Expositional Lectures

He Breathed On Them

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Doctrinal Studies

Lesson: 8-12

Genre: Speech

Track: 078

Dictation Name: RR12A02

Location/Venue:

Year: 1960’s - 1970’s

[Dr. Rushdoony] St. John 20, the day of resurrection. John 20, the day of resurrection.

John 20:1-31 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. (2) Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. (3) Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. (4) So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. (5) And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. (6) Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, (7) And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. (8) Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. (9) For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. (10) Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. (11) But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, (12) And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. (13) And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. (14) And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. (15) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. (16) Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. (17) Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

(18) Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. (19) Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. (20) And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. (21) Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. (22) And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (23) Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. (24) But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. (25) The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. (26) And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. (27) Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. (28) And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. (29) Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (30) And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: (31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Death by crucifixion was a fearful and an agonizing form of death. We have all kinds of contemporary accounts with respect to crucifixion.

One of the aspects of crucifixion that cause particular agony apart from the fact of the spikes that were used was the intense dehydration that accompanied it. After the crucifixion of our Lord came the expensive funeral. Buried in a rich man’s tomb, His body hastily packed away with a tremendous amount of embalming material, the women planning to return early Sunday morning to conclude the burial preparations, the embalming and all things necessary. The funeral was an expression of love, not of faith. They were preparing to bury Him permanently. Then, Sunday morning. The Resurrection. And rumors of it began to race through the city as the guards fled in panic and reported to Harod. The disciples, instead of being filled with joy, were filled with fear and they hid behind closed doors. Unbelieving and fearful of reprisal. No one rejoiced that morning. Neither the Romans nor the Jews nor the disciples. The women who had gone to the grave reported the news. The guards had already reported. Mary refused to believe. She did not enter in, she saw the opened tomb and felt it had been an act of desecration. Peter and John went fearfully to check. They were convinced it was not a case of theft or of desecration, but they were not ready to say more at this point. Mary Magdalene entered into the grace which was carved out of rock on the mountainside. And she saw there two angels in white, the one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. She said unto them, because they had when they asked her why weepest thou, because they have taken away my lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

And when she had said thus she turned herself back. The blindness of Mary Magdalene at this point is amazing. Because the position of these two angels at the tomb of our Lord was definitely in line with the ark and the mercy seat in the temple. So that in their position they were witnessing to the fact that this was now the mercy seat of God. The meeting place of God and man. The temple and the veil of the temple had been desecrated, the temple’s veil had been rent in twain, to signify that it was now finished. And it was the sacrifice of Christ, His atoning death that was now the meeting place of God and man. But she refused to believe. The hour was still very early, and with tear-filled eyes she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus. Too blinded by the tears and her grief to recognize Him. Jesus saith unto her, woman, why weepest thou? And she, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, sir, if thou has born Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away. Then when Jesus spoke her name, she recognized Him and fell at His feet clinging to Him. Here the King James translation does not convey the force of the Greek original, in that the words have changed their meaning. When our Lord said to her, touch me not, for I’m not yet ascended to my Father, the real translation should read, in modern English, do not cling to me, for I am ascending. Do not cling to me, I cannot return to the old life, to the old ways. I am ascending, a new life transcending the old is now my life. And I go to be with my Father and I now from above shall rule and reign, so that I do not return to the old life. But to go to my brethren and say unto them, I am ascending unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.

And so the point of His statement to Mary was not that I cannot be touched, but you cannot cling to me, you cannot take me back into the old ways. For though I shall appear and I shall be handled, to demonstrate the reality of the Resurrection, my life now transcends this world and I shall reign from above. He appeared to His disciples and to Thomas. And Thomas, who had been deeply oppressed by the bloody ugliness of the crucifixion and who refused to believe that a man who had died in such a fearful death could live again, fell at His feet and cried, my Lord and my God. Hebrews 12, after defining the meaning of faith, with an eye on these things, the weakness of the disciples, asks believers to lay aside the sin that is doubt, which doth so easily beset us and to run the course set before us with patience and with joy. But the most important passage in this chapter and perhaps the most important passage of all of Scripture with respect to the Resurrection, is in verses 19-23. When on the same evening, Resurrection Day, our Lord appeared unto the disciples, stood in their midst and said unto them, peace be unto you. This in itself is a significant greeting. Because He could have more justly greeted them, shame be upon you. After all I taught you, you were unbelieving, you refused to believe. But instead He declared, peace be with you. He dealt with them not after their works but in terms of Himself. In terms of their standing before God and Him. And so He deals with us, we stand in Him, not in ourselves but in terms of His work, His atoning death and righteousness.

And we are told, then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. He was risen. By this time they already knew that, but now they were glad because He came to them not with judgment, but with a word of peace. But then, in verse 22, after again pronouncing the word of peace, peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He has said this, He breathed on them and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost. At this point we come to the most important single statement concerning the Resurrection. What was the meaning of this? Christ having risen from the dead came to His disciples and He breathed upon them. The verse very clearly echoes Genesis. And in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the same word is used in both Genesis 1 and in John 20:22. In Genesis, the second chapter, the seventh verse, we read, and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. In that first creation God took of the dust of the earth and breathed into it, and created man out of the ground, out of the topsoil, Adam, Adam means red topsoil. Now, Christ after His Resurrection approaches His disciples, who belong to the dead humanity of Adam, who belong to the world of sin and death, and as they sat there in that room, He breathed upon them and said, receive ye the Holy Ghost. The new humanity of Jesus Christ was created. He as the risen Adam, the new man, now declared I begin the restoration of paradise.

I begin the creation of a new humanity. A humanity that is now separated from the world of sin and death. Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Christ is the first fruit, the head and the beginning of the new creation. And He declared unto them, who soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them, and who soever sins ye retain, they are retained. What is the meaning of this? This, a power promised to the Church by our Lord before the Resurrection, is now conferred upon the Church even as He breathes upon them and confers upon them the Holy Ghost. It means simply this. The Church, the believers, are given this power in Christ and are commanded to exercise it. To exercise it ministerially in terms of the Word of God. Those who in terms of the Word of God come and ask for forgiveness of sins, believing in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, we are do declare unto them that their sins are remitted, are forgiven. And they are remitted, they are forgiven. And they stand in the presence of God cleansed of their sin. But when we face the world around us, the unbelieving world, the apostate world, we must declare unto them, your sins are retained. And therefore judgment must come upon you. And we must pray in terms of that, that their sins in the sight of God be retained unto them and the judgment of God be upon them. So that the believe has a double duty, to pray for God’s forgiveness of sin for himself and those who are believers, and for God’s retention of sin and judgment upon the ungodly. And we face the world today, this is the power that has been conferred upon us, because Christ in breathing upon His disciples breathed upon all those who followed after their steps, upon us. We are the new humanity, the new race.

To us is given this power. And as we face this world of evil, we must pray for judgment. For we are God’s blessed meek, who are to inherit the earth. And how can we inherit it if we do not retain unto them their sin. And if we do not ask for the remission of our sins and of those who are God’s people. Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Earlier He had said, take, eat, this is My body, broken for you. I made you members of Me, and now receive ye the Holy Ghost, I give unto you the Spirit, and send you forth that you may continue My work. I’ve destroyed the power of sin and death, and I commission you to go forth and to preach the good news of salvation, through Me, and judgment through Me, unto all who will not believe. Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations. All power, all authority, in heaven and on earth, is given unto Me. We are therefore commissioned by Jesus Christ through these words to go forth and conquer. For the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. This is the meaning of the Resurrection.

Let us pray. Our Lord and our God, we give thanks unto Thee that in this day and age when the world of sin and death around us seeks to overthrow the world of Christ, Thou hast made us, through His Resurrection, a new {?}. Have commissioned to remit the sins of those who believe you, {?}…. Death, not by Jesus Christ but by science {?}… Thy law, Thy righteousness and Thy salvation. Our Lord and our God, we pray this day that Thou wouldst retain their sins unto them, bring judgment upon them, and cleanse the earth of them, that the blessed meek may inherit the earth.

And we pray our Father, for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, that they may come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that their sins may be remitted unto them that may know Thy grace unto salvation. Make us strong and bold in Thee. Make us ever mindful that we have been called unto victory and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Our God how great Thou art, and we praise Thee. In Jesus name, Amen.

Yes.

[Audience]…{?}…

[Dr. Rushdoony] Yes, we need to both love God and fear God. Now, let us illustrate that very simply by going back to a very familiar figure. That of a child in relationship to his parents. Now as children we dearly loved our parents. But we also feared them. We knew that if we stepped out of line we would be punished, and so our fear was combined with love. The two went hand in hand. We loved them and we feared them. They were a superior authority over us. And they rewarded us as we obeyed them, they punished us as we disobeyed them. And very often, even as we did something that was wrong, our hearts were filled with fear even though our parents hadn’t caught us yet at it. Because we knew we were doing what was contrary to their will. Now so with God. We love God, but we also fear Him because we know His wrath and his anger against transgression.

Now Scripture says perfect love casteth out fear, so that we will not fear God in heaven when our love is made perfect through Christ when we are perfectly sanctified. When there is no possibility, then, of transgression on our part, we will be in awe of Him, but we will not fear Him. But fear is a very healthy thing, a very necessary thing. I recall when I was in college, there was one young man, long since dead, who was, before he went into the Air Force, a very able flyer. In fact, he was given barnstorming and stunting. He was in the Air Force a very short time and they kicked him out. He knew more than most of the officers did, he was very, very capable, brilliant, but they said we cannot afford to have someone like him. And I heard about it from a friend who knew the top officer, the one who was responsible for washing him out. And they said, but is totally unafraid, and a fearless man is a dangerous man. But the man has a healthy sense of fear, then when he’s up there with a million dollars worth of equipment, he will deal with it fearfully. He won’t take chances with his life and with anybody else’s life, but Buck being fearless, does all kinds of things, takes all kinds of chances, and we can’t afford to have a man like that.

So he was washed out. Now, that illustrates the necessity of fear, it’s a healthy thing, the fear of the Lord is clean, we are told. And so it is. Because when we fear the Lord we fear doing that which is evil.

Yes.

[Audience]…{?}…

[Dr. Rushdoony] And what was the last sentence?

[Audience]…{?}…

[Dr. Rushdoony] Yes. Now in the Old Testament the act of membership in the people of God, in the chosen people, was circumcision. The meaning of circumcision was this. The foreskin of a male organ was cut, was circumcised, to signify, in a sense, it had its hygienic purposes, but also its religious symbolism, which was paramount. That it was in generation that man had any hope, that birth in the chosen people, birth in the Church, did not save a man. A man in a sense had to surrender his hope, die to any hope in generation. And to signify it was only in a regeneration that his hope was to be found. And so circumcision took place on the eighth day, incidentally, that which was required by God that it was to be only on or after the eighth day, we are told now is very significant medically in that before that there is a difference in the coagulation of blood so it would be dangerous before that. Now, this was the act of initiation or membership into the people of God. It was indicated by Ezekiel that baptism would replace it as the act of initiation and we find this in Ezekiel, in the 36th chapter, the 25th verse. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. This was to be a type of the same thing for the New Testament age.

Previously, in the Mosaic Law the High Priest, signifying what was to come when the true High Priest came, was baptized. So that from the very beginning in the wilderness, the High Priest was baptized to signify that this was, when the true High Priest came, to be the sign of the covenant rather than circumcision. And of course the prophets tell us that circumcision will be done away with and that God will, in effect, circumcise your heart and put a clean heart, a new heart, with in you. Now when John came and began to baptize beyond the Jordan, his act of baptism indicated that Christ was coming. That soon the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world was to die for the atonement of the sins of His people was to come. Therefore a new age had dawned. And so John baptized. Now there was no difference really between John’s baptism and Christian baptism. The only essential difference is that it preceded the death and resurrection of our Lord. Our Lord was baptized by John. John at first refused to do it. After all, since baptism was to be into Christ, why should Christ be baptized? And our Lord said, suffer it to be so, for so it is necessary to fulfill all righteousness. In other words, I come, not only as God but as very man of man. And it is My calling to keep the law perfectly and to be the first man of the new race, the last Adam as it were, the new Adam of the new humanity. And so even I belong to the old humanity by virtue of my circumcision and my membership in the old race, so as the first man I am baptized, I keep the law perfectly, and I become the great sacrifice in the atonement. So Christ was baptized as the representative man. Christian baptism therefore indicates our membership in the new humanity of Jesus Christ. And the Lord’s table, communion, signifies the….(recording ends)