Lesson 3597

 (Lesson 3597)(11-08-21) John 20:21-22

    “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:”

    Today’s is a great lesson to dispel the notion that the New Testament is to be taken as absolutely literal.

    The events described in today’s lesson, wherein Jesus “breathed” the Holy Ghost upon His apostles, is in blatant contrast with the account of those events as they are related in the book of Acts.

    Acts 2:1-4:  “And when the day of Pentecost was fullly come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

    This apparant contrast DOES NOT, in any way, take away from the truth of the meaning and intent of the New Testament as a whole. It means nothing to those of us who have studied the entirety of the Bible.

    The importance of all the accounts is that Jesus, as He promised, sent the Holy Ghost, without which there would be NO eternal salvation. Praise God for His amazing grace!~