The account of Jesus' first appearance in the Gospel of John (
20:19-
23; ) shows similarity to the account in the
Gospel of Luke (), in that it happened in
Jerusalem in the evening of
his resurrection from the dead. "He breathed on them" is from one Greek word , '''', The command, "receive the Holy Spirit", serves to equip the disciples for their missionary work, which is dependent on the mission of the Son, as stated in
verse 21. Readings differ as to whether the words refer to "the
present actual reception of the Holy Spirit, or a promise of its future reception.
Heinrich Meyer (1880) identified several theologians representative of both points of view.
Andreas Köstenberger suggests that this represents a symbolic promise anticipating the gift of the Spirit fifty days later at
Pentecost (
Acts 2).
John Calvin notes that here the disciples were
sprinkled with the grace of the Spirit, but not yet
saturated with the full enduement of power until Acts 2. and similarly theologian
Henry Alford warns that The giving of the Spirit at this time was linked with the forgiving on sins (see
verse 23). ==References==