The resurrection discloses…that there is an intimate and indissoluble coherence between Jesus’ exaltation as the suffering Servant of the Lord and His glory as the Son of Man invested with all power and authority in heaven and on earth.
Herman Ridderbos

Remission Of Sins

Remission Of Sins

REMISSION OF SINS

BASIC R.C. BELIEF John 20:23 is used as a proof text for the Sacrament of Penance, where the priest gives absolution for sins.

CHRISTIAN COMMENT This verse must be taken in context. In verse 21, Jesus is commissioning His disciples to do the work they accomplished in Acts. When we compare this commission with Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15 and Luke 24:47, we see that the emphasis was upon proclaiming the Gospel, and each item mentioned was actually recorded as having been done by one of the Apostles in the Book of Acts (with the exception of drinking something deadly).

We conclude that the Roman Catholic interpretation is wrong because the context shows this was a commission to preach the Gospel, which is what they did. There is no record of any of the Apostles hearing Confession in the Book of Acts.

The use of the strong words remit and retain indicates the absolute authority of an Ambassador for Christ. We can positively state that if one responds to this message his sins are remitted; if one rejects, he is still in his sins.

Related Articles: