An Early Christian Narrative of the Universal Spread of the Spirit-Accompanied Word

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An Early Christian Narrative of the Universal Spread of the Spirit-Accompanied Word "What is This Word?": An Early Christian Narrative of the Universal Spread of the Spirit-Accompanied Word The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Kim, Juhwan Joseph. 2009. "What is This Word?": An Early Christian Narrative of the Universal Spread of the Spirit-Accompanied Word. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Divinity School. Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37367430 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA “What is This Word?”: An Early Christian Narrative of the Universal Spread of the Spirit-Accompanied Word A thesis presented by Juhwan Joseph Kim to the faculty of Harvard Divinity School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology in the subject of New Testament and Christian Origins Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts September 2009 ii Dissertation Abstract “WHAT IS THIS WORD?”: AN EARLY CHRISTIAN NARRATIVE OF THE UNIVERSAL SPREAD OF THE SPIRIT-ACCOMPANIED WORD Advisor: Professor François Bovon Author: Juhwan Joseph Kim This dissertation investigates the divine word and the Spirit as co-narrative themes in Luke-Acts. While the thematic importance of the word in Luke-Acts has been generally recognized, what remains jejune is the examination of the particular ways in which the word constitutes the overarching theme of Luke’s double narrative by ordering and constructing the entire narrative program. On the other hand, while studies in Lukan pneumatology abound, aside from the general consensus that the Spirit is essentially a Spirit of prophecy, the precise nature of the pneumatic role remains moot. The function and role of the word and the Spirit can be most clearly discerned when their narrative interrelation is more fully explored. An examination of the deployment of the word in the Scriptures (LXX), Hellenistic- Jewish literature, and the New Testament, indicates that it is in the Lukan writings that the word takes on a most prominent significance. Luke resolutely places the word at the central stage of sorts, insisting that it is the word that is sent, proclaimed, accepted, praised, and that it is the word that saves, grows, spreads, prevails, constrains, and creates and grows the early Christian ekklēsia. The theme of the word comprises the very foundation of the entire work. In conferring an overriding narrative function and role to the centrifugal word, Luke assigns the Spirit an indispensable role in collaboration with this narrative goal. For Luke, the Spirit’s work is a work of the word in that it is invariably in service of the ubiquitous expansion of the word in the midst of escalating opposition. iii This dissertation engages the narrative of Luke-Acts as a single continuous whole in its historical, literary, and theological embeddedness. The discrete narrative components that make up the entire narrative plot of the twofold work (e.g., geographical scheme, travel motifs, configuration of various human characters) come under coherent alignment in light of the pivotal theme of the Spirit-accompanied word. Luke-Acts is to be read as an early Christian narrative which recounts the stepping stones of the universal spread of the Spirit-accompanied word in the face of Roman claims to universalism. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction 1 1.1 Word and Pneumatology: A Co-Narrative Theme 1 1.2 The Lukan Word 5 1.3 The Lukan Spirit 15 1.4 Methology 31 1.5 The Plan of the Present Study 37 Chapter Two: The Word in Its Historical Literary Perspective 2.1 Introduction 42 2.2 The Perspective of the Scriptures of Israel and the Septuagint 43 2.3 The Hellenistic Jewish Perspective 50 2.4 The Early Christian Perspective 54 2.5 The Lukan Perspective 62 2.6 Lukan Literary Variations of the Word 64 A. Lo,goj 66 B. `Rh/ma 70 C. Verbs and Phrases Denoting the Word i. Word as Deed (Miracle, Healing and Exorcism) 80 ii. Sayings and the Speeches 86 iii. Speaking (euvaggeli,zesqai, khru,ssein, dida,skein, lalei/n, katagge,llein, marturei/n) 88 iv. Hearing (avkou,ein) 92 v. Other Verbs and Phrases Denoting the Word 93 2.7 Summary and Conclusions 96 Chapter Three: A Comprehensive Reading of the Word in Luke’s Gospel 3.1 Introduction 99 3.2 The Word in the Gospel of Luke (1:1-24:53) 101 A. The Word in the Introductory Section of Luke 1:1-4:13 i. The Word in the Prologue (1:1-4) 102 ii. The Word in the Lukan Infancy Narratives (1:5-2:52) 105 iii. The Word in the Ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus (3:1-4:13) 110 B. The Word in the Galilean Ministry of Jesus (4:14-9:50) i. The Word in the Nazareth Scene 113 ii. The First Appearance of “the Word of God” 116 iii. The Growth of the Word in the Parable of the Seed 123 C. The Word in Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27) 132 D. The Word in the Final Ministry of Jesus in Jerusalem (19:28-24:53) 145 v 3.3 Preliminary Observations on the Word in Luke’s Gospel 153 Chapter Four: A Comprehensive Reading of the Word in the Acts of the Apostles 4.1 Introduction 156 4.2 The Word in Acts (1:1-28:31) A. The Commission to Spread the Word in the Introductory Section (Acts 1:1-26) 161 B. The Birth and Spread of the Word in Jerusalem (2:1-7:60) 164 i. Pentecost: The Miracle of the Word and Community (2:1-47) 164 ii. The Word Spreads in Jerusalem (3:1-7:60) 168 C. The Spread of the Word in Judea and Samaria (8:1-14:28) i. The Word Reaches Judea and Samaria (8:1-40) 180 ii. The Word Beyond Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to Gentiles (9:1-14:28) 184 D. The Jerusalem Council (15:1-35) 201 E. The Journey of the Word towards Rome (15:36-21:40) 202 F. Paul’s Arrival and Proclamation of the Word in Rome (22:22-28:31) 215 Chapter Five: An Examination of the Word and Pneumatology in Luke-Acts 5.1 Introduction 222 5.2 Word and Spirit in the Gospel of Luke 228 A. The Nazareth Speech (Luke 4:18-19) 228 B. The Infancy Narratives and Simeon’s Oracle (Luke 2:29-32, 34-35) 237 C. Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit (Luke 12:10-12) 241 D. The Final Commission of Jesus (Luke 24:44-49) 246 5.3 Word and Spirit in Acts 248 A. The Commission of the Resurrected Lord (Acts 1:8) 248 B. Pentecost and Joel’s Prophecy (Acts 2:17-21) 252 C. “And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word” (Acts 4:29-31) 256 D. Wider Spirit Interventions in Acts 260 5.4 Conclusion 263 Chapter Six: Observations, Theological Implications, and Conclusion 266 6.1 Observations on the Nature and Role of the Lukan Spirit-Accompanied Word 267 A. God’s Word and Human Words: Human Agency in Luke-Acts 267 B. The Soteriological Word: Agent of Universal Salvation 268 C. The Creative Word: Agent of Community-Creation and Building 269 D. The Powerful Word: Agent of God’s Power and Authority 271 E. The Word as an Individual Entity? 272 F. The Word, Lukan Adversaries, and the Problem of Israel 275 6.2 Theological Implications of the Spirit-Accompanied Word A. The Spirit in Service of the Word 279 vi B. The Spirit-Accompanied Word and the Early Christian Ekklēsia 282 C. Luke’s Claim to Universality 285 6.3 The End of Acts: A Conclusion without Conclusion 295 Bibliography 299 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Like the Lukan narrative, the writing of this dissertation marks an expansive journey across both geographical and ethnic lines. It has been a journey with its share of unanticipated turns and twists that could have effortlessly foiled its completion. Yet, the journey was never a solitary one. It was accompanied by gracious promptings and at times awakening calls both divine and hu ma n . My first thanks must go to my advisor and mentor Prof. François Bovon without whom this work would not have seen its consummation, much less its beginning. In particular, his unmatched knowledge in the writings and interpretation of Luke was the most vital force in the successful completion of this project. He has fostered in me a desire to wrestle with the Greek and Hebrew texts and to not shy away from German, French and Italian works. But most importantly, his constant emphasis on the need for firm mooring in the original texts has allowed for the simultaneous engaging of early Christian literature with artistry and creativity. My sincere gratitude extends to Prof. Helmut Koester whose unparalleled expertise in a wide array of early Christian literature and methodological issues have salvaged this work from needless embarrassment. My experience as his teaching fellow in my earlier years at Harvard has proved invaluable for the making of this journey. The weekly dinners we had after each class will not be forgotten! Special thanks must go to Prof. Larry Wills who read with great care and proficiency the entire draft of my work even before having met me in person. His competence in the interrelationship between the Scriptures of Israel, ancient Judaism and early Christianity has viii enriched this project in numerous ways.
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