1. Acts 2:13 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why would some people in the crowd think that the apostles are filled with new wine?

Acts 2:13 (ESV)

13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

One group of listeners is astounded when they hear Galilean men speaking languages that they should not know. They are eager to find out how this can be the case. Another group, however, is more sceptical. It may be that they hear the apostles speaking these foreign languages and because they do not understand those languages, they think the apostles are just speaking gibberish from being drunk.1 Since Pentecost was a time of feasting (Psalm 104:14–15), there were likely some Jews who used the opportunity to drink in excess. This is what the apostles are now also being accused of. Alternatively this group is simply opposed to the apostles because they know them to be followers of Jesus and do not like to see them prosper.