I’ve just guest posted on the commission and gift of the Spirit in John 20. Take a look!

The commission accounts of the synoptic gospels place their primary accent upon a task that is laid before the disciples, a task in which they will be empowered by Christ. John’s account, however, offers us a subtly different perspective upon what is taking place, not least on account of its connection between the reception of the Spirit and the commission. In John’s account, it is to the personal correspondence between Jesus’ commission and that of his disciples that our attention is drawn.

John’s account of Jesus’ commission is focused upon the identity of Jesus as the personal revelation of the Father. All that Jesus does is merely a window into this deeper mystery of the incarnate Word’s unique relationship to the Father. John presents us with the commission of the disciples within a corresponding framework. The disciples are to make known Jesus in the same way as he made known the Father: not just as emissaries bearing his message, but as the embodied revelation of his person. The gift of Jesus’ Spirit is that which equips them to be such a manifestation of his presence within the world. It will be as the disciples love one another in the peace of Jesus’ Spirit that his presence will be made known in them and they will fulfil their commission.

Read the whole thing here.