Perhaps most basic to recall about the event described in Acts 2:1-21 is that the first gift of the Holy Spirit is speech. Jesus is gone. He ascended into heaven. Left behind was a band of shell-shocked, stupefied and rather cowardly followers. Not only is the task before them immense, they can not even adequately articulate it among themselves. Before Pentecost the only business the disciples can bring themselves to undertake is a mere bookkeeping one - choosing a replacement for Judas.

Then comes the rush of mighty wind and tongues of fire. Suddenly the Holy Spirit is among them and within them demanding of them just one thing - speech. While the crowds are amazed at the varieties of languages, the true miracle here is the content of the words spoken to them. Suddenly the same disciples …