This presentation will address the nature of miracles in Luke-Acts to clarify the Holy Spirit’s activity in divine judgment. Doing so will contribute to the enduring discussion about the primary role of the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts. My thesis is that God’s Spirit effects judgment—salvific and condemnatory—through miracles that drive individuals to a decision point regarding Jesus, resulting in the demarcation between those inside and outside the kingdom of God. In short, wherever the Holy Spirit is at work in Luke-Acts, one can rightly expect to see division: the distinction between who is set aside to be holy and who is not.
Since the latter part of the 20th century, the two dominant views of the primary role of the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts have been championed by Robert Menzies and Max Turner. Menzies has argued that this role is one of missionary empowerment. Turner has argued it is the restoration of Israel. My proposal attempts to bridge the gap between these views by suggesting that the distinctive feature of the Holy Spirit’s activity in Luke-Acts is that of division. My suggestion accommodates Menzies’ view of missionary empowerment while redefining “successful” evangelism as that which prompts a decisive response to Jesus, whether that response is positive or negative. Similarly, the dividing work of the Spirit fits with Turner’s view of the restoration of Israel. But I reframe this restoration process as a work of division: separating the crowds into the believing and unbelieving, purifying the church corporately, and sanctifying individual believers. Thus, I augment Menzies’ and Turner’s views by surfacing the divisive nature of the Holy Spirit’s work in evangelism and the restoration of Israel.
Using a narrative approach, I will narrow my discussion to three key scenes. First, I will discuss John the Baptist’s saying that the one coming after him would baptize in the Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). I will argue that this baptism is one of winnowing that results in division. Second, I will discuss the opening miracle cycle in Luke’s Gospel which results in John’s crisis about what to believe about Jesus (Luke 7:18–23). I will argue that miracles press John to resolve his understanding of Jesus’ status. Third, I will discuss the series of trials in Jerusalem in the opening chapters of Acts (Acts 2:42–7:60). These trials are each prompted by miracles and marked by an increase in hostility, culminating in the stoning of Stephen.
I will argue that through miracles, the Holy Spirit engages the wills of individuals so that they respond with submission to or rejection of God’s program as revealed in Jesus Christ. To conclude the session, I will suggest implications that this study may have for contemporary evangelistic models that view positive responses to the gospel as the only measure of evangelistic success or that rely upon “bringing heaven to earth” through miracles as the primary means of evangelism.