And with that he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. This verse is from John 20:22. Yes – John’s Gospel. This is one of those verses that just makes you want to ask, “What is going on here? Didn’t that happen later? Wasn’t that in Acts? On Pentecost?”
Let’s start someplace unexpected. In the middle. At the very beginning of the book of Acts, written by Luke.
Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven
Ac 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Ac 1:6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Ac 1:7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Ac 1:9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Ac 1:10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
You can read more on that last verse in “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?”.
So this is from Acts. After the Gospels. After Jesus’ death and resurrection. And Jesus is telling the apostles they will soon be receiving the Holy Spirit. Was this a mistake? Was the verse from John a mistake? What is going on?
To check further, let’s make sure we properly remember what happened on Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
Ac 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Ac 2:5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Yes – all of them were filled by the Holy Spirit.
And what about the promise Jesus made before His crucifixion?
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
Jn 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 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 will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”
Jn 14:22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jn 14:23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
Jn 14:25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, 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. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Jn 14:28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.
Let’s see now. But the Counselor, 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. Will send, will teach, will remind. That’s all talking about the future. And it was all said before Jesus’ death on the cross.
We seem to have a problem here.
John 14 says the Holy Spirit will be coming. And it’s going to be after Jesus dies on the cross.
John 20 says Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. But at that time, Jesus had not yet been crucified.
Acts 1 says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Here, Jesus has died, been resurrected, and is about to return to Heaven. And He’s still saying the Holy Spirit is coming. And this is after what happened in John 20.
And then in Acts 2 we read, All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
This begs the question, what was that breathing thing from John’s Gospel? Did it not say, receive the Holy Spirit?
The answer is interesting. Fascinating. Disappointing. Fascinating, because it appears to be something other than what we think. Disappointing because, well, because of what you’ll soon see.
Now, let’s state the problem here – so that we’re all on the same page.
First, the problem is not that the Bible is wrong.
Second the problem is not that any of the statements made were incorrect.
Third, it’s not that the events were recorded incorrectly.
No – the problem is that something’s not coming across correctly. Something is, as they say, lost in translation. Literally. Almost. In this case, something’s added in the translation. One seemingly innocuous little word. Three letters.
The
Yes – three little letters.
And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
It looks right. In fact, it’s the correct translation that looks wrong!
Do you see that arrow under “the”? It means “the” was added to “Holy Spirit”. In this case, it’s to make the sentence grammatically correct. However, in the process we seem to have completely destroyed our chances of comprehending what actually happened.
You may remember, in Old Testament times, the Spirit of God (The Holy Spirit) was given only to certain people and even then, only for a certain amount of time. There’s an excellent example of this in Numbers. It’s from the time when the people were grumbling for meat, rather than just the manna. The entire passage is included here, to show that having the Spirit of God was a limited experience back then.
Quail From the LORD
Nu 11:4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”
Nu 11:7 The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. 8 The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. 9 When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.
Nu 11:10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. 11 He asked the LORD, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
Nu 11:16 The LORD said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.
God sent Moses to rescue His people back in Exodus chapter 3. He would not have sent Moses to do this on his own. Moses had the Spirit of God on Him at that time. So here we see that God is going to give that same Spirit to the seventy elders chosen by Moses.
Nu 11:18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ’ ”
Nu 11:21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ 22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”
Nu 11:23 The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’S arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”
Nu 11:24 So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.
The seventy elders has the ability to prophesy – but only for a time. And then they had it no longer.
Nu 11:26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
As God said – all seventy men had been given the Spirit. Being in close range of God was not a requirement. Not being in close range wasn’t a problem.
Nu 11:28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
Nu 11:29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’S people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
Something that was to come. At least for all believers. But not in Moses’ lifetime.
Context – having eyes – using the mind
Context is important. So are two other things, especially with issues like this one. You see, all three passages we looked at use the same Greek words for “Holy Spirit”. Those words themselves tell us nothing about timing. As I said, it’s about context.
However, it’s also about something Jesus talked about:
eyes
The Lamp of the Body
Lk 11:33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”
Two people can see the same thing with their eyes – and yet not see the same thing with their mind. That’s what this passage is saying.
mind
In that regard, here’s what Jesus said about using our mind.
The Greatest Commandment
Mt 22:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Mt 22:37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Loving God with all our mind. That’s the difference between seeing one thing – or something else – when we use our eyes.
Someone can read the passages we’ve looked at above and determine that they are all messed up. The timing is off. They conflict. So they must be made up.
Someone else can read the same passages and determine that they make complete sense. That the implied timing of when the events tale place and what’s happening in each are all in line with each other.
The difference? Do we love God or not?
Conclusion – is the problem of “Receive the Holy Spirit” even a problem?
First off, I find it very disappointing that this question even comes up – since it’s because of a translation issue while trying to make a sentence grammatically correct.
Having said that, the following items are important to remember, even if it’s because of something like what we just saw with the word “the”.
When we choose to take certain passages, decide what they mean, and go forward without the rest of the information – it’s not God that has created the conflicts. It’s us.
When we read about the temporary giving of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – and then refuse to apply that same thinking to the Holy Spirit up until the time of Pentecost – the conflict doesn’t come from God. It comes from us.
When we refuse to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind – the problem isn’t God’s. It’s ours.
And when we refuse to love God, then we also refuse to believe Him.
Finally, after all that, we think there is a problem with “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
But the truth is, if we are willing to see it, the problem of “Receive the Holy Spirit” isn’t a problem at all.