On that first Easter evening, the risen Christ visits his disciples behind locked doors. If it wasn’t for what Jesus did in their midst that night—show them his pierced hands and side, and breathe on them his Holy Spirit—they might still be locked in that room today.
But Jesus forgives their denials and desertion, breathes on them and says: Receive the Holy Spirit. As my Father has sent me, so I send you. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven unto them (John 20:23).
The Holy Spirit goes with us as we are sent out into the world, equipped with strength, humility and courage. We go out clothed with, and witnesses for, the forgiveness of sins.
We are given the same commission Jesus gives his disciples right before his ascension in Luke 24:47-48 and Acts 1:8-11: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
How has the Spirit worked through you to call others to faith by the gospel?
Today we observe Resurrection of Our Lord, Easter Day. This message was adapted from “The Wisdom of the Spirit” written by Phyllis Kersten that first appeared in the May 2010 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.
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