When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit!
- KJV And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
- NKJV And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
- NASB And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
- NLT Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus breathes on the disciples and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. He gives the Spirit who empowers their mission.
Overview
The act of breathing recalls God breathing life into Adam (Genesis 2:7), signaling new creation. Christians differ over how this relates to Pentecost (Acts 2): some see a foretaste or symbolic act, others an initial impartation later filled out at Pentecost. Either way, the risen Christ is the giver of the Spirit who alone enables gospel ministry.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Job 33:4The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
- Gen 2:7Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Acts 8:15On their arrival, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
- John 7:39He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
- Acts 2:38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Ezek 37:9Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!”
- Acts 19:2and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
- Ps 33:6By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
- Acts 4:8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people!
- Acts 2:4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
- John 14:16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—
- Gal 3:2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?
- John 15:26When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.
- Acts 10:47“Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have!”
- John 16:7But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 20:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.