Accused of Drunkenness

And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” (Acts 2:5-13)

A friend of mine recently observed, "maybe the problem with Christians is that nobody accuses us of being drunk anymore."

When I was younger, I believed the mockers thought these believers were drunk because they were speaking in other languages. Now that I'm older, I know that couldn't have been the case, because we are told everyone heard it in his own language. My conclusion, then, is that this criticism was more directly related to the message these disciples were speaking, and the boldness with which they proclaimed it. Indeed, Peter's message to the crowd in the verses that follow bear this out.

It simply wasn't normal for a bunch of people to start proclaiming Good News to everyone who would listen. To begin talking about a Messiah as though He had already been among them (most Jews, after all, were still waiting for Him). It wasn't normal for people to be so fervent, so passionate, that all who heard them should be saved. 

Come to think of it, it's not normal now. Even among the Church. But back then, it was unprecedented. So much so that the boldness of these few people caused this new religion to spread like wildfire. Here we are, 2000 years later, and nearly everyone on the planet has at least heard the name "Jesus." 

Imagine the possibilities if His church now were to carry His message with the same boldness as they did back then. If each of us were to follow the example of Peter and speak the truth with confidence, uncaring of any consequences!

God, that we might be blessed with the boldness and spirit of the early church!