John 20:21
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The context
John 20 narrates the resurrection morning and then the evening of the first day, when the disciples are behind locked doors. Jesus shows them his hands and his side, and they rejoice. Verse 21 is his first commission to them, and it is followed by breathing on them and by the following week's encounter with Thomas.
What it establishes
It establishes that the disciples' mission is modelled on the Son's own sending, and that it was given to a gathered group rather than to an individual. The pattern is explicit and repeated in the prayer of chapter 17.
What it does not establish
It does not define the mode of sending. The comparison is left unexpanded: it does not say whether the likeness lies in authority, in suffering, in message, or in all three. The verse also does not establish a chain of institutional succession, which is an inference from later practice.
Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.
Cited in these answers
Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.