Did the disciples receive the Holy Spirit at the last supper or on Pentecost?
Question:
A question about John 20:22: "And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Did the Apostles receive the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost or at this time? Or was Jesus speaking in the future tense corresponding with the other Scriptures? The question just jumped into my head.
Answer:
We know that even after the events in John 20, the promise of receiving the Holy Spirit was still in the future. Just before his ascension, Jesus said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). This happened as recorded in Acts 2. Thus, we realize that Jesus was giving the Apostles a blessing to receive the Holy Spirit. Since "spirit" means "wind," breathing on them was symbolic of their receiving the Spirit in the future.
