Writing after the other gospels had long been in circulation, John in His gospel notes several things about Jesus’ first resurrection appearance to His apostles that in the intervening years the Lord reminded him of that were significant. It was John who records that the doors were shut for fear of the Jews, that Jesus’ side had been pierced, and that He showed them His side, into which He would later bid Thomas to thrust his hand. About the Great Commission, John also reports that just as the Father had sent Jesus, so Jesus was now sending them, as if the Father and the Son wanted them to become partakers in the great work of salvation they were accomplishing for mankind, and so become sharers in their glory; cf. Joh 13:15, 14:12-14,21,23, 15:7-10,26-27, 16:23-24,26-28, 17:6-11,18,20-26, 2Pe 1:3-4 (note the NAS text notes).
What else did John say happened on that evening when the resurrected Jesus first appeared to them that was not mentioned by the other gospel writers, and that was related to Jesus sending them just as the Father had sent Him? See Joh 20:22. How are we to understand this imparting of the Holy Spirit immediately after Jesus’ resurrection in relation to that which happened on the day of Pentecost fifty days later (Acts 2)? See Gen 2:7 and note the imagery that just as at man’s original creation God gave him physical life by breathing into him a blast of His Spirit (the Hebrew word for Spirit, רוּחַ, can also be translated as wind or breath), so was Jesus now imparting to His followers His breath of spiritual life; cf. Job 27:3, 32:8, 33:4, 34:14-15, Psa 18:15. See also Joh 3:3-8, 7:37-39 and Eze 37:1-14 and consider how Ezekiel’s prophecy, in addition to referring to the return of Israel from exile, had an even greater fulfillment in the restoration to eternal life of the Israel of God, meaning both Jews and Gentiles who were of the faith of Abraham; Rom 2:28-29, 9:6, Gal 3:7,29, 6:16. I.e., since Jesus had now been glorified by the power of His indestructible life through His resurrection from the dead, His followers could now be born again of His Spirit into that eternal life.
What is the key difference between a child that is just conceived and is still forming in the womb and one that has actually been born having gone through the birth process? See Gen 2:7, 7:22, 1Ki 17:17, Isa 2:22, Act 17:25. In this regard, whereas Jesus’ disciples had earlier conceived of His life through the seed of His word that He had spoken to them and that was ready to be born in them, when did the breath of eternal life actually enter into them indicating that they had been born again? See Joh 20:22; cf. Joh 16:20-22. In what way does this initiation of the new creation compare to that of man’s original creation? I.e., just as Adam was unique in not being born out of water but having the breath of life directly imparted to him by God, but all those after him were born from him and so received their breath of life through that imparted to him, what is the one thing that is never reported in Scripture about these first disciples after Jesus’ resurrection that was true of all those who followed, including Paul? Cf. Mat 28:19, Mar 16:16, Act 2:38,41, 9:18, 1Co 15:8[1] and see again Joh 3:5. How does this help us to better understand both the importance of water baptism to the new birth, and the part existing believers have in the new birth of those who are being saved? Cf. Gal 4:19,27, Joh 3:8.
In contrast to this puff or breath of life from His Spirit into the spiritual nostrils of Jesus’ disciples immediately following His resurrection from the dead, indicating their new birth into His death and resurrection, how does Scripture describe what happened in regard to the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost? See Luk 24:49, Act 1:8, 2:1-4 and note the different Greek preposition upon (ἐπί) that is used, versus in or within (ἐν) used in Joh 20:22 and Gen 2:7; cf. Act 8:14-17, 10:44-45, 19:1-6. How was what happened on Pentecost and subsequently akin to the way the Spirit came upon Jesus at His baptism? See Mat 3:16, 4:1, Joh 1:32-33. What is the significance that at Jesus’ baptism that marked the beginning of His ministry when the Spirit descended upon Him to empower His ministry, Luk 3:23 says that He was about 30 years of age? See Gen 41:46, Num 4:2-3,22-23, 29-30, 46-47. Not unlike the period of development following conception before birth, what might this indicate about another period of maturation followed by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in power for a season of fruitful service, akin to the fruit-bearing years of a wife, or a tree of the field?
[1] It is true that Jesus’s disciples and perhaps Jesus Himself baptized people during His ministry (see Joh 3:26, 4:1-2), of which some or all of them partook, as they had John’s baptism. But it is clear that such baptism was different from that into Jesus’ death and resurrection which had not yet occurred. See Rom 6:3-4, Col 2:12, Heb 6:2 KJV, and cf. Act 18:25, 19:1-6.