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NASB | John 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 20:22 And when He said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. [Acts 1:8; 2:1-3] |
Subject: Retain or forgive sins? |
Bible Note: Dear Tamara, It does appear that Jesus gave such authority to the apostles in His name as a continuation of his ministry of mercy and reconciliation: All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2Co 5:18-20 ESV) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (Jas 5:14-15 ESV) In the former verse, Paul explains that Jesus has entrusted "...to us the ministry of reconciliation...", which, in context, indicates the authority to carry out the forgiveness of "trespasses". Int the latter, the word "elders" translates the Greek "presbuteros", whence the English "presbyter" or "priest". It appears such "priests" were empowered for this anointing. Elsewhere the power to "forgive and retain" sins in Jesus' name is described as "binding and loosing": "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Mat 16:19 ESV) "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." (Mat 18:18 ESV) And there is this: But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he then said to the paralytic--"Rise, pick up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. (Mat 9:6-8 ESV) Matthew is clear that this authority "to forgive sins" comes from Jesus "to men". You could argue that in context the people were confused, not yet realizing that Jesus was not only a man, but also God; but Matthew employs the plural form of man, which gives this account a decidedly ecclesiastical meaning. It's logical to ask why Jesus would not give the authority to forgive sins to those He entrusted to build His Church on earth. I like your spunky curiosity, btw. |