Do notice that the text nowhere says they received the Holy Spirit then. At most, Jesus tells them to. when we put aside our doctrinal biases and simply let Scripture interpret Scripture, we discover that the Apostles did not receive the Holy Spirit at this point in time rather they received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
As is written..."He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." (John 7:39) And again here...."But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but... "if I go, I will send Him to you."(John 16:7)
And even here when gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised,..... "Which," He said,.... "you heard of from Me; .... for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now... but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:4-5,8)
Therfore His breathing on them was not a giving of the Holy Spirit but 'a symbol of that promise', so, too, is the 'authority' Jesus gives them 'not given' until Pentecost since that authority requires the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.......
The context simply is not what was happening at that moment, but what would happen at Pentecost, when the Apostles would be given that which was required to powerfully proclaim the gospel to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
WOW, talk about misinterpreting scripture....that was it!!!!!
**Do notice that the text nowhere says they received the Holy Spirit then.**
That is correct, for Jesus Christ was clearly prophesying to them. The testimony in Luke 24 and Acts chapters 1 & 2 prove it beyond a doubt. Go to the head of the class!
The proof is that they were told to tarry in Jerusalem, where they would receive power after that the Holy Ghost is given to them. That was fulfilled in Acts 2.
The Lord even told Peter before the crucifixion: “..When thou art converted, strengthen the brethren”. Luke 22:32
It’s only hard to see if one has been given ‘other ideas’, to put it nicely.
**The context simply is not what was happening at that moment,**
That’s a common error in other ‘interpretations’, such as people quoting Romans 4:3 (which is from Gen. 15:6), to pronounce that one doesn’t perform works to prove faith. Gen. 15:6 is God’s testimony about Abraham’s faith; which was proven BEFORE that was said, by Abraham’s:
moving himself, his family and hired help, tents and other hardware, untold head of livestock, a few hundred miles (the hard way),
building an altar upon arrival in Sichem,
building another altar near Bethel,
escaped famine while in Egypt, then returned to the promised land (over 400 miles round trip the hard wa)y,
building another altar in the plain of Mamre,
kicking serious butt almost all the way to Damascus (the hard way, nearly 400 miles round trip,...and returning with the spoil, which he didn’t keep),
was blessed by Melchizedek, king of Salem.
THEN, we finally get to Gen 15:6