This first-day-of-the-week meeting is how the Gospel of John
describes the Great Commission. He wraps it in the risen
Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples and makes it into a simple,
direct charge to go into the world without him but with the
guidance of the Holy Spirit that he breathes on them.

Jesus sends them out to share the news of his resurrected
life with all the world. The significance of the meeting in the
upper room is not about his coming back from the dead; it is
about the disciples’ coming to understand that he now expects
them to fulfill his ministry. This is no easy assignment; it is not
without peril. Yet, somehow they must overcome their fears and
rest their confidence in his gift of the Holy Spirit.

Would it not take a profound faith to go out from this room
with the comforting presence of Jesus into a world they knew
firsthand could be hostile? Jesus didn’t issue road maps or
how-to handbooks. They had not always been successful in
their endeavors or in their faith judging from the various Gospels
that describe their lives as disciples prior to Jesus’ crucifixion.
And yet, here Jesus places all his faith in them.

Jesus has stated several times in John’s Gospel that when
he leaves them, he will provide the gift of the Spirit, which will
remind them of all that he has taught them. The Spirit will also
bear witness to the meaning of who he was and will provide a
source of deep, consoling peace.

The Spirit did indeed support and console the Jesus-followers
as they began their ministry of witness without his physical
presence. We don’t know the stories of these twelve men as they
go from this place, but we know the results and can admire their
courageous lives. This Spirit-breathed commission resulted in
the eventual spread and influence of Christianity.