82 Dimensions of Baptism
this case thus signifies that Peter and his associates have cast off their
allegiance to a temple-centered ideology in light of a series of divine
interventions that culminate in the spontaneous, autonomous outpouring of
the Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is an irrefutable sign of God's acceptance
of these persons (cf. 15.6-9) and household baptism, in this narrative
context, both demonstrates the incontrovertible geosocial progress of the
mission and establishes the household as the new culture center for the
people of God.^27
- Household Baptisms in Philippi (Acts 16.11-40)
The narrative sequence Luke provides of Paul's proclaiming good news in
Philippi is punctuated by two scenes of household baptism, a remarkable
coincidence that begs for explanation. I will argue that, in the same way
the Cornelius-episode establishes the household as 'culture center' over
against a Jerusalem/temple-centered ideology, so what takes place in
Philippi undercuts the unqualified power of Rome.
That Rome is particularly on display is evident from the descriptive
detail with which Luke presents this series of interlocking accounts:
- Philippi and Neapolis were important Roman settlements in the area
Luke portrays (16.11-12); - Philippi is a Roman colony (KOACOVICC; 16.12)—that is, 'Rome in
microcosm';^28 - Luke reflects civic pride common in Roman antiquity by referring
to Philippi as 'a leading city';^29
- It is also possible that household baptism establishes a center from which the
mission might advance further (cf., e.g., Judge, Social Pattern, p. 36; Matson, House-
hold Conversion Narratives, p. 110), but this possibility is not developed by Luke in
the case of Cornelius (with regard to the tradition that Cornelius's house became the
site of a church, Brad Blue refers to Jerome's Letter 108 to Eustochium ['The Influence
of Jewish Worship on Luke's Presentation on the Early Church', in I. Howard Marshall
and David Peterson (eds.), Witness to the Gospel: The Theology of Acts (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1998), pp. 473-97 (p. 408 n. 24)]. Instead, what happens here serves to
demonstrate theologically that the mission of God is not grounded in a Jerusalem-
based ideology [see esp. 15.7-11]). - Thus Ben Witherington III, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical
Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), p. 488. - See Jerome H. Neyrey, 'Luke's Social Location of Paul: Cultural Anthropology
and the Status of Paul in Acts', in Ben Witherington III (ed.), History, Literature and
Society in the Book of Acts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 251-