Commentaries:
<< John 20:21 John 20:23 >>
John 20:22
When God, in Jesus Christ, wanted His disciples to understand what was going to happen on the day of Pentecost, He did not blow a dove out of His mouth—He breathed! This illustrates a great deal about whether the Holy Spirit is a personality or an inanimate thing. Wind is inanimate; it has no personality.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Holy SpiritRelated Topics: Breath | Breath as Symbol of Spirit | Holy Spirit | Holy Spirit as Force | Holy Spirit as God's Creative Power | Holy Spirit as Power | Holy Spirit, Symbolized as Wind | Pentecost | Wind | Wind as Analogy | Wind as Metaphor | Wind as Symbol | Wind ImageryOther Forerunner Commentary entries containing John 20:22:
Genesis 1:2
Psalms 104:30
Isaiah 32:15
John 7:37-39
John 14:16-17
Romans 8:9-14
1 Corinthians 2:9-16
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
2 Timothy 1:6-7
2 Peter 1:2-4
1 John 5:1-8
<< John 20:21 John 20:23 >>
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What Does John 20:22 Mean?
When God, through Jesus Christ, breathed on the disciples, He demonstrated that the Holy Spirit is not a personality but is inanimate, like wind, which has no personality. This breathing was a sign, type, or foretaste of what would happen on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit came with a rushing mighty wind and they were filled (Acts 2:4). The disciples were not yet fully converted during Jesus' ministry (Luke 22:32); their conversion came within the fifty-day period. The imperative tense suggests a future event, and Jesus still told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father. Yet the Spirit was already working, opening their minds, reminiscent of God breathing into Adam, imparting understanding of spiritual knowledge.