John 20:22-23 "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (23) Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained."
"He breathed on them, and saith, Receive ye the Holy Ghost."
This was not regeneration for them. They were already children of
God. I sometimes tend to forget these disciples were just men. They were
human like you and me. But in this passage there is a power given to them that
would be very necessary in the days to come. Fifty days after Christ's
resurrection would come the day of Pentecost. We know what took place there,
but let me just give a quick reminder. "And suddenly there came a
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house
where they were sitting. (3) And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. (4) And they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as
the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:2-4)
We saw a few days ago where Jesus spoke peace into their hearts when He began to
show them His hands, feet, and side. Now it seems He is preparing them for the
work ahead and specifically for that day when they would be "filled with
the Holy Ghost." He gave them the Holy Ghost and on the day of
Pentecost, they would be filled to overflowing. He was preparing them for
that great "rushing mighty wind." He was preparing them for the
"cloven tongues of fire." He was preparing them for the miracle of being able to "speak with other tongues (or languages - writer's
explanation)." Otherwise, they would not have been able to give an
explanation for these things. Peter immediately knew, and declared, this was
the fulfilling of the writing of the Prophet Joel. Jesus knew what they
would need and He supplied it.
With that need also came power to proclaim forgiveness of sins through the shed
blood of Jesus Christ. "Without the shedding of blood, there is no
remission of sin." They did not have the power to forgive sins, but
were given power to proclaim there is forgiveness through the blood of Christ.
This seems to be the message of the Holy Ghost: "For I delivered
unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was buried, and
that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1
Corinthians 15:3-4) The power of the Holy Ghost is needed in order to
boldly proclaim the power of Jesus' blood and the power of the Holy Ghost is
needed in order to receive this glorious message.
Jesus saw and met their need before the time arrived. In a sense, we can say
"Jesus was already there when the day of Pentecost arrived." How does
this apply to you and me this morning? Just as the disciples could not
have anticipated the things that took place on the day of Pentecost, you and I
cannot anticipate the things that lay ahead of us. But we can know that when
the time arrives and the need is presented, Christ is already there and has
already met our need.