HE BREATHED ON THEM THE HOLY SPIRIT
Many teach that Jesus gave the disciples the Holy Spirit after the ressurection and then they were baptized by the Spirit at pentecost. They teach this to show a two part giving of the Spirit to the believer. Is this what happened? John 20:22 is the only verse that speaks on this but if we look at all the accounts of the encounter between he and the disciples after his ressurection we will see what really happened.
John 16:7-16
7Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
15All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
16A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Jesus is saying here that he must go or else they cant benefit from the Holy Spirit that was to come to them when he goes to the Father. The purpose for the Spirit he says here is to guide them in truth and show them things to come.
Jesus after his ressurection tells the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise. What promise? The one he made here in John 16. Look at the passage in Acts 1.
4And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The promise was that they would recieve the Spirit in Jerusalem and that they would have power to witness to the world.
Now lets look at the passages associated with John 20 on the Spirit breathed on them.
Matthew 28 gives us his thoughts on the first encounter of the disciples and Jesus after Jesus was ressurected.
16Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Mark 16: 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Luke 24: 36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48And ye are witnesses of these things.
49And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
John 20:19Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
20And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.
21Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Clearly all these passages talk about one event when Jesus first appears to the disciples and shows them who he is and explains to them what they will do in the Kingdom.
The reason he breathed on them is the same as in Lukes account in verse 45 of Luke 24.
It was for their ability to understand, to take in what he was saying. They had to have the Spirit to understand and he gives them some type of ability through the Spirit to understand the reason for all this. Luke just uses a different way of saying the same thing John does and the other two leave out this point of view. The scriptures clearly teach that the promise of the Holy Spirit was to be given at Pentecost in Jerusalem and to say otherwise would be contrary to scripture. There is no teaching in scripture of a temporary filling and then the fulness of the Spirit later and this passage gives no reason for us to do so either. The Spirit baptism is on all believers at their salvation experience as Paul teaches us (Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 12) and the bible never contradicts this. Taking a verse and making a doctrine against what the rest of scripture teaches is clearly the definition of a false teaching.
John 16:7-16
7Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
12I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
15All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
16A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Jesus is saying here that he must go or else they cant benefit from the Holy Spirit that was to come to them when he goes to the Father. The purpose for the Spirit he says here is to guide them in truth and show them things to come.
Jesus after his ressurection tells the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise. What promise? The one he made here in John 16. Look at the passage in Acts 1.
4And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
5For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
The promise was that they would recieve the Spirit in Jerusalem and that they would have power to witness to the world.
Now lets look at the passages associated with John 20 on the Spirit breathed on them.
Matthew 28 gives us his thoughts on the first encounter of the disciples and Jesus after Jesus was ressurected.
16Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Mark 16: 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Luke 24: 36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48And ye are witnesses of these things.
49And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
John 20:19Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
20And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.
21Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Clearly all these passages talk about one event when Jesus first appears to the disciples and shows them who he is and explains to them what they will do in the Kingdom.
The reason he breathed on them is the same as in Lukes account in verse 45 of Luke 24.
It was for their ability to understand, to take in what he was saying. They had to have the Spirit to understand and he gives them some type of ability through the Spirit to understand the reason for all this. Luke just uses a different way of saying the same thing John does and the other two leave out this point of view. The scriptures clearly teach that the promise of the Holy Spirit was to be given at Pentecost in Jerusalem and to say otherwise would be contrary to scripture. There is no teaching in scripture of a temporary filling and then the fulness of the Spirit later and this passage gives no reason for us to do so either. The Spirit baptism is on all believers at their salvation experience as Paul teaches us (Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 12) and the bible never contradicts this. Taking a verse and making a doctrine against what the rest of scripture teaches is clearly the definition of a false teaching.
posted by Stacy at 5:27 PM
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