Week Six - John 20:19–23 | The Spirit That Sends and Restores

Welcome to the 2025 Lenten Devotional

John 20:19–23 | The Spirit That Sends and Restores

Artwork: **"Christ Appearing to the Apostles"** by Rembrandt

🌬️ The Spirit That Sends and Restores

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you…”

Today we arrive at a powerful and long-awaited moment in the Gospel of John—the fulfilment of Jesus’s promise about the Spirit. Throughout this week we’ve reflected on how the Spirit marks, empowers, convicts, teaches, and guides. Now, with the resurrection still fresh, the Spirit is breathed onto the disciples—not as a future promise but as present reality.

This passage reveals the core of the Spirit’s purpose: not to create religious professionals or spiritual elites, but to empower followers of Jesus to bring healing, peace, and restoration into the world.

📍 Context: Behind Locked Doors

“It was evening on that day… and the doors of the house were locked for fear…” (John 20:19)

It’s the evening of resurrection day.
The disciples are not celebrating—they’re hiding. The trauma of the crucifixion still hangs heavy, and fear has taken hold.

And then, Jesus appears.

Not to rebuke them, but to bring peace.
Not to shame them, but to send them.
Not to leave them empty-handed, but to breathe His Spirit into them.

Peace Through Jesus

“Peace be with you.” (vv.19, 21)

This isn’t just a polite greeting.
Jesus offers shalom—a deep, soul-level peace. The kind of peace that restores, heals, and sustains.

This peace is the foundation for the mission.
Before being sent, we must be settled in peace.

Sent as Jesus Was Sent

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (v.21)

This is John’s Great Commission.
But the focus here isn’t recruitment or church growth.
It’s restoration.

Jesus sends us to do what He did:

🧼 Touch the untouchable (Mark 1 – the leper)
💧 Restore dignity to the outcast (Mark 5 – the bleeding woman)
👀 See beyond labels (Luke 5 – Levi the tax collector)

We’re not salespeople.
We’re witnesses.
We’re participants in God’s healing mission in the world.

The Spirit Breathed Out

“He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (v.22)

This echoes Genesis 2:7—when God breathed life into the first human being.
Now, Jesus breathes new spiritual life into His disciples.

The Spirit doesn’t just visit—the Spirit dwells.

Where fear once paralysed them, now the Spirit will empower them.

To speak truth.
To offer hope.
To forgive.
To embody Christ’s presence in the world.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation

“If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven…” (v.23)

This is a hard one.
It made people uncomfortable then—and still does today.

In Mark 2, Jesus was accused of blasphemy for saying He could forgive sins.
And even today, many struggle with the idea that forgiveness could come through people (I'm talking about the sacrament of Confession here).

But what this means is not personal power, but participation in God’s mission.

The Spirit doesn’t make us judges.
The Spirit makes us agents of reconciliation.

To forgive.
To restore.
To bring wholeness to what is broken.

🪔 Lenten Reflection: Peace, Power, Purpose

This moment is not just about the disciples.
It’s about you.

The Spirit is breathed out over all followers of Jesus.

Not so we can simply know more, or feel more spiritual,
But so we can do what Jesus did:

Speak peace into fear.
Heal what is broken.
Extend forgiveness where there is hurt.
Be agents of life, not agents of guilt.

The world doesn’t need more noise.
It needs people of peace, rooted in Christ, guided by the Spirit.

✅ Reflection Questions

What fears or anxieties in your life need to hear Jesus’s words: “Peace be with you”?
How are you living out the calling to be sent—bringing healing and restoration into your world?
Is there someone you need to forgive—or someone from whom you need to seek forgiveness?
Are you willing to be a vessel of the Spirit’s work in the world?

🙏 Closing Prayer

Spirit of Jesus, You bring peace into fear, breath into dry places, and life into death. Breathe on us again.
Empower us to live as people sent—bringing healing, forgiveness, and restoration wherever we go.
Let our lives speak of Your peace.
Let our hearts remain open to Your movement.
And may we carry this mission, not with pride, but with compassion.
Amen.

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