And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. -- Acts 2:5 (KJV)
"These men are full of new wine." Somebody in the crowd said it out loud. Luke keeps the line. He could have closed the scene on wonder and left the mockers out of the record. He writes both answers down.
A Crowd From Everywhere
Jerusalem held devout Jews from far places, and Luke names where they came from. Parthians, Medes and Elamites. People from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, from Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene. Strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes. Cretes and Arabians.
When word of the sound spread, people from all of those places came together. Every one of them heard the same Galilaeans, and every one heard them speak of "the wonderful works of God."
Two Answers to One Wonder
Then the crowd divides. "They were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?" Others had their answer before they had listened: new wine.
Both groups stood in the same street at the same hour. Neither had more evidence than the other. The difference lay in what each did with something it could not explain. One group asked. The other reached for the nearest explanation that let them walk away unchanged.
Mockery works that way. It closes a question before the question can cost anything. Believers do a quieter version with a shrug instead of a laugh. A prayer gets answered and we call it timing. A verse lands too close and we move on to the next chapter. A friend repents and changes, and we wait for it to wear off.
"What meaneth this?" is the honest place to stand. It admits God may be doing something you have not understood yet, and it keeps you in the street long enough to hear the explanation.
Think of something God has done near you lately that you explained away too fast. Go back to it today and ask Him what it means.
Peter answered that crowd in the next breath: "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel."
