Acts 2:13-16 “Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." (14) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. (15) For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. (16) But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.”
The above passage of scripture describes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church on the day of Pentecost, and it records the unbelieving Jews as mocking the saints and accusing them of being drunk. So what evidence did the mockers see that led them to suppose that the disciples may have been drunk? Besides hearing the disciples’ speaking in tongues, they would have seen varying displays of the disciples laughing, trembling, weeping and becoming physically weakened as they encountered the power of the Holy Spirit. But at no time would they have observed any behaviour that could have been described as reckless indiscretion, for that sort of behaviour would not have been tolerated by the Jews in the temple of God. For don’t’ forget that God had warned the priests that they could die if they entered the temple after drinking wine or intoxicating drink (Leviticus 10:9). God is not a hypocrite, and so He would not have caused His saints to behave in the temple in a manner that He would not tolerate among the Jews.
Michael E.B. Maher
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