I don't think it's an either/or phenomena.
Clearly what Esaias has written is correct. The text is unambiguous: "they heard them".
However, the text describes an interesting occurrence:
Some heard the disciples of Christ declaring the wonderful works of God. Others heard merely the garbled mutterings of the intoxicated.
Why did some hear in their own language the disciples praising God and others, not hearing a language at all, dismissed them as drunken sots?
Well, keep in mind that Simon Peter said the following regarding the Holy Spirit:
Acts 2:33 (ESV),
Quote:
33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
|
It's not just that the crowd heard them speaking in
heterais glossais (Acts 2:4), they also saw the movements of their mouths.
Those who responded well to the stimulus were thus able to hear the disciples declare the wonderful works of God. Those who responded poorly, accused them of being full of new wine.
So, what makes for the difference? The difference is, what are you primed to hear? What is your predisposition?
We know that later on in
Acts 2, there were still two categories of people in the crowd: those who gladly received Simon Peter's words and agreed to baptism, and everyone else.
This shows that some were open to the miraculous move of the Holy Spirit, and others were obstinate of heart.
In not so many words, the
Acts 2 account is describing a very interesting auditory effect not too dissimilar to the Brainstorm or Green Needle phenomena, recently made famous through social media a couple of years ago. Have a look below in the video below.
If you watch and listen to the video, depending on which of the two phrases you visually encounter first, or focus on, you will hear that phrase in place of the other. But if you refresh your focus and come back to the video, attending to the other phrase, you will hear that one instead.
But the audio is the same no matter which phrase you happen to hear.
I submit it's similar to speaking with other tongues. The Holy Spirit gives the utterance. The "language" as it were, is not a known language of human origin. It is supernatural in derivation, of the heavenly realm, i.e. the "tongues...of angels", as Paul wrote in
1 Corinthians 13:1.
And, depending upon one's predisposition, they will, in effect, "hear what they want to hear".
In
Acts 16:4, we read of Lydia, and how the Lord had already opened her heart, making her ready to hear what Paul would come to preach. So, for those whose hearts have been opened by the Lord, when they encounter someone speaking with other tongues, they will be amazed, impressed, certain that it is the work of God. But for those whose hearts remain closed, if or when they hear someone speak with other tongues, they will disclaim it as aberrant, abhorrent, even of the devil.
In this, then, the miracle occurs in the speaker, but the effect of the miracle takes place in the hearer, depending on the tenderness or hardness of the heart. Pharoah comes to mind. The Lord hardens whom He hardens and has mercy on whom He will have mercy.