Thought for Thursday
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying to one another, What meaneth this? Acts 2:12
For the first time in history, the Gospel was being preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, and it what an impact it made! Those who heard those early preachers were hearing the ‘Glorious Glad Tidings’ in their own languages. It had two very powerful but conflicting effects on those listeners: amazement and doubt.
The amazement was partly because of the ability of the preachers to spread their messages in whatever languages the hearers understood. This was miraculous indeed! But the amazement was also because of the message that these men were preaching, that Jesus Christ Who had died upon the cross was raised from the dead and that His death and resurrection were for the salvation of sinners. No such message had ever been proclaimed before. it was an amazing message.
But this great event was also accompanied by doubt. Although people could hear the Gospel in their native tongue, they were unable to accept what was being said. They had come to Jerusalem for a religious event, and what they were hearing was far outside of anything they could have expected to encounter.
Sadly, these two reactions to the Gospel are met today. A few are amazed, and believe. The majority doubt, and reject.
But there was a rich harvest of souls that day. Regardless of the antagonism and apathy that we encounter, God will still have us preach the Gospel, because some will believe. -Jim MacIntosh