Were the Tongues at Pentecost primarily evangelistic or worship?
- Josh Reading
- 18 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Were the Tongues at Pentecost primarily evangelistic or worship?
Let me begin slightly off-centre.
If we are honest, most of us have not really read Acts 2 from the ground up. We have inherited it. We have been given a framework, often quite early on, and then we simply continue reading the text through that lens.
The inherited version is familiar, 'the disciples miraculously spoke different human languages so they could preach the gospel to the nations.'
It is neat, it is logical, it preaches well. It fits comfortably within a missional framework that many of us already hold.
However, I am not entirely convinced that this is what Luke is primarily doing. I have been doing an increasingly wider series I would encourage you to read, to present a case that scripture does not present this picture, at least not so simplistically. Check some of them below, these are just a selection of recent ones. Pentecostals Gibberish and Acts 2 Mockers Mock Hearing, Seeing and the Spirit's work
Each chip away at what I think is a hasty conclusion, to paraphrase, that 'Tongues is the supernatural ability to speak human languages for the purpose of preaching the Gospel'. Not that the idea is wrong in every sense, rather, it may be incomplete. I think often both the conservative reading and the classic western Pentecostal reading of Acts 1 and 2 is often one dimensional. One, the Conservateive, tending toward a solely covenantal reading (the new community) and the other toward the newly 'empowered for the mission'. BOTH are good, but there is more going on here, and it should excite us. If we slow down, Luke has actually written with far more theological depth and intention.
Once you slow down, and I mean genuinely slow down, and you begin to read Acts 2 alongside Luke’s Gospel, the Psalms, prophetic literature, and the wider Jewish world of the first century, something begins to shift.
Not dramatically at first, but it starts to create a slight unease. A sense that the category we have assumed might not quite fit the language Luke is using in every way. Not to say these insights are wrong but rather narrow.
So one of the questions emerges, quietly at first and then more insistently. It is the idea that Tongues was primarily about evangelism. This is actually quite widely held and taught, the guys at gotquestions.org for instance say “The purpose of the gift of tongues was evangelistic, not personal edification.”[1] I don't think that is accurate and evidently I think Paul the Apostle disagrees as well.
I am more than a little doubtful about such strong assertion and I don’t think that anything in the text shows this, least of all, that Peter had to tell the crowd the Gospel for them to be saved.
What if the tongues at Pentecost were NOT primarily evangelistic speech, but Spirit-inspired worship that became understood?
This is entirely natural for some but others just assume it was the gospel in another language or in the least the new tool for the proclamation of the gospel.
1. The phrase that frames everything (Acts 2:11)
Luke is not vague about the content of the speech.
“We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:11, NIV)
That is the only explicit description we are given.
Yet, interestingly, we often move past that phrase rather quickly, almost as if it is a placeholder for something more substantial. Many assume it must mean gospel proclamation, even though Luke does not say that.We know this to be the case because primary attacks on Pentecostals frequently assumes that, 'given' these tongues were supposedly other human languages, the purpose was evangelism. However, is that accurate? I don’t think so.
The phrase itself, ta megaleia tou theou, is not generic. It carries weight. It belongs somewhere, it has a history.
It is not Luke improvising, Luke drawing from a known theological vocabulary.
So the real interpretive work begins here:
What does “declaring the wonders of God” actually mean within Scripture and within
Luke’s own writing?
2. Old Testament Foundations: The Language of Worship
When this phrase is traced back into the Old Testament, a pattern becomes immediately visible.
“Tell of all his wonderful acts.” (Psalm 105:2, NIV)
“Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise?” (Psalm 106:2, NIV)
“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous deeds among all peoples.” (Psalm 96:3, NIV)
At first glance, Psalm 96 appears outward-facing, and it is. However, it remains fundamentally adoration, it is worship language. It is not structured evangelistic preaching. It is worship that is being expressed publicly ‘among’ the nations.
Psalm 105 is even clearer. It is a rehearsal and retelling of Israel’s story. It recounts God’s acts in history, particularly the Exodus, and calls the people to remember and speak those acts aloud.
This is not persuasion, this is not instruction, this is worship.
Psalm 150 takes this even further:
“Praise him for his mighty acts…” (NIV)
No explanation is offered. No argument is constructed. The act of declaring is itself the praise.
Direction Matters
One of the most important clarifications here is often missed.
“I declare your marvellous deeds…” (Psalm 71:17–18, NIV)
“I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord…” (Isaiah 63:7, NIV)
These are not directed toward unbelievers in an evangelistic sense. They are directed toward God, even when spoken publicly.
So we must resist the instinct to assume that declaring God’s works equals evangelism
More often, within Scripture, it means worship expressed through speech
3. The Song of Moses and Corporate Memory
Deuteronomy 32, the Song of Moses, provides a critical background.
This is a poetic recounting of God’s actions. It is intended for communal recitation. It functions as both memory and worship.
Later, in Revelation:
“They sang the song of God’s servant Moses…” (Revelation 15:3, NIV)
This confirms that this kind of speech is fundamentally worship in nature.
It is corporate, it is God-directed, it is rooted in remembering what God has done.
That matters for Acts 2 because the language Luke uses fits this category remarkably well.
4. The Hallel Psalms and the Immediate Context
Pentecost is not happening in a vacuum. It is a pilgrimage festival. Jerusalem is full.
The crowd present is shaped by shared cultural and religious experience.
They have recently sung the Hallel Psalms.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good…” (Psalm 118:1, NIV)“The Lord has done it this very day…” (Psalm 118:24, NIV)
These are not abstract theological statements. They are communal declarations of God’s saving action.
So when the crowd hears,
“declaring the wonders of God”
they are not hearing something foreign, weird or unusual, they are hearing something familiar, they are hearing worship.
If they are merely speaking the wonders of God in understandable language, there is no basis for mockery in this environment of intense devotion and praise.
5. Spirit Speech in the Old Testament
Another important layer emerges when we consider how the Spirit operates in Scripture.
When the Spirit comes upon individuals in the Old Testament, the result is not primarily structured teaching.
It is speech, yes, but speech that blends praise, declaration, revelation.
“The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me…” (2 Samuel 23:2, NIV)
“My heart rejoices in the Lord…” (1 Samuel 2:1–2, NIV)
This is not clinical, it is not purely informational, it is responsive.
It is often poetic, elevated, and directed toward God.
6. Second Temple Judaism: Continuity of Worship Language
This pattern continues into the Jewish world of the first century.
Book of Tobit 12:6 calls for declaring God’s deeds as an act of honour
Sirach reflects on the majesty of God’s works
Qumran hymns repeatedly rehearse God’s actions in praise
Philo describes speaking of God as an act of devotion
Josephus records communal declarations of God’s power
None of these treat such speech as evangelistic discourse.
It is worship language embedded in the culture.
Don’t miss hear me, this praise lays the platforms, changes the atmosphere, but it elicits not understand in full but questioning.
“Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Acts 2:12
Not, an understanding of the Gospel yet but a God oriented questioning, an opening for it.
7. Luke has already established the pattern (Luke 1–2)
This is perhaps the most decisive internal evidence.
Luke has already shown us what Spirit-filled speech looks like.
Mary declared, “The Mighty One has done great things for me…” (Luke 1:49, NIV)
Zechariah lifting his voice to say “Praise be to the Lord…” (Luke 1:68, NIV)
The shepherds, “Glorifying and praising God…” (Luke 2:20, NIV)
The pattern is unmistakable.
Spirit → revelation → speech → praise of God’s acts
Acts 2 does not introduce something new, it expands what Luke has already established.
8. Acts 2 within this framework
When we return to Acts 2 with this in mind, the structure becomes clearer.
The Spirit is poured out, speech erupts.
The content is identified,
“the wonders of God”
This fits perfectly within the established pattern, it is not neutral speech, it is worship.
9. The crowds response
The reaction of the crowd is telling, confusion, amazement and mockery.
“They have had too much wine.” (Acts 2:13, NIV)
There is attention, there is intrigue however, there is not yet conversion.
Even when they are later “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37, NIV) this occurs in response to Peter’s sermon.
In a different blog I speak of why I believe, among other reasons ‘mockery’ is an indicator that they were not speaking different languages. Rather some ‘heard’ the ‘wonders of God’, others what they perceived a drunken gibberish. Sound familiar?
So what are tongues doing?
They are not functioning as direct evangelistic proclamation.
They are creating the moment that proclamation will interpret
Worship precedes explanation, presence proceeds proclamation.Don’t miss hear me
in this blog, I am not arguing that declaring the wonders of God AMONG the nations is not powerful, but it is still not the same as declaring the gospel TO the nations. One lays the platform for the other.
10. Luke Interprets Tongues Elsewhere
Luke does not leave us guessing.
“They heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.” (Acts 10:46, NIV)
This is explicit, Tongues are identified as praise.
11. Paul’s Theological Clarification
At times, Pentecostals are keen to separate Paul and Luke in their semantic and that has relevance in treating Luke in particular as genuine teaching in its own right however I think Paul reflects Luke is a more prescriptive way that is helpful.
Paul tells us clearly
“Anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God… no one understands them…” (1 Cor 14:2, NIV)
Tongues are prayer, praise, thanksgiving, all directed toward God.
It really should not be harder than this, yes in Acts 2 this was understood by those leaning in with faith already but it is not much of a stretch to see that as a form of the interpretation of Tongues operating in a specific context (1 Cor 12:30)
12. Joel 2 and the Language of Praise
Peter’s quotation of Joel is often read primarily through prophecy.
However, the immediate context includes
“You will praise… who has worked wonders for you.” (Joel 2:26, NIV)
This reinforces the God facing moment.
13. Babel Reconsidered
The reversal of Babel is often understood as a return to one language.
However, Acts 2 does not eliminate linguistic diversity, it restores understanding. It demonstrates a fulfilled kingdom under a new kingdom, a spiritual kingdom, not one centred on this world (John 18:36)
The miracle is not uniform speech, it is shared comprehension. Yes, the Tongues were miraculous but it is the shared comprehension of the wonder of God that unites.
14. Worship and Mission: The Order at Pentecost
Scripture consistently moves toward a vision of global worship.
“All the ends of the earth… will bow down before him.” (Psalm 22:27, NIV)“My name will be great among the nations.” (Malachi 1:11, NIV)
Mission serves this end.
However, Acts 2 reveals something important about the order.
The Sequence
1. The Spirit is poured out
2. The speak in other Tongues
3. They praise
4. Attention is drawn
5. The Gospel is clearly proclaimed.
6. There is a response
The Function of Tongues
They are not replacing mission.
Through the Spirit they are establishing the praise of God among the nations before explanation occurs.
As with 1 Cor 14, it is most consistent to understand the Tongues in Acts 2 as primarily God facing, not people facing.
When everything is brought together, Old Testament language, Jewish traditions, Luke’s Gospel, Acts and Paul, a consistent picture emerges.
The disciples are praising God in Spirit-inspired speech, and the nations understand.
Final Thought
When the Spirit is poured out in Luke–Acts, the first sound is not explanation. It is worship.
And perhaps that is not incidental, perhaps that is the point.The empowering of the Spirit most certainly empowers us for mission, but the word on our lips becomes more greatly God focused.
When they spoke, when you speak, when I speak in Tongues, I speak...
“The Wonders of God”
When I speak in a Tongue, my primary orientation is worship, I speak “to God” (1 Cor 14:2)
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