They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?”
Let us take account of those in the upper room under the leadership of not quite leaders, the Apostles.
Apostle itself, a word meaning one sent. Disciples learn, Apostles are sent. What were these sent ones doing locked upstairs and out-of-the-way?
Now certainly they were following Jesus’ instruction: not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. (Acts 1:4)
Could or should they have done more in the interim? Were opportunities lost in that ten-day period between the Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit?
That is a whole bunch of observations and hanging questions.
First, as noted, they were from Galilee or very near. Only Judas wasn’t. Their Galilean accent was different from the Judean one. They stood out. Remember on the night of Jesus’ arrest the woman at the fire identified Peter by his Galilean accent. One interesting thing, and something often misinterpreted, was that these were simple and ignorant men. They were not.
Galilee was a cosmopolitan region. People were more educated, were exposed to more of the world. A good number of the apostles were businessmen. They were not fools.
Like us, these Apostles were ready to be leaders, they were intelligent, they had already been sent, they knew that they had to get to work because if they did not the salvation Jesus offered would be lost to others.
Jesus knew their knowledge, skills, and abilities. He knew they needed just one more thing, the inspiration, gifts, guidance, and power the Holy Spirit offers, so He asked the Father, and the Father sent the Holy Spirit.
All the observations and questions we covered earlier apply equally to us. As with them, we must each lead, go out as ones sent, and follow Jesus’ instruction. And… we have all we need because we have the Holy Spirit here.
The opportunities await and can be easily lost unless we act..