John 20:21-23 (very shortly after the resurrection, perhaps the night of the resurrection):
...and when He (Jesus) had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
Acts 1:4-5 (likely just before the ascension of Jesus):
...but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
Acts 2:1-4 (the day of Pentecost):
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...
So most would say the apostles did not receive the Spirit until Pentecost. So what was happening on Easter evening when Jesus breathed on them and said "receive the Spirit"?
- Does this language suggest the disciples actually received the Spirit at this moment?
- If not, what was the "breathing" on them by Jesus?
- Did they temporarily receive the Spirit on Easter night for a specific purpose and then permanently gain the Spirit at Pentecost?
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5 comments:
I’ve always looked at this passage as a command. Jesus said He would send “the promise of My Father” upon them. They were to wait in the city for this promise. Jesus said the following just before He ascended.
Luke 24:49
49 "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
Acts 1:8
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
When they received the Promise of the Father, that is, when the Spirit came upon them, Peter said the following.
Acts 2:16-17
16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
17'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says,
'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY
That’s my 2 cents. Notice that Thomas wasn’t with the eleven when Jesus breathed on them.
If the phrase "receive the Spirit" was a command, it would be a very "Augustinian" command... in other words, it was a command that took zero obedience on the disciples' part - they did not have the option to NOT receive the Spirit - the Spirit simply came.
I understand that "stay in the city" was a command needing obedience (boy, would that have been a bummer to disobey that one and miss out on Pentecost!)
But let's say "receive the Spirit" IS a command, isn't "breathing" a command sound weird? Jesus actually blew air on them - doesn't that sound more mystical (for lack of a better word)? This may be the only command to the disciples that came with a breathing.
Yes.
Breathing a command does seem weird. So does receiving the Spirit before the Spirit was given, and receiving the Spirit by breathing on them. This could be one of those questions to ask Jesus one day.
Good exchange!
I had the same question this morning while reading and stumbled across this blog.
If you are familiar, I was reading Gene Edwards "The Triumph", which is part of his Chronicles of the Door series. He takes the scene that occurs in John 21 as the disciples' spirits coming to life for the first time. That now, the Holy Spirit could dwell in them and they could be one with Jesus and the Father.
Perhaps the difference is power? But, I don't know how they could receive the Spirit without power. Perhaps a baptism by fire is a different sense of receiving the Spirit.
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