On the evening of the first Easter, as the disciples wrestled with the believability of Mary Magdalene’s claim that Jesus was alive, John 20:19-23 tells us that they huddled behind closed doors in fear of those who’d murdered their master. But then suddenly, there he was, standing in their midst unannounced, unexpected, and out of nowhere. So, to allay their fears and confusion he said, “Peace be with you,” and then invited them to inspect his wounds to see that he wasn’t a phantom. And as they became convinced that he was indeed their risen Lord, gladness overtook their souls. But, comforting them and setting the record straight about his resurrection weren’t the only items on his agenda.
After reiterating his blessing of peace to assure his disciples that just as with his sudden appearance, they could receive what he was about to say next without fear, he began bringing into focus all that their apprenticeship to him had been leading toward. He conferred on them their ministry vocation, initiated their connection to the one who would resource their ability to complete it, and described what was at stake in its fulfillment. And it must have seemed to those men as though the pieces of a puzzle were finally coming together.
When Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I also send you,” it wasn’t the first time they’d heard this. They would have recalled recently overhearing him referring to them using a nearly identical sentence as he prayed to his Father (John 17:18). And from the earliest days of their relationship with him, Jesus had called them apostles (Luke 6:13), which means sent ones. So, when he commissioned them that night with these words, they must have recognized that this was what he’d been preparing them for all along.
Then, when he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” they would have understood that this wasn’t a change of subject. Because Jesus had taught them to anticipate the Spirit’s role in empowering their lives and ministries (John 14:16-18; 16:7-15), they would have realized he meant that their being sent was directly dependent on their having received. And they wouldn’t have missed the significance of him breathing on them. The Greek word translated as Spirit here means breath. Just as in the beginning when Adam came to life by the breath of God (Genesis 2:7), they would have grasped that Jesus was inviting them to become spiritually alive by inhaling the Holy Breath.
Although this was certainly pointing forward to the Day of Pentecost when the disciples would be empowered for ministry by receiving the baptism with the Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8; 2:1-4), Jesus was also addressing their immediate need for the indwelling of the Spirit. Since saving faith rests on the belief that God has raised Jesus from the dead (Roman 10:9), this post-resurrection encounter with him provided the first opportunity for the disciples to be born again (John 3:7) according to Scripture. And it’s the indwelling of the Spirit that defines that rebirth (John 3:5-6; Romans 8:9).
The Lord’s next words can sound as though he was giving the disciples power to forgive or retain sins. But there’s nothing in the rest of the New Testament or church history that indicates they understood what he said in that way. They would have interpreted him in the context of what he’d just been saying. Jesus was clarifying the serious responsibility inherent in their calling as sent ones. Nothing less than the forgiveness of the sins of those to whom they would minister was at stake. The choice to receive or reject that forgiveness and its eternal consequences would rest on the proclamation of the gospel that was being entrusted to them.
That same gospel has been entrusted to all of us who follow in the footsteps of their faith. And it’s clear that what Jesus said to his disciples that night applies to us too. He’s called us to be his sent ones empowered by his Spirit to proclaim his sobering offer of grace to a world in desperate need.