John 20:19-23: Breath of God

Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park, Toronto; 03 April 2016 
by Captain Michael Ramsay

Today we will be speaking about the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. You did so well on Palm Sunday on our quiz that I have another one for us today. Let’s see how we do. [Answers below, before footnotes]

1)      When is the first time the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God shows up in Scripture?

a.       Genesis 1:1

b.      Revelation 2:4

c.       John 1:1

d.      Acts 2:4

2)      When is the first time the Holy Spirit is specifically mentioned contending with a multitude of people for their salvation?

a.       Genesis 6:3

b.      Isaiah 9:6

c.       Matthew 1:23

d.      Acts 2:4

3)      When is the first time the Bible openly talks about specific people having an indwelling of the Holy Spirit or a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit?

a.       Genesis 41:38

b.      Judges 2:7

c.       Matthew 1:18

d.      Acts 2:4

4)      What book in the Bible is an anthology of separate incidents of the Holy Spirit personally empowering people for salvation of themselves and others?

a.       Exodus

b.      Judges

c.       John

d.      Revelation

5)      When is the first time the Holy Spirit shows up chronologically in the New Testament?

a.       Matthew 1:18

b.      Mark 1:8-10

c.       Luke 1:15

d.      John 1:32

6)      When is the first time the Holy Spirit is recorded as being poured out to people after the resurrection of Christ in the New Testament?

a.       Matthew 1:18

b.      Mark 4:35

c.       John 20:22

d.      Acts 2:4

John 20:19-23: This is a really interesting passage. It is mentioned in the liturgy for many Christian churches. It is in the same chapter as the Resurrection, which every Christian church celebrates at Easter, and yet for some reason people in the 21^st Century Church often skip over this chapter and think that the Holy Spirit first shows up in Scripture in Acts 2 or that He first enters peoples lives personally in Acts 2 or that He first shows up to empower people for salvation in Acts 2 or that He first shows up in the Christian Church in Acts 2.[1] None of this is technically true[2] (unless, of course, Acts 2 is simply Luke account of John 20 here, which it could be).[3] God, the Holy Spirit is part of our life and our world at the creation of the world and God, the Holy Spirit is still apart of our life at the creation of the church and beyond.[4]

This week I have spent a lot of time contemplating the Spirit of God. We have just finished reading the Gospel of John as a congregation and I have spent a lot of time looking at articles, commentaries and resources about the life and role of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John. Let me share with us a little of what struck me this week.

First, John Chapter 1: John 1 is known as one of the great trinitarian pericopes in the Bible. What does trinitarian/trinity mean? (3-in-1). Right off the top in John’s Gospel, John tells us that Jesus is God and God is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is Jesus. John then goes on in this very same chapter, Chapter 1 of his book, to mention the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus as a dove at His baptism (1:33) and from that point on it is really interesting to look at what Jesus says about the Holy Spirit.

I have handed out a few verses for some people to read aloud, which I will ask you to do shortly but first I have another question. John uses the Greek word ‘Paraclete’ to refer to the Holy Spirit. Does anyone know what ‘Paraclete’ means? (One who is a comforter, an advocate, and/or who comes alongside). Jesus throughout this Gospel – and especially during his farewell discourse –repeatedly promises that the same Spirit of God that descended upon Him, that is within Him and that has been with God since before the creation of the world, that same Spirit of God that is in everything and that God has poured out at pivotal times in salvation history, will be our Paraclete, our comforter, our advocate.

Today we have given a number of people verses in John about our Paraclete, our comforter, our advocate, the Holy Spirit. If you have one, please read it aloud now for all of us to hear:

·         John 3:5, 'Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the [Holy] Spirit.'

·         John 3:34, 'For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the [Holy] Spirit without limit.'

·         John 7:38-39a: Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this He meant the [Holy] Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.

·         John 14:17: the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and in you.

·         John 14:26: But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

·         John 15:26: When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about me.

John has a lot to say about the Holy Spirit that is really important for us to understand today. To recap, John says:

·         The world can’t accept the Holy Spirit (John 14:17), and

·         Without the Holy Spirit no one can enter God’s Kingdom (John 3:5), but

·         Those who serve Jesus will receive the Holy Spirit (John 7:38), for

·         God gives the Holy Spirit without limit (John 3:34), and

·         The Holy Spirit will empower you to tell people about Jesus (John 15:26); so that they can be saved unto eternal life and be a part of His Kingdom forever.

The word for ‘spirit’ both in Hebrew and in Greek has the same range of meanings. What does the word ‘spirit’ mean? (Wind. The word for wind and the word for spirit in each Greek and Hebrew and in each the OT and NT is exactly the same. Hebrew, ‘Ruach’; Greek, ‘pneuma’; we can even think of God, the Holy Spirit as the Holy Wind or the very Breath of God.)[5]

This is exciting because in Acts 2 we have the Spirit coming like a wind to empower us to share the gospel;[6] In Genesis 2 (cf. Ezekiel 37) and John 20 we have God breathing His Spirit into, onto or over people. Genesis 2:7, at the creation of mankind, records, “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” The psalms (104:29) even tell us that if that Spirit of God is removed from us then we will all die. And John here in our passage today draws on that same imagery as he tells us about the coming of the Paraclete.[7] John 20:21-23, Jesus says to his disciples, probably many more than ten, eleven or even twelve of them; reading Luke into this, possibly even the people who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus are present with this crowd:[8]

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

The Holy Spirit is given here so that we can share the Good News with the World, just as Jesus did. And what is that Good News? That Good News is that, John 3:16, for God so loved the whole world that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life... in His Kingdom to come.

I have a short story for us today and then we will conclude our time here. I love everyone here and as I have been getting to know all of you more, I love you even more. I am getting to know and love the city and I am even beginning to learn about baseball as we have a great team here. But one thing that I have missed here – because I was new or for whatever reason – is ‘leading people to Christ’, being there when they receive that gift of salvation and eternal life from God. Honestly, it had been weeks and months and I was starting to wonder if it might become a year even without my having the joy of celebrating with someone as they accept the forgiveness of sins and the eternal life (where none of what we have done before – no matter how bad – even matters anymore). I even brought up this at one of our staff meetings, asking people when the last time any of us have had the joy to be there when people accepted God’s gift of forgiveness of sins. I was starting to be sad about this because I know there are people are suffering through the struggles of this life alone when they don’t need to; we all can rest in the Spirit and enjoy the comfort of the Paraclete; we can each ask Jesus to come into our life and be saved. This all was in the back of my mind as I was preparing for today. I was sad.

In the front of my mind this week was the Holy Spirit and the fact that the word ‘spirit’ means ‘wind’ or ‘air’ or ‘breath’ and that as we receive the Holy Breath, we can be saved in everything both now and forever.

And then the phone rang. I was told there was a man in the Toronto General Hospital who had a terminal respiratory illness. He was going to die from not being able to breathe the air, the wind. I was told he might not live until tomorrow. I was told he needed a minister and I was told his family wanted a Salvation Army Officer there. I was told he might be ready to accept forgiveness for his sins and receive eternal life. I ran downstairs, I told Patricia and Monica, asked for prayer and John drove me over the the hospital, he prayed and I headed upstairs to see the man and his family. And to make a long story short, this man who was dying of a lack of breath, accepted the Breath of God, the Holy Spirit and received eternal life; so that even as he dies, yet shall He live. This man accepted eternal life, God’s Holy Spirit, even on his death bed. Praise the Lord!

What about us here? Is there any in this room who have never asked Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit to come into our lives? Are there any of us here who our dying of an eternal respiratory disease? Are there any of us here who are going through and the struggles of life without being a Christian, without taking hold of the comfort God offers? Is there anyone here who hasn’t prayed to receive the Holy Spirit yet? If so, you don’t need to wait until your death bed; you don’t need to wait until your dying breath; you can accept forgiveness for sins and live forever today.

Is there anyone here who has not asked God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus into their lives yet? Would you like me to pray for you? If so come up to the front here and we will pray for you.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

Answers to Quiz:

1)  (a) Genesis 1:1 – Right in the beginning of the Bible: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

2)  (a) Genesis 6:3: Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

3)  (a) Genesis 41:38 mentions the Moses as having the Holy Spirit in him and Exodus 35:30-32 speaks about the Holy Spirit being with Bezalel son of Uri, many more example follow throughout the OT.

4)  (b) Judges

5)  (a) Matthew 1:18. Matthew 1:18 records: ‘This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:8-10 first mentions the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus at his baptism. Luke 1:15 speaks about the Spirit in terms of John the Baptist "for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born." John 1:32: John 1:1-18 implies the presence of the Holy Spirit at creation but – like Mark – first mentions Him specifically descending on Jesus at His baptism like a dove in 1:32.

6) (c) John 20:22

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[1] Cf. Gary M. Burge, ‘John’ in NIVAC Bundle 6: Gospels, Acts. NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Mi, Zondervan: 2000), 70911-70934

[2] Cf. Rodney A. Whitacre, John (IVP NT Series: IVP Academic: Downers Grove, Illinois: 1999), 482

[3] Gary M. Burge, ‘John’ in NIVAC Bundle 6: Gospels, Acts. NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Mi, Zondervan: 2000), 70952

[4] Cf. John Kistendahl, ‘2^nd Sunday of Easter: John 20:19-31: Exegetical View’ in Feasting on the Word Year C Vol 2:Lent through Eastertide, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown, ed. (Louisville, Kentucky,  Westminister John Knox Press: 2000), 14135

[5] Gregory Robbins, ‘2^nd Sunday of Easter: John 20:19-31: Exegetical View’ in Feasting on the Word Year C Vol 2:Lent through Eastertide, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown, ed. (Louisville, Kentucky,  Westminister John Knox Press: 2000), 14176

[6] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Acts 2: Scene 1. Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 12 August 2007, Swift Current Corps 23 May 2010 and 17 May 2015, and Corps 614 Regent Park Toronto 04 October 2015. On-line:http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2015/05/acts-2-scene-1.html

[7] Gerard Sloyan, John, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching,  (Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press, 1988), 225

[8]Cf. William Hendricksen, John (New Testament Commentary: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, Michigan: 2007), 460

Resurrection Reflection - Psalm 22, Acts 2:29-31, 17:30-32, Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Corinthians 15:14-22 - Christ is risen! (Christ is risen indeed!)

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army on Resurrection Sunday, 31 March 2013 and 05 April 2015; and Corps 614 Regent Park, 27 March 2016 by Captain Michael Ramsay.

Click the link below to read the text:

http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/03/a-resurrection-reflection-psalm-22-acts.html

John 12:12-19: St. John’s Palm Reading.

Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park Toronto, Palm Sunday, 20 March 2016 by Captain Michael Ramsay

To view a 2018 version presented to 614 Warehouse Mission in Cabbagetown, Toronto, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2018/03/john-1212-19-sunday-palm-reading.html

Today I have a March Break quiz for us (answers in footnotes):[1]

1) March comes in like a lion and out like a ______?

2) What day is represented in: Julius Caesar Act I, Scene II, ln 23

3) From what country did St. Patrick come?

4) What is the official colour of St. Patrick’s order?

5) The March of the Penguins was about what birds?

6) What is this?

Today is Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is a significant day in the Christian Church. Any of us who have grown up in the church or who have been going to church for a few years have inevitably been to a few Palm Sunday services. Do we know what the big deal is about Palm Sunday?

John in his gospel does a great job of telling us the meaning of Palm Sunday in his record of the triumphal entry. He uses a lot of symbolism – not unlike Shakespeare in ‘Julius Caesar’. Today we are going to pull out five pieces of that imagery and then put it back together for a full picture of what Palm Sunday looks like in our life today. First, let’s re-read John 12:12-19:

¹² The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³ They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

¹⁵ “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming,

seated on a donkey’s colt.”

¹⁶ At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

¹⁷ Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.¹⁸ Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

1. THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

Image number one: Palm Sunday is about the Triumphal entry. What is a triumph? It is victory. These days we have victory parades when teams win championships. In Regina, they officially called part of one of their busiest streets ‘the Green Mile’ for Roughrider fans spontaneously paraded down there when they won the championship. Many teams have official parades when they win championships. What about Toronto? When the Argonauts or the Blue Jays won the championship, did they have a parade, a triumphal return to the city after winning the championship? This is what is happening here. Jesus is riding into the city and it is celebrated as a triumph. But it is before the game. It is in advance of the Great Cup or Game 7, it is in anticipation of the coming victory.

2. JERUSALEM

This brings us to the second of our five images for today: What city is Jesus riding into? Jesus is entering Jerusalem. What is the significance of Jerusalem? Jerusalem is the historic capital of Judah and Israel? Now Jerusalem is part of the occupied territories. The Romans, the Superpower of the time, have troops in the city and they control the government. To some extent they even appoint the religious leaders in Jerusalem (cf. John 18). And like all superpowers they don’t tend to like rebellion and they know that if there is to be a rebellion by the Jewish people it would happen here in Jerusalem – their ancient capital city – and it would probably be now during Passover, when the population of Jerusalem overflows with so many people descending upon the city. Jerusalem is the ancient capital city of a rebellion-prone people. [2]

3. ‘HOSANNA’, ‘KING OF THE JEWS’, ‘NAME OF THE LORD’

Our third image to consider today is that of the crowds shouting. Verse 13, John records, ‘They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!”

This is significant stuff. We sing ‘Hosanna’ in a lot of songs. We always mention ‘Hosanna’ at Palm Sunday. ‘Hosanna’ is what they are shouting as Jesus is riding into the capital of occupied Judea right under the noses of the Romans even as their collaborators, the Jewish religious leaders, have already put a plan into motion to kill Jesus. Do we know what Hosanna means (Verse 13; cf. Psalm 118:25-26)? Hosanna means ‘O Save!’, ‘Salvation!’, ‘Save us!’ [3]

 Jesus is triumphantly entering the historic capital of Judah – which is occupied by the Romans and people are saying, ‘Jesus! You are our king! You –like all kings are supposed to – you come here in the Name of the Lord! Jesus, you – not Caesar, not the Romans, not the chief priests, not the rich, not the powerful elite – Jesus, you are our King; save us from Rome and save us from our present leaders!’[4] Hosanna. Save us!

The establishment have their people in position: governors in place of recent kings, rotating high priests, soldiers to keep order but Jesus (who is from Galilee which is a particularly rebellious region of a rebellious people) is triumphantly entering the town and the crowds are running out to meet him, calling, ‘save us’, save us! Hosanna, o save us.’ The crowds know he is the Messiah. [5]

 They want him to save them from the occupation and they are willing to serve him as king. This is no small thing. Think of what superpowers do when crowds of people gather in opposition. Think of Guantanamo Bay. Think of Abu Gharib. Think of Afghanistan. Think of Iraq. Rome, her sympathizers and the establishment don’t want rivals there and then any more than Washington and her establishment want rivals here and now. These people, the great crowds, however are risking their lives shouting ‘Salvation, King of the Jews, save us!’

4. PALM BRANCHES

And this brings us to the fourth of our five images for today, the palm branches: John tells us also that the people lining the streets aren’t just yelling, ‘save us king’. This is important.  They are waving palm branches. Today is Palm Sunday. Can anyone tell me the significance of palm leaves at this time and place? The palm branches are important.[6]  What do the Palm branches represent?

They didn’t just pick up palm branches because palm branches happen to be near-by; they pick up the palm branches because palm branches are a nationalistic symbol (cf. 1 Maccabees 13:51, 2 Macabbees 10:7; cf. also Leviticus 23:40, Psalm 92:12, Matthew 21:8; Mark 11:8). It would be like if Canada was going to seek independence from the US or someone else and we were waving maple leaves or flags with the maple leaf on it – everyone recognises that as a symbol of Canada. This moment probably would have had an even greater effect on the authorities of Jesus’ day than a similar one did on Canadian authorities in 1967 when France’s President Charles de Gualle cried out, ‘Vive le Quebec Libre!” while visiting Quebec. The palm branch is a national symbol being raised in the traditional capital of an occupied territory. This is where John drives home that Jesus isn’t just a metaphorical or a spiritual king, Jesus is a political king.[7] He is the King of Kings and the His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, is at hand.[8] And John’s placing of vv.14-15 after v.13 further conveys Jesus’ and John’s approval of this claim.

5. DONKEY 

This brings us to our fifth and final image for today: the donkey. Verse 14: ‘Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: 15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” John quotes Zechariah’s well known prophesy about the king who will save and rule Israel as he comes into his kingdom on a donkey (Zec 9:9). And here and now comes Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. There is more to this too because a donkey is not a war horse a donkey is an ambassador’s mount. It is an animal of peace (cf. Genesis 49:10-11, Isaiah 40:9, 44:2)![9] The Romans claimed that their wars brought the ‘Pax Romana’, the Roman Peace, but John here is pointing out that Jesus – not Caesar – is the Prince of Peace.[10] Jesus is King of the Jews and more than that Jesus is King of the World! [11]

  These are exciting times. Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem at this time and place in history is his crossing the Rubicon. There is no turning back. And this is what Palm Sunday is: Palm Sunday is the point of no turning back. Jesus is marching into the capital to great fanfare and we who are gathered here today, we can celebrate this moment. We can cast ourselves alongside the men, women and children watching the parade and cheering as our King rides into town. This is a bigger deal than anything that has ever happened to this or any community to that point in time. This moment in our text today is a moment when the world recognizes the arrival of the one whom as Isaiah 9:6-7 declares, “The government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever! The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this!” Praise the Lord. Today is Palm Sunday and Palm Sunday is a day of celebration. Jesus is King! Do you believe that? Do you serve Him?

Today if there are any of us here who don’t yet serve Him and haven’t laid our palm branches in front of the king of heaven and earth – now is our chance to accept His salvation from the pain of suffering through all the evils of this world alone. Jesus is King and He will – Hosanna - save us. He will be with us in the very midst of all our difficulties and challenges in our world today. And some tomorrow soon we will all be raised with Him to be in paradise where there is no more pain and no more suffering! Do you believe that? Do you serve Him?

 Jesus rode into Jerusalem 2000 years ago but even now it is not too late; so why don’t you join us now in celebrating his arrival and in anticipating triumphant return – pledging our loyalty to the King of Kings by laying our palm branches before the King.

You were each given a symbolic palm branch today when you arrived and now as we sing a song together I invite as to lay our palm branches at the altar today to acknowledge our acceptance and allegiance to Jesus Christ as King and our reception of His salvation both now and forever. Come now and lay your branches before the King…

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] 1) Lamb, 2) March 15, 3) Scotland, 4) Blue, 5) Penguins, a palm sundae

[2] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/V. Teaching and Travels Toward Jerusalem (9:51-19:44)/D. Teachings on Times of Crisis and Judgment (12:1-13:35)/7. A call to repentance (13:1-9), Book Version: 4.0.2

[3] Marvin R. Vincent, ‘Hosanna’ in Word Studies in the New Testament Vol. II, (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2009), p. 216.

[4] But cf. Fred B. Craddock, Luke (Interpretation: a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: John Knox Press: Louisville, Ken., 1990), 227. Luke (ironically) alone among the gospels does not record these inherent political overtones.

[5] Cf. N.T. Wright, 'God and Caesar, Then and Now'. Available on-line at http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_God_Caesar.pdf

[6] Cf. Colin G. Kruse, “John: An Introduction and Commentary”. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 4), CD ROM Disc: Tyndale Old and New Testament Commentaries (US) (3.0f) version 2009-10-09T22:50:34Z.

[7] Cf. NT Wight, How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels (HaperOne: New York, NY: 2012), 126-154.

[8] Cf. William Hendriksen, John (New Testament Commentary: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, Michigan: 2007), 187-188.

[9] Andreas J. Kostenberger, ESV Study Bible note on 12:15 (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Illinois: 2007), page 2048.

[10] Cf. Colin G. Kruse, “John: An Introduction and Commentary.” Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 4), CD ROM Disc: Tyndale Old and New Testament Commentaries (US) (3.0f) version 2009-10-09T22:50:34Z.

[11] Cf. Colin G. Kruse, “John: An Introduction and Commentary.” Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 4), CD ROM Disc: Tyndale Old and New Testament Commentaries (US) (3.0f) version 2009-10-09T22:50:34Z.