The Providence of God on Pentecost

       Any good Bible student knows the story of the circumstances in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. All of the Apostles were gathered together, waiting for something to happen, which of course it did, with the Holy Spirit entering the room pouring Himself out upon them. We know that they began speaking in tongues and went out and started working miracles and preaching the Word to all. But have we ever stopped to wonder why this was done at this time? How did the Word spread so quickly throughout the known world. Most scholars believe that all the "farthest reaches" of the world had heard of the gospel within a mere 50 years. Paul wrote in Romans 16:25-26, "Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the MYSTERY, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made MANIFEST, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to ALL NATIONS for the obedience of faith." So by the time Paul was in Rome, all nations in the known world had heard, without cars, telephones, internet, or cable t.v. Miracles were of course involved, but that was normally through physical contact. So how and why could the new concept of Christianity have spread when it has been said that most people did not stray further than 30 miles from where they were born for their whole lives? Let's go back and look at what happened some 2,000 years ago.
       First of all, as Jesus as doing his ministry, He wasn't walking extreme distances. For us today it might be extreme, but Jesus' travels from His home in Galilee to the end of His life in Jerusalem is a distance of about 70 miles. He traveled to other places as well, but not far off, and considering his ministry was 3 to 4 years, His total travels doubtfully was more than 200 miles in radius. The key to all of this was the time frame. He entered Jerusalem for the final time on the last week of His life during Passover. This Jewish feast which dates back to Exodus, was the Holiest of Jewish holidays, and Jews from around the world would make this pilgrimage to Jerusalem at least once in their lives to celebrate. The historian Josephus wrote that the population would swell in Jerusalem to almost ten times it's normal populace, and this was the time that Jesus entered in. This was providence, but also prophecy fulfilled (Zech.9:9), that He came in with one of the world's largest transient populations.
       Of course during that week, Jesus was teaching many, and word was spreading throughout the city, even falling on the ears of the Jewish leaders, but most likely the majority of the people there never saw Jesus personally, and many probably knew nothing at all of Him. Once He was arrested and tried and executed, more people may have come out to watch, but the scriptures don't give us a number, nor does it say those that came out were believers, as we sometimes see in the movie versions. I am certain many were just curious over these events that were taking place. However, this would change when on the moments of His death, a great eclipse and earthquake shook the land. People began to take notice, even as far away as Greece, where the famed atheist Thalus, wrote of both the eclipse and earthquake, giving even more evidence to the story. But it was after these events that the Word really began to spread, as the Apostles were waiting for the Spirit after they had spent forty days with Christ who had arisen.
       Once the spirit entered the room and filled them, they all began to speak in tongues. Now this has been debated over the years as to what "tongues" meant, but in Acts 2:6, it is clear that the tongues were different languages that the Apostles suddenly could speak, because the multitude were amazed that they could understand their own language from men from Galilee. You see, the multitude was there from around the world celebrating Passover, nothing states that they were believers who could speak angelic language. Although the Apostles for the most part were educated, they obviously did not know all the languages of the world, until now. They immediately went out and used this miracle, which got the attention of the whole city, most of which (Acts 2:8-12) were from around the world. The miracle amazed them, the Word made them believe, and on that day 3,000 souls were saved. God uses providence with miracles to get the people to hear, then believe. Many of these same people sold what possessions they had to support the Apostles, and shortly after, the great persecution began, scattering these souls back to their homes around the world, taking the message of God with them. It was not long at all that Asia, Africa, and Europe knew the Truth.
       God is using this wonderful tool today, and providence brings us to people we have never met to tell them about the Word. We have such an opportunity with the internet, social media, phones, and still the most effective, speaking to each other, that we should not overlook these chances and tell people not only what they are missing, but what will happen if they don't believe. The providence of God is all around us, and He uses it every day, but it is up to us to take advantage of these opportunities, we are His mouthpieces, His representatives on earth. He no longer needs to use those miracles of the first century, He has something more powerful, faithful men and women who would lay down their lives to save lost souls. It was no accident that Jesus came into Jerusalem during Passover, this was the plan that God put in motion before time began, and how we are we are today.