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The Risen Lord Breathes Peace and
Gives the Power to Forgive

John 20:19-23 (NIV) : 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.  21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Even though the doors of the Upper Room were bolted shut, Jesus pierced through all fear and united the hearts of the disciples with the gift of peace. Deep inner peace is the root and source of the peace and joy that the world cannot give. For the followers of Jesus the possession of this kind of peace is dependent on two things: The presence of the Holy Spirit, and the practice of forgiving the sins of others.

We receive the Holy Spirit when we encounter the Risen Lord Jesus and invite Him to the Lordship of our lives. All the other gifts, anointings, fruits, presents, and promises flow from that moment. We become His and His Spirit comes to live with us then and there. You may have experiences in your spiritual walk with Jesus that are amazing, wild and wonderful but His Holy Spirit is with you from the moment you say “I am yours” to Jesus. Never doubt that, He is with you, always.

Next, the most precious gift Jesus gives us after entering our lives is not from the various lists of gifts and fruits we so often focus on. Jesus first blesses us with the gift of forgiveness, first for ourselves, and then amazingly He allows us and encourages us to share His grace with others. In doing so, we are first at peace with God, and then if we forgive, we are at peace with others. Read this charge from Jesus very carefully. He is sending us out into the world (verse 21), not as arbiters of forgiveness, but of peace. Simply put, if we do not forgive, we will never have peace.

This may not resonate with you at first, but show me a follower of Jesus who does not forgive and is at peace. I have never seen one, never ever, and the Peace of my soul has always been dependent on whether I am accepting and exercising forgiveness, first from God and then to others. That is how it works in God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 18:21-35)

I always wonder how much forgiveness had to be handed out that day in that Upper Room. It seems they got a lot done, for then they had room in their hearts for all those amazing gifts that showed up at Pentecost. By God’s Good Grace, may we do the same. The other amazing thing is this; from that moment forward the disciples were no longer “in fear of the Jews” and began to openly proclaim the Resurrection, and their peace. Receive your peace from Jesus, then you can share His peace with others, without fear.

Peace.

Phil Parsons