„Spirò” o piuttosto „consegnò lo Spirito”? La morte di Gesù e il dono del Paràclito presentati in Gv 19,30
He „Expired” or rather He „Handed Over the Spirit”? The Death of Jesus and the Gift of the Paraclete Presented in John 19:30

Summary/Abstract: John’s description of the death of Jesus on the cross is characterized by the use of a specific expression by the evangelist, untypical for the story speaking of one’s death: παρέδωκεντὸ πνεῦμα (Jn 19:30). It should be translated into English as „he handed over the Spirit / spirit” (but not „he expired / he gave up the spirit”, as expressed in the synoptic Gospels: Mc 15:37 and Lc 23:46 – ἐξέπνευσεν; Mt 27:50 – ἀφῆκεν τὸ πνεῦμα). Even if most of translations of the Bible and exegetic commentaries do not agree with an interpretation suggesting that Jesus, in the act of his saving death, actually gave the Holy Spirit to his disciplesgathered beside the cross, together with the minority of scholars we believe that the gift of the Paraclete does not necessarily have to be limited only to the day of Lord’s resurrection (cf. Jn 20:22), but – as it is not a one-off event in the life of the Church (cf. Acts 2:1 – 13 and 4:31!) – it has become a participation of this „nucleus of believers” also on Calvary. This gift was a „deposit / advancement” for the day of the solemn effusion of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room on the day of the resurrection (Jn 20:19 – 23). This truth is communicated to the readers by the evangelist John, providing such and not other words in 19:30. He alsoemphasizes that the gift of the Spirit is closely related to the constitution of God’s family at the foot of the cross (Jn 19:24h–27) as its vital foundation and unifying force.

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