The crowds attracted to the sound of a rushing wind and a cacophony of voices stood dumfounded. Galileans, uneducated followers of Jesus, spoke boldly in the specific language of each hearer.

Due to the power of the Holy Spirit, each person present heard the gospel in their heart language – the language of home and family. Dialects of Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean world filled the air.

Oddly, no mention of English, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Spanish or French, the five most widely spoken languages in the world today. Yet I first heard the gospel in English, my native language (albeit of an Ozarks variety).

Bible translations exist in these five languages, along with thousands of others. Thanks to the tireless and at times dangerous (people died to provide me with the Bible on my desk) work of various Bible translators, and people like my friends at the Jesus Film Project, the gospel is available today in the heart language of most of the planet.

But not quite all. Some people still wait to discover that Jesus speaks their language. Hopefully, in our generation, everyone hears this good news.

Acts 2 in week fifteen of reading the Bible cover to cover