<p>20:21- see on Jn. 17:20.</p><p><em>Jesus again said to them: Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, even so send I you</em>- The gift of peace was no passing formality. To be given the Lord's attitude of mind, the peace He had with the Father, was part of the promised gift of the Spirit (14:27); and here we go on immediately to read of the Spirit being given (:22). That gift was therefore primarily something internal, mental, psychological, in the heart; for that is where peace exists, especially peace with God of the kind the Lord enjoyed.</p><p>Again we have a Johannine version of the great commission. As the Lord was sent into the world, so are we. This parallel means that His 'sending into the world' cannot be harnessed to support any mistaken notion of personal pre-existence or coming from Heaven to earth at birth; for as He was sent, so are we. The synoptics record the risen Lord sending the disciples to preach Him and His resurrection; just as He was sent forth to testify of Himself. They are promised the strength of the Spirit to make that witness; here they are given &quot;peace&quot; and the gift of the Spirit (:22). And yet the disciples were weak and fearful at this time, hence the repeated assurance of &quot;Peace unto you&quot;. We too receive the same commission against a backdrop of feeling so inadequate and lacking of resource to fulfil it.</p>