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John 20:21-23
New International Version
John 20:21-23
New International Version
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!(A) As the Father has sent me,(B) I am sending you.”(C) 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.(D) 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”(E)
John 20:21-23
New English Translation
John 20:21-23
New English Translation
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 22 And after he said this, he breathed on them and said,[a] “Receive the Holy Spirit.[b] 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven;[c] if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.”[d]
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- John 20:22 tn Grk “said to them.”
- John 20:22 sn He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The use of the Greek verb breathed on (ἐμφυσάω, emphusaō) to describe the action of Jesus here recalls Gen 2:7 in the LXX, where “the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” This time, however, it is Jesus who is breathing the breath-Spirit of eternal life, life from above, into his disciples (cf. 3:3-10). Furthermore there is the imagery of Ezek 37:1-14, the prophecy concerning the resurrection of the dry bones: In 37:9 the Son of Man is told to prophesy to the “wind-breath-Spirit” to come and breathe on the corpses, so that they will live again. In 37:14 the Lord promised, “I will put my Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you in your own land.” In terms of ultimate fulfillment the passage in Ezek 37 looks at the regeneration of Israel immediately prior to the establishment of the messianic kingdom. The author saw in what Jesus did for the disciples at this point a partial and symbolic fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy, much as Peter made use of the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32 in his sermon on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:17-21. What then did Jesus do for the disciples in John 20:22? It appears that in light of the symbolism of the new creation present here, as well as the regeneration symbolism from the Ezek 37 passage, that Jesus at this point breathed into the disciples the breath of eternal life. This was in the form of the Holy Spirit, who was to indwell them. It is instructive to look again at 7:38-39, which states, “Just as the scripture says, ‘Out from within him will flow rivers of living water.’ (Now he said this about the Spirit whom those who believed in him were going to receive; for the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”) But now in 20:22 Jesus was glorified, so the Spirit could be given. Had the disciples not believed in Jesus before? It seems clear that they had, since their belief is repeatedly affirmed, beginning with 2:11. But it also seems clear that even on the eve of the crucifixion, they did not understand the necessity of the cross (16:31-33). And even after the crucifixion, the disciples had not realized that there was going to be a resurrection (20:9). Ultimate recognition of who Jesus was appears to have come to them only after the postresurrection appearances (note the response of Thomas, who was not present at this incident, in v. 28). Finally, what is the relation of this incident in 20:22 to the account of the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2? It appears best to view these as two separate events which have two somewhat different purposes. This was the giving of life itself, which flowed out from within (cf. 7:38-39). The giving of power would occur later, on the day of Pentecost—power to witness and carry out the mission the disciples had been given. (It is important to remember that in the historical unfolding of God’s program for the church, these events occurred in a chronological sequence which, after the church has been established, is not repeatable today.)
- John 20:23 tn Grk “they are forgiven to them.” The words “to them” are unnecessary in English and somewhat redundant.
- John 20:23 sn The statement by Jesus about forgive or retaining anyone’s sins finds its closest parallel in Matt 16:19 and 18:18. This is probably not referring to apostolic power to forgive or retain the sins of individuals (as it is sometimes understood), but to the “power” of proclaiming this forgiveness which was entrusted to the disciples. This is consistent with the idea that the disciples are to carry on the ministry of Jesus after he has departed from the world and returned to the Father, a theme which occurred in the Farewell Discourse (cf. 15:27; 16:1-4; 17:18).
John 13:20
New International Version
John 13:20
New International Version
20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”(A)
John 13:20
New English Translation
John 13:20
New English Translation
20 I tell you the solemn truth,[a] whoever accepts[b] the one I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”[c]
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- John 13:20 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
- John 13:20 tn Or “receives,” and so throughout this verse.
- John 13:20 sn The one who sent me refers to God.
John 17:6-8
New International Version
John 17:6-8
New International Version
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6 “I have revealed you[a](A) to those whom you gave me(B) out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me(C) and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you,(D) and they believed that you sent me.(E)
Footnotes
- John 17:6 Greek your name
John 17:6-8
New English Translation
John 17:6-8
New English Translation
Jesus Prays for the Disciples
6 “I have revealed[a] your name[b] to the men[c] you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you,[d] and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed[e] your word. 7 Now they understand[f] that everything[g] you have given me comes from you, 8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They[h] accepted[i] them[j] and really[k] understand[l] that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 17:6 tn Or “made known,” “disclosed.”
- John 17:6 sn Mention of the Father’s name occurs again in 17:11, 12, 26, but not often elsewhere in the Gospel of John (only in 5:43; 10:25; 12:28). In one sense the name represents the person (cf. John 1:12) and thus Jesus by saying that he has revealed the Father’s name is saying that he has fully revealed who God is and what he is like (cf. John 1:18; 14:9). But there is probably a further meaning as well in John’s Gospel: Jesus himself is identified with God repeatedly (10:30; 14:11, etc.) and nowhere is this more apparent than in Jesus’ absolute uses of the phrase “I am” without a predicate (8:24, 28, 58; 13:19). The name of the Father which Jesus has revealed to his disciples is thus the divine Name revealed to Moses in Exod 3:14 (R. E. Brown, John [AB], 2:755-56). See also Isa 62:2; 65:15-16.
- John 17:6 tn Here “men” is retained as a translation for ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) rather than the more generic “people” because in context it specifically refers to the eleven men Jesus had chosen as apostles (Judas had already departed, John 13:30). If one understands the referent here to be the broader group of Jesus’ followers that included both men and women, a translation like “to the people” should be used here instead.
- John 17:6 tn Grk “Yours they were.”
- John 17:6 tn Or “have kept.”
- John 17:7 tn Or “they have come to know,” or “they have learned.”
- John 17:7 tn Grk “all things.”
- John 17:8 tn Grk And they.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.
- John 17:8 tn Or “received.”
- John 17:8 tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
- John 17:8 tn Or “truly.”
- John 17:8 tn Or have come to know.”
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New English Translation (NET)
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