Our English bibles tell us in John 20:22, "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:"
But the literal translation of Verse 22 from the Greek text for the term "He breathed on them," it says literally "He breathed in." That is it! "He breathed in and said to them." What does that mean that He breathed in?
Some people point out the fact that the word for breathe is found in two places in the Old Testament, one is in Genesis 2:7, where the Lord literally breathed into the face of Adam and he became a living soul. And then in Ezekiel 37:9, where he tells Ezekiel to go out and prophecy, and the wind comes and blows on the dead bones and they become alive.
But the difference between this instance in John 20:22 and the two places I just mentioned is that in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, in Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 37:9 it has what is called the preposition EIS with the accusative.
It says God breathed into Adam. The wind and breath of God breathed into the dead bones. There is no prepositional phrase here in John 20:22. It is just the word breathed in.
God breathed in, He took a breath inward, and He said Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
But notice that it does not say that they received the Holy Spirit, because this text is where many get the "two experiences" where here they were saved, and in Acts Chapter 2, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a "second experience" that every Christian needs. The problem here is that Jesus gave them the command, receive the Holy Ghost. It doesn't say they received Him!
Jesus Breathed on his disciples before Pentecost - In Reply on John 20 - 2 years ago
John 20
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.
Breath is often a picture of the Spirit (in fact, the Hebrew word for Spirit is also the word for breath), so Jesus"breathed"on the men while He was standing with them in His physical presenceto indicate what He was preparing to do later by theSpirit.Therefore, Jesus was not imparting theSpirit tothem in John 20 in any real sense. He was promising to do so later at Pentecost.
We can be anointed for tasks unto the Lord. As in Matthew 26:37-46. The Body of Christ is Jesus's feet, his hands, his mouth, his Words. His heat is MERCY.
I oft compare evangelizing to swimming. It's almost 4th of July :) Some people walk in up to their ankles, not sure they have Jesus with them. Some get in up to the knees boldly, but don't want to get their clothes wet. Then people like me, jump in the deep, get soaked and splash Jesus on everybody. When He anoints you, He's working through you. If you remember how you came to believe; you know enough to tell someone else.
Our English bibles tell us in John 20:22, "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:"
But the literal translation of Verse 22 from the Greek text for the term "He breathed on them," it says literally "He breathed in." That is it! "He breathed in and said to them." What does that mean that He breathed in?
Some people point out the fact that the word for breathe is found in two places in the Old Testament, one is in Genesis 2:7, where the Lord literally breathed into the face of Adam and he became a living soul. And then in Ezekiel 37:9, where he tells Ezekiel to go out and prophecy, and the wind comes and blows on the dead bones and they become alive.
But the difference between this instance in John 20:22 and the two places I just mentioned is that in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, in Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 37:9 it has what is called the preposition EIS with the accusative.
It says God breathed into Adam. The wind and breath of God breathed into the dead bones. There is no prepositional phrase here in John 20:22. It is just the word breathed in.
God breathed in, He took a breath inward, and He said Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
But notice that it does not say that they received the Holy Spirit, because this text is where many get the "two experiences" where here they were saved, and in Acts Chapter 2, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a "second experience" that every Christian needs. The problem here is that Jesus gave them the command, receive the Holy Ghost. It doesn't say they received Him!
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.
Breath is often a picture of the Spirit (in fact, the Hebrew word for Spirit is also the word for breath), so Jesus"breathed"on the men while He was standing with them in His physical presenceto indicate what He was preparing to do later by theSpirit.Therefore, Jesus was not imparting theSpirit tothem in John 20 in any real sense. He was promising to do so later at Pentecost.
We can be anointed for tasks unto the Lord. As in Matthew 26:37-46. The Body of Christ is Jesus's feet, his hands, his mouth, his Words. His heat is MERCY.
I oft compare evangelizing to swimming. It's almost 4th of July :) Some people walk in up to their ankles, not sure they have Jesus with them. Some get in up to the knees boldly, but don't want to get their clothes wet. Then people like me, jump in the deep, get soaked and splash Jesus on everybody. When He anoints you, He's working through you. If you remember how you came to believe; you know enough to tell someone else.
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