Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:9 (ESV)
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:4 (ESV)
both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
Acts 2:11-12 (ESV)
There are many ways of looking at the account in Acts 2 of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. One of these ways relates the Holy Spirit’s outpouring at Pentecost to the glory of God filling the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple at their dedication. At Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit and dedicated as God’s new temple, His dwelling place.
Another aspect of what took place at Pentecost is connected with Genesis 11:1-9, the story of the Tower of Babel. At the end of this story, God confused their language so that they could not understand one another. And it caused them to leave off building their city and tower and scatter over the face of the earth.
However, at Pentecost, just the opposite occurred. Jews and proselytes from all over the known world had gathered for the annual Feast of Weeks. And suddenly, all the language barriers were lifted. At least for a time.
There is debate as to whether what happened here involved the disciples speaking in other languages or the crowd hearing in their own languages. There is also debate about how this relates to the tongues Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 12-14. But those debates obscure the implicit message that Luke is giving here.
Pentecost Reversed Babel
What happened at Babel was reversed at Pentecost. At Babel, the world was divided and scattered. At Pentecost, there is a first glimpse of the unity that will come about through the Holy Spirit. Throughout the book of Acts, we see Jews, then Samaritans, and finally Gentiles being united as the body of Christ.
We still speak many languages today and are scattered across the face of the whole world. But in Christ, we are one people regardless of our color, gender, language, or nationality. We are “one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all“ (Eph. 4:4-6).
