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Again he said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
John 20:21-23 NLT
In the middle of the resurrection story is this commission:
"Peace be with you". This is repeated by Jesus so must carry some particular meaning.
"As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you."
Where or to what is Jesus sending them?
Jesus breathed on them. 
What was that like? Did he do that individually (like a hongi?) or some big breath over everyone?
Was it like when God breathed Life into Adam?
Didn't the disciples receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, yet they do here as well?
The word here for "receive" is "lambano" which places weight on the choice of the receiver to accept. Did they get to choose to accept the HS?
Can they now forgive sins like Jesus? 
Is it an instruction to forgive those who sin against them? 
Thomas wasn't there that evening, what does that mean for him? What has he missed out on?
What does it mean for us?
Why all these questions?
Because sometimes the Bible throws up things that hold mystery, hold meaning that is hard to grasp, and that's OK.
It's OK to have to dig deeper, to sit with mystery, to not know all there is to know about our God who has revealed Himself, yet is so much more than we can grasp. 
Maybe you know the answers to all my questions, maybe you want to dig for them, or sit with them until the day Jesus breathes on us, on me, when we see Him, face to face.
Until then, peace be with you.
#easter
#peacebewithyou

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