Commentary
Receive
the Holy Spirit, Forgive
The
last sentence of this Gospel passage gives us one main
identifications of the Holy Spirit, namely the power to forgive sins.
Here,
the Risen Christ empowers the disciples with the gift of the Holy
Spirit when he sends them just “as the Father sent” him.
Where
there is the Holy Spirit, there is forgiveness. And where there is
forgiveness, there is peace, the peace of the Risen Christ.
In
other words, when a disciple of Jesus forgives, that disciple
witnesses to the presence of the Holy Spirit. In this way, the
disciple continues the mission of Jesus – to bring peace to the
world.
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