‘The Spirit of Jesus’ in Acts 16.7: An Ethnographic Reading

Abstract

‘The spirit of Jesus’ (τὸ πνεῦμα Ἰησοῦ) is an uncommon phrase found only in Acts 16.7. Most scholars presume it to be a variant description of the Holy Spirit without any special significance. Garnering insight from ethnographic studies on spirit possession, this article seeks to overturn this presumption. In particular, the notion of the traveling spirit suggests that τὸ πνεῦμα Ἰησοῦ deliberately emphasizes the expansion of the ‘presentness’ of Jesus to a new geographical area, namely Macedonia. The significance of the coming into the presence of Jesus in Macedonia is also shown by the account of the divine direction of Paul and his companions to pass by other areas on their way to Macedonia, as well as an allusion to Alexander the Great, the conversion of Lydia, and the clash with another specific spirit that wishes to announce its presence—the python spirit.