Confession - Did Jesus establish it?

Question

God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send 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; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21-23). This is the establishment of the Sacrament of Penance (Confession).

Christ told the apostles: "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you" (John 20:21). Just as the apostles were to carry Christ’s message to the whole world, so they were to carry his forgiveness: "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 18:18). This power was understood as coming from God: "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18), "So we are ambassadors for Christ" (2 Cor. 5:20)

Some say that any power given to the apostles died with them. Not so. The powers necessary to maintain the Church as a living, spiritual society had to be passed down from generation to generation.It would take much time. And he promised them assistance: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20). The Catholic Bishops (and Eastern Orthodox Bishops) are the direct successors of the Apostles through the laing on of hands. There is an unbroken line of 265 popes going back to Peter himself. In this way, the authority to forgive sins was handed down. But again, this power is understood as coming from God: "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18).

Question: Comments anyone?
MORE INFO for truth-seekers:
http://www.catholic.com/library/Confession.asp
http://www.catholic.com/library/sacraments.asp
http://www.catholic.com/

Answer 1

Do men have the power to forgive sins? Yes, they do "...so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to MEN [plural]." (Matt 9:6-8)

and here too
""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." (John 20:21-23)

How did the Father send Jesus? With the power to forgive sins. And we see in John that Jesus sends them (his apostles) in the same way as He was sent...with the power on earth to forgive sins (Mat 9:8) given by God, through Christ to men. God forgives through men (the apostles and their successors).

Makes perfect sense. Jesus apostles (the twelve) and there successors were given the power on earth to forgive sins in the same way as Jesus was. But to know which sins to bind or loose the sinner needed to confess his sins to them.

God Bless
Robin

Answer 2

There is no question that He did.

Sorry Cuchlain, that's one of the worst most misleading responses I've read to a Catholic question.

The only other time God breathed on anyone was when he breathed life into the first human being. Symbolizing the connection between forgivness and life!

God gave this power to the apostles on the day he ressurected, yet another powerful symbol connecting the forgivness of sin with spiritual life.

If Jesus' message was one of forgivness, why would he not give his successors the power to forgive sin in His name?

Answer 3

If the bishops are the direct succesors:

1. Why don't they actually obey the commands of the apostles? (Consider the Borgias pope, Alexander..... he was part of that unbroken chain, but he lived in such a way that commended neither Christ nor the Apostles.... there are many examples like this one in history)
2. What happened during periods when there were no bishops?
3. Why don't they meet the qualifications of bishops that are laid out in Titus 1 and I Timothy 3? Consider that one of these qualifications is to be the husband of one wife; how many Catholic bishops or popes meet that requirement?
4. If there is an unbroken line of Popes back to Peter, why is it that the word "Pope" does not appear for over a century after Peter?

Does not James 5 command us to confess "one to another"?

Who actually forgives sins?
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Who are we confessing them to?
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous

Answer 4

Yes, He did.