Unconventional God , livre ebook

Cover
Endorsements
“Those who think that there is nothing new to learn about the Holy Spirit should read An Unconventional God . Far from merely rehashing well-worn themes, Levison freshly appraises the Spirit’s role and work in the Gospels. Marked by independent exegetical insight, a studied familiarity with the Scriptures, theologically important reflections, lively prose, and an obvious passion for the topic, this book will make you think again about the sometimes perplexing, often challenging, and always invigorating power of the Spirit in the life of Jesus—and in the life of the church.”
— Marianne Meye Thompson , Fuller Theological Seminary
“Jack Levison has established himself as the keenest of eyes when it comes to anything about Spirit—spirit, breath, wind, Spirit—in the Old Testament and Judaism, but in An Unconventional God Levison explores a section of Scripture rarely given the attention it deserves for pneumatology: the four Gospels. Levison’s nuanced attentiveness to the Old Testament and Judaism is brought into play to see the Gospels’ understanding of the Spirit in a way that is both comprehensive and unconventional. This book will replace the standard studies of Spirit in the Gospels.”
— Scot McKnight , Northern Seminary
“Are you looking for a Holy Spirit who lifts you up when you are down? Inspires a felicitous reply when you are arguing? Guides you to the lone empty parking spot? Then Jack Levison’s An Unconventional God may not be the book you want—although perhaps it is exactly the book you need. In this elegant and convicting exposition of the Spirit’s role in the canonical Gospels, Levison shows us that the Holy Spirit portrayed in them is one who drives Jesus into the wilderness and who may drive us there also. The good news, in Levison’s telling, is a promise not of easy deliverance from our trials but of divine presence to accompany us through the hard places.”
— Susan R. Garrett , Louisville Seminary
“This book offers an unconventional biography, a beautifully written history of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus. Treating one anecdote at a time, Levison carves out the facets of each report, painting a colorful picture of the Holy Spirit with the ink of the Scriptures, a portrait never to be captured in a single line or thought. His interpretations show the precision of an exegete and yet the openness of an ancient biographer to different reports or versions of the same incident. This fascinating book offers something for everyone.”
— Rainer Hirsch-Luipold , University of Bern
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2020 by Jack Levison
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-2726-0
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled CEB are from the Common English Bible. © Copyright 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE , copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Scripture quotations labeled NETS are from A New English Translation of the Septuagint , © 2007 by the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Inc. Used by permission of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, all translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls are from F. García Martínez and E. J. C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition , 2 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 1997–98).
Dedication
To Priscilla
Contents
Cover i
Endorsements ii
Half Title Page iii
Title Page v
Copyright Page vi
Dedication vii
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
1. Spirit and the Swell of Expectation 5
2. Spirit, Fire, and a Vital Message 25
3. Spirit and the Sway of Baptism 43
4. Spirit and the Torment of Temptation 59
5. Spirit, Promise, Praise, and Prayer 79
6. Spirit and the Threat of Blasphemy 97
7. Spirit and the Hazard of Hostility 115
8. Spirit, New Birth, and Living Water 133
9. Spirit and Inspired Memories 151
10. Spirit and Our Future 171
Conclusion 193
Appendix: Relevant References to Pneuma in the Canonical Gospels 215
Scripture and Ancient Sources Index 218
Subject Index 223
Back Cover 227
Acknowledgments
The book is done, the corrections and additions entered—except for this part. I left this single, satisfying assignment to the end. It is a cold, gray, and uncharacteristically frigid winter day in Dallas; I am in my Southern Methodist University office with the room heater blazing and a cup of tea at my elbow. It is time now to indulge in reminiscence.
I owe the origin of this book, as I did A Boundless God , to Bob Hosack of Baker Academic. Bob took both ideas to his team and came away with a green light. That team, it turns out, has been adept, efficient, and amenable—every one of them: Jeremy Wells, Mason Slater, Jennifer Hale, Shelly MacNaughton, Sarah Gombis, Kara Day, Amy Donaldson, Kristie Berglund, Robert Maccini, and Paula Gibson, who produced a cover twice over and captured the spirit of this book.
I am grateful, too, to Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, on several counts: a yearlong sabbatical, which Dean Craig Hill granted; a Scholarly Outreach Award, which left summers free of teaching; the research support of the W. J. A. Power Chair of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew, of which I am, for these fortunate years, the occupant. Thanks to these resources, I was able to revise A Boundless God , complete a nearly final draft of An Unconventional God , and accomplish the late-stage work on The Holy Spirit before Christianity .
While most of my writing took place in the ordinary and comfortable confines of my SMU office and our townhome in Dallas, Priscilla and I were able to write and revise our books in two more enviable locales. We spent two stunning weeks at the Mount Tabor Ecumenical Centre for Art and Spirituality—a Tuscan villa owned by the Community of Jesus, which ably operates Paraclete Press. The fresh cappuccinos Brother Benedict brought to Priscilla and me on the veranda, followed by lavish lunches, turned the otherwise onerous task of revision into an indulgence. Priscilla and I also spent five months in a small apartment under the eaves in Munich, thanks to a resumption of my Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship and the hospitality of Loren Stuckenbruck, professor of New Testament at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. Priscilla and I tackled more work than we could have imagined, though I did come home five pounds heavier, thanks to the irresistible density of Bauernbrot from the Kistenpfennig bakery and Käse from the nearby Ökomarkt .
Thanks, too, to my children, Chloe and Jeremy, whose care rims my writing and keeps it squarely in perspective. The unlikely presence of our adult children in Dallas over the past few years is a gift I had not foreseen.
There is a line in William Butler Yeats’s poem Adam’s Curse that reads, “A line will take us hours maybe.” I have staggered and lurched for hours, days really, in search of words while writing this book, but no more so than now, when it comes time to acknowledge my wife, Priscilla, whom I have known and loved—it was love at first sight, I think—for nearly four decades. These are the hardest words by far to find. How to capture the memories of life alongside her—writing, yes, but playing too? Outdoor dinners in Barga, snowshoeing in Bad Kohlgrub, walks along the Ammersee, Kaffee mit Milch at the Munich Hauptbahnhof on chilly Saturday mornings, strolls in the English Garden. How to express, as well, the elation I feel still at the sound of her footsteps outside my office door? I have acquired no language to thank Priscilla for a marriage that is at once eternal and diurnal, as elusive and visceral as love itself. A dedication is not enough, but it is what I have to give. And Priscilla, with characteristic grace, will accept it, meager though it be. I know this because I know this woman well, and well she loves me.
Abbreviations
General // parallel(s) alt. altered LXX Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) MT Masoretic Text (Hebrew Old Testament)
Bible Versions CEB Common English Bible KJV King James Version MSG The Message NETS New English Translation of the Septuagint NIV New International Version NRSV New Revised Standard Version
Old Testament Gen. Genesis Exod. Exodus Lev. Leviticus Num. Numbers Deut. Deuteronomy Josh. Joshua Judg. Judges Ruth Ruth 1 Sam. 1 Samuel 2 Sam. 2 Samuel 1 Kings 1 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chron. 1 Chronicles 2 Chron. 2 Chronicles Ezra Ezra Neh. Nehemiah Esther Esther Job Job Ps(s). Psalm(s) Prov. Proverbs Eccles. Ecclesiastes Song Song of Songs Isa. Isaiah Jer. Jeremiah Lam. Lamentations Ezek. Ezekiel Dan. Daniel Hosea Hosea Joel Joel Amos Amos Obad. Obadiah Jon. Jonah Mic. Micah Nah. Nahum Hab. Habakkuk Zeph. Zephaniah Hag. Haggai Zech. Zechariah Mal. Malachi
New Testament Matt. Matthew Mark Mark Luke Luke John John Acts Acts Rom. Romans 1 Cor. 1 Corinthians 2 Cor. 2 Corinthians Gal. Galatians Eph. Ephesians Phil. Philippians Col. Colossians 1 Thess. 1 Thessalonians 2 Thess. 2 Thessalonians 1 Tim. 1 Timothy 2 Tim. 2 Timothy Titus T