John 20:19-23: Breath of God

Presented to The Salvation Army Corps 614 Regent Park, Toronto; 03 April 2016 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 12 April 2026 by Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay 

 

This is the 2026 version. To view the 2026 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2016/03/john-20-breath-of-god.html   

  

Today we will continue from last week, looking at John Chapter 20. Today will be speaking about the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. First today, I have a little quiz for us. 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 1:2 

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 21st Century Church often skip over this part of the chapter and thus may think that the Holy Spirit first shows up in Scripture in Acts 2 or that He first enters people's 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 a part of our life at the creation of the church and beyond.[4] 

  

Today we are looking at chapter 20 of the book of John, There is only one more chapter left in the book so I thought we should review a little bit about what happened in the rest of the book – specifically relating to the Holy Spirit – so that we have some context for our text today. To recap the book of John... 

  

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, 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 people to read aloud, which I will ask you to do shortly but first I have another question for us. 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’ is a homonym in both in Hebrew and in Greek. Do we know what the English word for ‘spirit’ can also be translated as in both Hebrew and Greek the Bible? Wind. The word for ‘wind’ and the word for ‘spirit’ in each Greek and Hebrew, in each the OT and the NT, are homonyms. The Hebrew is ‘Ruach’; The Greek word is ‘pneuma’; we can, and probably should, 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 3:16-17, ”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]; For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” 

  

I have a short story for us today and then we will conclude our time here. This story is from 10 years ago, when we served in Toronto. My appointment before Toronto was Swift Current, Sk. There, like here, I met many people in the larger community and thus often had the opportunity to share my faith. My Toronto appointments were mostly just in churches so there weren’t as many opportunities to ‘lead people to Christ’. I was starting to wonder how long if it might be before I celebrate with someone as they accept the forgiveness of sins and the eternal life that comes with receiving the Spirit. 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 because I know there are people 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 serving in Toronto. People were suffering. I knew God could help them – and I couldn’t find the opportunity to point people to that salvation, that comfort, that help.  

  

In the front of my mind then was the book of John and the Holy Spirit and the fact that the word ‘spirit’ also 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. (This was before Covid) 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; I was told his family wanted a Salvation Army Officer. I was told he might be ready to accept forgiveness for his sins, peace, comfort, and eternal life. I ran downstairs, I told my staff, asked for prayer and one of them drove me to 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? Salvation is important for eternity. It is also important for now. God can help us in the here and now as well as forever. He can get us through anything. He can. So I ask, is there any in this room who have never asked Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit to breathe salvation into our lives? Are there any of us here who, in our post-Covid world, are dying of an eternal respiratory disease? Are there any of us here who are going through all the struggles of life without taping into 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 don’t need to live another moment without the very breath of God in your life and lungs; you can accept the real comfort of God, and forgiveness for sins today – and experience it for ever more. 

  

Is there anyone here who has not asked God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus into their lives yet? Would you like us to pray for you? God can get you through anything. 

  

Let us pray. 

www.sheepspeak.com 

  

Answers to Quiz: 

1)  (a) Genesis 1:1-2: 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, ‘2nd 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, ‘2nd 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,  Westminster 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 

John 20: So that You May Believe

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, Resurrection (Easter) Sunday, 17 April 2022 and 01 April 2026 by Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay 

This is the 2026 version; to view the 2022 version click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2022/04/john-20-so-that-you-may-believe.html

 

Many things happened in our Resurrection Day text. Here we have the first preacher of the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus rose from the grave. This woman, Mary Magdalen is the first Christian teacher / preacher / proclaimer of the resurrection. She doesn’t quite get it all yet. But she proclaims what she sees to Peter and another person, presumably John. 

 

Next in our Resurrection Day text, after they hear the Good News John and Peter run to the tomb as fast as they can, I assume, to see for themselves! John gets there first and stops at the door, examining the scene and taking the whole thing in. Peter – like a child or younger sibling – comes running up behind him, roars past John, who is stopped at the tomb then seems to call out: “I win! I was here first. I won!” 

 

They take it all in. They see Jesus’ burial clothes lying there – but Jesus is gone. It says John saw all of this and believed but he did not understand. Then the disciples just went home. I can only imagine. What else could they do? …if they don’t understand? They know Jesus is gone and maybe they will know he has raised from the dead but they don’t quite understand, why? How? What next? Where is He? What is happening? They don’t understand 

 

Now it seems that Mary had gone back out to show them the tomb and, of course, the boys went running off ahead. When she gets there Mary stays outside the tomb even after the boys leave. She’s crying, and crying, and crying. So much is going on. She loves Jesus every bit as much as the boys do. I imagine she is completely overwhelmed by the immensity of it all. She bends over to look in the tomb herself again and she sees two angels where Jesus’ would have been laying. 

 

They turn to her -I don’t imagine she recognizes them as angels yet but maybe she does – and they ask her, ‘why are you crying?’ She answers them and then she turns around and when she does, she sees Jesus. But she doesn’t recognize Him at first – understandably: she is crying – she is probably trying to avoid eye contact. And anyway, when is the last time you went to visit someone’s grave and they tapped you on the shoulder and started speaking with you? No wonder she doesn’t recognize Him immediately. 

 

Jesus also asks her ‘why are you crying’? Why is everybody asking her this? You’d think everyone would know why someone would be crying at a graveside, really! Especially if the tombstone and everything was in place but person you went to see wasn’t there anymore. But Jesus does ask her, ‘why are you crying?’ 

 

She thinks He is the gardener; so, He asks, ‘who are you looking for?’ I imagine He is just waiting for her to look up and see who He is or even stop crying a bit, take a breath, and listen to His voice. I imagine that is why He keeps speaking to her like this: ‘why are you crying?’ ‘Who are you looking for?’ So she will stop and pay attention. She talks to Him like He is the gardener, probably looking away and the He eventually just says, ‘Mary!’ and then she recognizes Him. 

 

She cries out to Him and I imagine she tries to hug him but Jesus says, “remember to social distance”, “No touchie”. No, that’s not what this means. He says, don’t detain me, I still have to go see My Father, Our Father, My God, Our God. 

 

Mary then begins to understand a little bit about what the boys didn’t’ understand and she runs off to tell them that she saw Jesus. Mary for the second time in our text is playing the part of the first evangelist: sharing the Good News of Jesus being raised from the dead and telling of her interaction and relationship with the resurrected Christ! 

 

That evening many of the disciples are gathered together. They are concerned. They lock all of the doors – in light of everything that has been happening and what they know and do not yet understand, they are afraid of the Jewish leaders. 

 

Picture this with me then. They are trying not to be noticed. They are afraid. They are hiding. The doors are locked. And then in the middle of the room, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “peace be with you”. I picture a similar scene as when He was speaking with Mary earlier. I wonder how long He was standing in their midst before they actually heard, listened to, and recognized Him. After however long, He then shows His hands and His side, with the wounds from His crucifixion. Everyone there is excited! No Kidding! When is the last time you went to someone’s funeral and they showed up at the lunch afterwards?! …showing you the scars from how they died. 

 

He says again to them ‘peace be with you’ – I imagine this is after the commotion has died down a bit and everyone has had their turn touching Him and greeting Him.  ‘Peace be with you’ He says, Verses 21-23, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And then he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.” 

 

Now this is very important: On that first day of the week, right at the resurrection, Verse 22, we have the Advent of the Holy Spirit infilling people in the New Testament! Not forty days later in Acts Chapter 2. Acts Chapter 2 is about something entirely different. But also this, of course, isn’t the first time the Holy Spirt shows up in the Bible – He was present at creation – and before. He is there at Jesus’ baptism. He is there in John Chapter One. Here, in John Chapter Twenty, on this the resurrection day, Jesus breathes and His Holy Spirit fills the disciples. They are filled with the Holy Ghost. 

 

Now then Thomas, for some reason, wasn’t with them. They tell him the whole story but he doesn’t buy it. He thinks they are pranking him or something! So he says unless I see and touch Him too, I don’t believe you! 

 

Now Jesus is nice enough to accommodate him. Later they are all in the same house, with the doors locked again – and this time Thomas is with them when Jesus shows up and says, “Peace be with you”. Jesus asks him to touch His wounds, His scars. Immediately Thomas worships Jesus. Jesus then goes on to perform many more miracles and signs and He does this again and again for his disciples. So why does Jesus do all this? Why does John or whomever, and the other Gospel writers, record all this? Verse 31: …These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His Name. 

 

And that is my hope for each of us here. May we know so that we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and as we really are all sent, may we be evangelists like Mary and the other disciples so that others who have not yet seen Jesus may yet believe and so that they and we may all have life in His Name. For now and evermore. Amen.