Peace, Sending, and the Breath of the Spirit

Jesus appears to the disciples behind locked doors, shows his wounds, gives peace, and sends them as the Father sent him. He then breathes on them and says, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” The unusual breathing action strongly evokes Genesis 2:7, where God breathes life into the human, and Ezekiel 37, where breath/Spirit brings dead bones to life; it is therefore an important new-creation echo even though John does not use a quotation formula. The following authority concerning forgiveness belongs inside this commissioning and should be interpreted with the Gospel’s wider witness about Spirit-led mission.