Question concerning John 20:21-23?

Question

Here are the verses:

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

We know that there is one Mediator between God & man....the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).
My question is this:
Were the apostles given unique authority by Jesus Christ at this point to forgive sins? Only God can forgive sin through Christ. What do we make of these verses?

Answer 1

I had a talk with my dad about this....Not only were the apostles given unique authority to do things, so we have been given that same authority. Jesus is still the one that saves. However, the laying on of hands seems to release freedom in being able to be "saved through Jesus." Just like for healing....we don't heal. Jesus does. But we are in a sense Jesus with skin-on. We were also told that whatever we bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and whatever we loose will be loose in Heaven. So sometimes its' loosing the power of the Lord to forgive a person's sins.

Answer 2

No, the apostles were not given authority to forgive sins. Nobody but God can forgive sins. But when a believer declares to someone the gospel news of salvation in Jesus Christ, if the hearer repents of his sins and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ then the believer has the full authority to inform that person that his sins are forgiven and cleansed away by the blood of Christ. On the other hand if the hearer rejects the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, once again, he has the authority to tell that person that he is still in his sins and if he dies in that condition he will perish forever. This is what Paul did, he preached the gospel to whomever he could - he had the courage of his convictions and at the end of the life he could say with a clear conscience that he was innocent of the blood of all men for he had not shunned to declare to whomever he met the whole counsel of God. (Acts.20: 26-27). Please also read Ezekial 3: 18-21. You have a compassionate heart for lost souls but be careful that you don't cast, as it were, "pearls before swine" because there are people who don't feel the compassion you feel for them - they will take what you give them (the precious truth), trample it under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces (Matthew 7:6).

Answer 3

It was not given to the Apostles but to the Church.In a multitude of counselors there is safety.You will find this authority given to the Church in Matthew 18:15-17.Whenever Jesus spoke to the Apostles He was speaking to the Church as they were the first fruits of His Gospel and the New Testament Church.Yet the Church does not have power to forgive sins but rather to prove what is sin and what is not sin.God is the only one who can forgive sin.The Church has a tremendous responsibility here laid upon it and I don't feel that they are doing a very good job.The false doctrine of "were not supposed to judge" has entered in and quenched Matthew 18:15-17. People don't read on to Matthew 7:5 they stop at verse 1.So much for the word of God. Sad isn't it..........

Note: God breathed the breath of life into Adam and he became a living soul.But when he sinned he died.Now here we have His Son Jesus restoring man back to the original Adam and once again man becomes a living soul.Have you been "breathed on" by Jesus and received the Holy Ghost?

Answer 4

Interesting question because it states if you do not forgive them they are not forgiven.However we know that only God can forgive sins. So I have always believed this verse to mean on a personal level. One can receive the Holy spirit and forgive someone as we are suppose to do and that person can continue to sin and hurt others, they must confess to God and ask for forgiveness so I still think this is on a person level. They are forgiven as far as we forgive them. Jesus also said that we must forgive 7 times 70. So it is on a personal level for sure.

Answer 5

Reading, believing what I have been taught and cross referencing, as I believed to begin with, God, through Jesus Christ Is the only one who can forgive sins!*
And ever will be able to.
Just like we would rejoice and tell someone close to us, who just gave their life to God and repented from All sin, - we can say with tears of joy your sins are forgiven now,
that is what Jesus breathed upon those disciples.
And as it is written, as The Holy Spirit would reveal, God has given this power to All mankind that believe upon Him.
He has breathed upon Christians who receive the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus did them, (His closest friends) ,as Jesus knew they would need Him.
As He had promised and they had anticipated. 50 Days later, he sent The Holy Spirit for All to receive from the Day of Pentecost.
John 15:26
"But I will send you the Counselor – the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about me."

It is not that we can forgive anyones sins, nor if we (or they the disciples) have unforgiveness in our hearts, toward someone that is the essence of these lines, but rather it's whether the hearers accept or reject The Gospel of our Lord and Savior, that they are forgiven.

We May Long For Heaven, But It Is On Earth Where Our Work Is Done*

Answer 6

(1) John 20:23 nowhere mentions confession of sin.
(2) John 20:23 nowhere promises, or even hints, that the authority to forgive sins would be passed on to the successors of the apostles. Jesus’ promise was specifically directed to the apostles.
(3) The New Testament nowhere states that the apostles would even have successors to their apostolic authority.
Catholics point to Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 (binding and loosing) as evidence for the Catholic Church’s authority to forgive sins. The same three above points apply equally to these Scriptures.

Answer 7

Primo, this is a very good question. As several answerers have already stated, I believe this was a special gift Jesus gave to the 10 remaining Apostles who were present (Judas was dead and Thomas was absent, according to verse 24; whether he received this gift later is not recorded). We know this gift of the Holy Spirit was separate from what was received by the Apostles and disciples at Pentecost, when "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4). So what REALLY happened when Jesus breathed on these 10 Apostles?

I believe the answer lies in the Old Testament. Whenever a king was selected by God, a prophet announced the selection and anointed him with olive oil (which we know symbolizes the Holy Spirit). Such a person was then known as "meshiach," the word we translate as "messiah." (It is a common misconception among Gentiles that the Bible only names one "messiah." While there is only one Messiah, there were several "messiahs.") This anointing confirmed the person's appointment by God.

Jesus received this anointing as Messiah, but it came directly from God. For example, Luke 3:22 reads: "And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” "

So what we see here is Jesus, in His capacities as God, Prophet AND Messiah, anointing the 10 Apostles with the Holy Spirit and appointing them as "meshiachim" (pleural). As anointed ones, these men were clearly given special gifts and powers that are not available to us. Of course, all Christians are also anointed by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 1:21-22), but it is clear that our anointing is not the same as the Apostles received, since we have no power to say to a person "your sins are forgiven" or "your sins will not be forgiven." Only God can do this; therefore, the anointing the Apostles received was to serve as God's personal, physical representatives on this earth. This was probably necessary in order to establish and maintain the newborn Church.

While I believe the spiritual gifts are still in operation, I do not believe anyone can claim the gift of Apostle.

Answer 8

"Only God can forgive sin through Christ. What do we make of these verses?"
You are correct in this detail, as well as the Pharisees when they accused Jesus when saying, "How can He forgive a man's sins? Only God can do that!" As we can confirm with the Psalm of David that says, "against You [God] and You only have I done this wickedness".

We, once again, need to look at the scripture in its context. Thankfully, you provided the important preceding verse. Jesus breathed on them, and they received what? The Holy Spirit. Now JWs not withstanding, the Holy Spirit is God. So for the first time since Adam, God breathed in to man His Spirit. The word "breathed" is the same word used in Genesis as translated in the Septuagint. Since Adam, no other individual had ever been breathed upon this breath of God's Spirit. So what kind of authority does that provide?

OK, we cannot come to someone and say "I forgive you, you will now go to heaven. And you... and you... and you..." Next thing you know, you have all the world coming to you to have their sins forgiven. Ludicrous, of course. Nor can I say, "I hate you, retain your sins you scum! You will never make it to heaven." Don't think your words are going to carry that kind of weight. Again, ludicrous.

Remember Stephen when he was being stoned? He looked into heaven and cried, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” Since Stephen, as given in scripture, was full of the Holy Spirit, why didn't he say, “I do not charge you with this sin.”? Herein lies our answer. What Jesus was saying is that within you is the Spirit of the living God. This same Spirit is God with the authority to forgive and retain sins according to the will and purposes of the Father Himself. We have a direct link now where we can intercede for someone, give someone over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (as Paul pronounced) so that the soul could be saved, and best of all, lead someone in the sinners prayer and be able to say, "Guess what? All your sins have been forgiven!"

I tell you, there is no greater joy than to lead someone, who wants their sins to be forgiven, in the sinners prayer. And to have the authority of the Spirit within your own life and the authority of the Word of God to say, "All your sins are gone!"

James 5:20
let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Answer 9

The bible goes on to say that any sins the Apsotles remit they are remitted, & the ones they don't remit are not remitted, Anyones sin can only be forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ, But the remission of sins done in the body can be remitted by being Baptized in water in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, That is what the bible is talking about, If someone truly repented, they by baptism in water can they have their sins done in the flesh be remitted, Therefore The Apostles had the authority to remit anyones sin by water baptism after they have repented, & If they have not repented, then the Apostle could retain their sins by not baptizing them.

Answer 10

Another scripture that is similar is...
Matthew 16:19 (NKJV)
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

I do not believe the apostles were given a unique authority by Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus' comment implies that they knew how people are saved. They knew that people must accecpt Christ in order to be saved.

Matthew 12:32 (NKJV)
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

We, along with the apostles, can give people assurance that their faith is real and they are saved.

This is not always easy to do. We must never give a false assurance of salvation for we know there are many that profess Jesus as Lord but Jesus really doesn't know them and they will never enter into His rest.

I can only judge people by the fruit they display and by their thirst of knowledge for Jesus Christ.

Even the apostles had to deal with people that weren't genuine...
Acts 8:17-24 (NKJV)
Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. [18] And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, [19] saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit." [20] But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! [21] You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. [22] Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. [23] For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." [24] Then Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me."