In the scripture John Chapter 20, the Bible goes through the events that took place from the time Mary of Magdalene checked the sepulchre to find Jesus’s body was gone. As she was weeping, Jesus came to her, she recognized him and gave her a message to give to the disciples. Mary of Magdalene ran to tell the disciples she had seen Jesus, he was alive and was going to ascend or go back to God our Father.
Later that same night Jesus came to the room where the disciples were hiding from the Jews. I am sure they were fearful awaiting the repercussions they might endure from being disciples of Jesus, especially since now he was dead. Where they were gathered Jesus appeared standing in the room with them. He showed them the marks from the crucifixion as proof it was him. The scriptures said the disciples were glad to see him. I’m sure there was a sense of relief when they recognized it was Jesus. However, Jesus reminded them he had to return to God, but before he did he breathed on them and told them to receive the Holy Ghost.
Those two verses are often expounded on by saying Jesus left the Comforter, God’s presence, the Holy Ghost since he could no longer be with them. Yes, that’s absolutely true, Jesus had to leave the disciples, who are representative of the church or the Believers, with something that would continue to sustain them in this wicked world as they continued to spread the gospel. Jesus couldn’t leave the disciples (the Church) with nothing. The same thing goes for the Believers today. God has left his presence with us as a comforter, as strength, as wisdom, as knowledge, as instruction and a power GREATER THAN US to continue the work of spreading the gospel.
The scripture says Jesus “breathed on them”. The Hebrew word ruach pronounced “roo-akh” means wind, breath and/or spirit. Those three words can be used interchangeably in the Bible. Jesus breathing on them, for them to receive the Holy Ghost, was the opportunity to have his presence without him physically being here but be able to fortify and equip them for their level of ministry. Since breath, wind and spirit can be used interchangeably, it immediately reminded me of how athletes get tired from all of this physical exertion and then they get a burst of energy or strength often called a “second wind”. Cambridge Dictionary defines second wind as “a return of strength or energy that makes it possible to continue in an activity that needs a lot of effort."
Every so often we allow life to get the best of us. Every once in a while we lose a round or are knocked down for the count in this match called life. Most of the time when we are down, it's because we have become intoxicated with the woes of the world in such a way we feel so fatigue we almost appear unconscious. At that very moment, we are out of breath. Yet we continue to try to catch our breath and muster up enough strength to get back up. These are the times we as Believers must know who and where we draw our strength. We have to understand the only way we can get back up and win the battles we encounter in life is with God. When Jesus died on the cross, I am sure His disciples were feeling lost, scared, weak, and unsure how they were going to continue the work. Now that we have access to God's presence we no longer have to wonder or guess how we are going to make it through the trials and tribulations in life. Jesus has already breathed which allows us the ability to breathe again. And in that is our second wind.
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