John 20:20-23
20:20 a The reality of Jesus’ resurrection was quite clear. Jesus showed them the wounds from the nails and the spear. He did not feign death but conquered it. He was no phantom but a real man with a real body. He had been dead but was now alive. Jesus was fully human both in life (1:14 b) and in his resurrection.20:21 c I am sending you: God had sent Jesus into the world to establish his Kingdom, and now Jesus was sending his disciples to carry on his mission. Christ’s emissaries carry the truth of Jesus’ words to the world (cp. 17:18 d).
20:22 e Jesus commissioned the disciples and then empowered them with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not been given previously because Jesus had not yet been glorified (7:39 f). The glorified Jesus, resplendent in his resurrected body, poured the Spirit on his followers. This gift fulfilled many promises that the Spirit would be sent (14:16 g, 26 h; 15:26 i; 16:7 j, 13 k). It foreshadows the arrival of the Spirit’s empowering presence at Pentecost (Acts 1:4-5 l; 2:1-47 m).
20:23 n If you forgive anyone’s sins: The ongoing work of Christ’s followers parallels the work of Christ. Christ’s followers do not distribute and withdraw God’s forgiveness on a whim, but they follow Jesus’ prompting through the Spirit (15:5 o), just as Jesus obeyed his Father (14:31 p).
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