He Breathed On Them - John 20:21-23

John 20:21-23 ESV 

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

God breathed on the body of Adam the breath of life. 

Jesus breathed on the disciples the breath of life, which would become the body of Christ. 

God breathed the Holy Spirit on each occasion. Each account foreshadows something of the future. Adam would stumble and be removed from the presence of the Lord. Israel would likewise stumble and be scattered among the nations. The disciples will later receive the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the power that raised Jesus from the grave. Christ is the Spirit and he has the keys to life and death. He alone has the power to forgive and he alone can share the keys of the kingdom. 

Matthew 16:18-20

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.