Jesus Breathed on His Disciples

“And…Jesus breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.”

On the evening of Resurrection Sunday, nine disciples had gathered together, hiding in a locked room for fear of the Jewish and Roman authorities. They had finished a meal of broiled fish, bread, and some honey. They were probably discussing when it would be safe to escape Jerusalem and put the threat of imminent arrest behind them. Back home in the safety of the Upper Galilee region, they could explore their options on how best to continue the “Jesus as Messiah” movement.

As they were quietly conversing with each other, a resurrected Jesus suddenly appeared in front of them. They were instantly both shocked and  horrified. Those who suddenly found themselves standing next to Him struggled to back away. This was obviously an apparition of Jesus, but was it sent from Heaven or Sheol {aka Hell}?

Jesus first said, “Peace be with you.”(Luke 24:36; John 20:19) While the disciples heard His familiar voice, they were still terrified. They knew it was Jesus, but they were not sure if it was a living version of Jesus or a dead version {ghost} temporarily sent from Sheol with a message (Luke 24:37). The problem they were struggling with was simple. How could what they were seeing and hearing actually be the same Jesus who, only 48 hours earlier had been tortured, crucified, buried yet now appeared looking normal and able to walk through walls? Everybody knows that while a spirit of the dead can enter a locked room, a person of flesh and blood cannot. Jesus then asked them why they were so astounded at the thought that He had been resurrected from death (Luke 24:38)? After all, He had told them in advance he was going to be tried, crucified and then bring Himself back from the dead (John 10:18). Right?

Jesus then showed them the nail scars on His wrists, His heels and the wound in His side apparently still open where the spear had pierced His heart (John 19:34; John 20:27). This did not help the situation because if He was really alive, why did He still carry scars and an open wound? So He told them to touch Him and see for themselves that He was alive in the flesh as opposed to a spirit that has no flesh (Luke 24:39-4o). But that request fell on deaf ears because it was still Passover and an observant Jew could not touch a dead person as they would then become ritualistically unclean. At this point, the disciples may have thought they were experiencing a mass hallucination. Therefore, they no longer trusted their senses. We will later read that the disciple Thomas was absent from the room. However, when he returned, he concluded they had all been fooled and that he personally would have to put his fingers in the wounds in order to know the absolute truth (John 20:24-29).

So a now exasperated Jesus said to them, ”Do you have any food here?” (Luke 24:41). “And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and some honeycomb.” (Luke 24:42) One can imagine that the room was dead quiet and every disciple leaned in as they all watched Jesus wide-eyed and with bated breath. “And He took the food, and He ate it in front of them.”(Luke 24:43) With a collective sigh of relief, the disciples were now convinced that they were seeing their Lord risen from the dead (John 20:20).

However, their elation was short lived when Jesus began to scold them for their adamant disbelief that He could raise Himself from the grave (Mark 16:14). He had told them He would do this on several occasions (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; Mark 8:31, 9:31; Mark 10:33-34; Luke 9:22). He had even told them of His betrayal during the Last Supper, only three days earlier (Matthew 26; 21, 24).

He then softened His tone and performed a supernatural act that has left biblical scholars scratching their heads.  

                          THE GREAT COMMISSION

“Then Jesus said to them a second time, Peace be to you: as My Father has sent Me, even so I {now} send you” (John 20:21).

And after He said this, “…He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive you the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22)

Then Jesus said, “The sins of anyone you remit {forgive}. They are {now} remitted unto them; and whoever’s sins are retained, they are retained.” (John 20:23) Meaning, if a disciple or believer shares the message of Jesus with a person and they believe in Him and repent of their sins, that person can confidently know that God has forgiven them. However, if a person rejects the message of Jesus, then their sins are retained and they remain separated from God.

The Catholic Church has twisted this verse in order to try and legitimize their doctrine of the priesthood playing an integral part in the forgiveness process and thus maintaining control over parishioners. Catholics are taught that Jesus only granted the Apostles and their successors {Popes, Bishops & priests} the spiritual authority to forgive sins on His behalf. Therefore, it is only a priest who has received the Apostolic Blessing from the Pope or a Bishop that can forgive, on behalf of Christ, the confessions of a repentant believer. In other words a priest, along with Mary, are necessary intermediaries between a believer and Jesus. This is absolutely and unequivocally unscriptural and played a major role in the Reformation of 1517 with the creation of the Protestant Church.

This act of Jesus breathing on the disciples first reminds one of the time God the Word formed the body of Adam from the moist soil of the Earth then breathed life into him (Genesis 2:7). So this act both then and now symbolizes and designates a “New Creation” by way of a spiritual rebirth. The disciples, having seen with their own eyes the resurrected Jesus, now became firm believers. Thus the old adage, ‘seeing is believing’. Because of their belief, they could now be indwelled by the Holy Spirit and thus “reborn in the Spirit” (John 3:3). They were not yet Apostles as they were still learning and not boldly preaching Christ Crucified. That would occur fifty days later.

Some Biblical scholars see this event as a Mini Pentecost. A partial or temporary filling of the Spirit to empower the disciples through the next fifty days at which time they would receive the full indwelling of the Holy Spirit during the annual Feast of Pentecost.

A second theory is that this event was only a symbolic gesture or promise that the gift of the Spirit would come after Jesus ascended and His physical presence replaced by the Holy Spirit or “Comforter” just as He had told them earlier (John 16:7). But this theory is doubtful as we have an eyewitness quoting Jesus as saying, “Receive you the Holy Spirit”. So Jesus verbally announced then physically breathed out the Holy Spirit that would have followed His command and indwell the disciples. This makes the first theory the most probable explanation concerning this event.

Interestingly, the disciple Thomas was not present at this appearance of Jesus, and we do not read that he received this particular indwelling before Pentecost.

The act of the Breath of God giving life also appears in the Book of Ezekiel when we read that dry bones grew flesh and came alive (Ezekiel 37:9-10). And again in the Book of Job when he state that, “The breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).

The main idea being expressed is that Jesus had now paid in full the sin debt for all mankind by way of His self-sacrifice on the cross. His resurrection from the dead was proof that God the Father had accepted His blood sacrifice as sufficient to ratify a New {more perfect} Covenant. The Godhead had authored this covenant before the creation of the Earth and Jesus’ self-sacrifice on the cross had ratified it (Revelation 13:8). Now Jesus was authorized by God the Father to make salvation and eternal life available to mankind under the covenant understandings. A repentant believer can now receive forgiveness of sin, be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, become reborn and receive eternal life. Further, the followers of Christ will now be empowered to create a religious movement that is fully supported by the authority of God the Father and backed by the power of God the Holy Spirit.

Please note, the Christian Church believes in one God whose being is composed of three distinct, co-equal, co-eternal entities of one substance. God the Father, God the Word {aka Son, Jesus Christ} and God the Holy Spirit comprise the singular yet plural God. In Hebrew, the singular word “God” is in the plural form.

The Greek word for “breathed”  is ‘emphusao’ and is extremely rare in the New Testament. So, by using this particular word to describe a specific action, John is making it clear that Jesus is personally establishing a God ordained new system. And it is through this system that mankind can be forgiven of their sin nature and transition into a new creation just as Adam was originally a sin free new creation. Christ is physically showing His disciples that He is now able to personally imparting from Himself to them the Holy Spirit. It is this action that will allow them the spiritual and intellectual ability to personally connect with God their Creator. Thus, mankind {Adam} who was once intimately connected to God, then sinned separating themselves from God, now has a path to reconnect with their Creator. They can now become spiritually alive and receive a guarantee of eternal life.  

                                        BUT WHY NOW?

But why did Jesus breath the Holy Spirit into them now if they were destined to receive it again fifty days later at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4)?

Jesus initially said to them, “Peace be with you”. This was literally a gentle way to calmly announce to His disciples of His presence using His familiar voice. The phrase also intimates that they should have no fear of Him. The second time He spoke these word He was literally giving a physical show of the invisible indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But this act was also prophetic because the disciples would soon receive a second physical manifestation of the spiritual indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

THE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE OF THE INVISIBLE HOLY SPIRIT

During the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit appeared as a literal light much like the flickering tongue of a flame. This sign appeared over the heads of each disciple. It was this full indwelling that caused them to stand and boldly start preaching to the Temple crowds. They explained that Jesus was the Messiah who was sacrificed for the remission of sin. So Jesus gave them an initial indwelling of the Holy Spirit in much the same way as it was in the Old Testament.

At that time, the Holy Spirit indwelled a certain person to perform a certain task which, when completed, then left. King David found this very frustrating (Psalm 51:11). Thus, literally Jesus had initially given them the Holy Spirit to sustain their faith for the following fifty days. Figuratively it helped explained a new system consisting of a permanent spiritual indwelling of all future believers. And prophetically, it helped to explain the most significant reason that the Feast of Pentecost existed. The Jews thought God established this feast only as a reminder of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai when in fact, it was always a shadow prophecy. The feast was primarily created as a celebration of the day the Holy Spirit would arrive. At that time, it would now be able to eternally indwell a believer. It also officially set aside the Temple system based on the Mosaic Covenant which only provided failure and judgement. While the new improved Church Age Covenant based on the self-sacrifice of Christ which provides grace, mercy and eternal life.

Further, this question concerning why there was a pre indwelling of the Holy Spirit is also addressed in the very next verse. Here we read that the indwelling was a specific empowerment that gave the Christian Church the authority to forgive sin (John 20:23).

The ultimate meaning of this event is a proclamation of authority. It means that all Christians {the Church} are now authorized and empowered to explain the terms of God’s forgiveness (John 20:23). This explanation is a blessing to those that hear and believe, and a dire warning to those who hear, contemplate and reject the offer of forgiveness. This is what Jesus referred to as the Unforgivable Sin. A person hardens their heart, refuses to repent and rejects the offer of forgiveness. Therefore, their sins are unforgivable (Matthew 12:31).

On a closing note, in the Greek New Testament, the definite article “the” is not found before the words “Holy Spirit”. This helps support the idea that Jesus was imparting a helping gift of the Spirit or a spiritual presence to the disciples rather than a  full indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus initially gathered His disciples with the phrase “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” His disciples then experienced an educational period of forty months. His ministry now ends by providing the ability to renew mankind in the eyes of God with the indwelling of the Breath of God. The same Breath that brough spiritual and physical life to Adam. All Christians are now the continuing presence of Jesus on Earth. They have been commissioned to preach that the death of Jesus brought redemption from sin; that a person’s sins can be forgiven and that they can now receive eternal life. Before Jesus, this was an unheard of ability. Even today, there is no other religion that can make this guaranteed promise of eternal life in the presence of God. Therefore, Jesus’ actions on Resurrection Sunday was His way of gently introducing the “Comforter” first to His disciples so as to emotionally prepare them for the coming supernatural spectacle of a full indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

At Mount Sinai {c. 1,500 BC}, God descended to the Earth in an extremely violent display of natural forces. There was thick black smoke, a gigantic fountain of fire, the piercing sound of continuous trumpet blasts and the entire mountain shook from violent earthquakes (Exodus 19:16-19). This was the atmosphere when Israel received the Law and became a nation. In May of 33 AD, the Holy Spirit descended with a strong fresh wind and a tongue of fire that separated into individual tongues each resting on a disciple (Acts 2:1-4). It was then they were indwelled by the Holy Spirt and the worldwide Christian Church Age was born.

Because, the Holy Spirt descended on each individual follower, Jesus could say, “Surely I am with {each of} you always”. He could now achieve this promise through the Holy Spirit indwelling each individual believer. It is this individual presence of the Holy Spirit that will power the Resurrection and Rapture of each believer. The Apostles were now empowered and directed by Jesus to preach to all people of all nations in the Temple’s plaza. These foreigners were at once in solidarity with each other as they all heard and understood the Apostle’s message in their own native tongue (Acts 2:6). This had not occurred since the confounding of tongues at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). Man was now no longer attempting to climb up to God. Instead, God, through Christ, was now able to reach down to mankind. The failed Temple with its laws and judgement was replaced with the wildly successful Church Age of grace and mercy.  

 PROPHETIC ANNUAL JEWISH FEASTS REVEALED

Jesus has now satisfied the prophecy of the Feast of Passover with His sacrifice on the cross. He satisfied the prophecy of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Feast of First Fruits with His burial and Resurrection. Now, He has satisfied the prophecy of the Feast of Pentecost with the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The Fall Feast of Trumpets is the shadow prophecy of the Resurrection and Rapture. The Fall Feast of Yom Kippur represents the Tribulation Period. And Christ will satisfy the shadow prophecy of the 7^th and final Feast of Tabernacles or Booths at His Second Coming. It is during this time that He, as God the Word and Messiah, dwells with mankind for the next one thousand years. This Millennial Reign is also known by Jews and Christians as the Messianic {Christ} Kingdom Age (Isaiah 65:20-25; Revelation 20:1-6).

It is not a question of if these final three prophecies will happen, but only a question of when.