in us as well. That we have been given everything we need to spread the light of the Good News to a world desperately in need of it.
May the Lord enable each of us to have ears that truly hear and eyes that truly see. May each of us experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. May we all be empowered to clearly communicate the message of salvation found only in Messiah Yeshua.