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Jesus Christ Granted the Apostles His Authority to

Forgive Sins
John 20:21 – before He grants them the authority to forgive sins, Jesus says
to the apostles, “as the Father sent me, so I send you.” As Christ was sent by
the Father to forgive sins, so Christ sends the apostles and their successors
forgive sins.

John 20:22 – the Lord “breathes” on the apostles, and then gives them the
power to forgive and retain sins. The only other moment in Scripture where
God breathes on man is in Gen. 2:7, when the Lord “breathes” divine life into
man. When this happens, a significant transformation takes place.

John 20:23 – Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If
you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” In order for the apostles to
exercise this gift of forgiving sins, the penitents must orally confess their sins
to them because the apostles are not mind readers. The text makes this very
clear.

Matt. 9:8 – this verse shows that God has given the authority to forgive sins to
“men.” Hence, those Protestants who acknowledge that the apostles had the
authority to forgive sins (which this verse demonstrates) must prove that this
gift ended with the apostles. Otherwise, the apostles’ successors still possess
this gift. Where in Scripture is the gift of authority to forgive sins taken away
from the apostles or their successors?

Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10 – Christ forgave sins as a man (not God) to convince us
that the “Son of man” has authority to forgive sins on earth.

Luke 5:24 – Luke also points out that Jesus’ authority to forgive sins is as a
man, not God. The Gospel writers record this to convince us that God has
given this authority to men. This authority has been transferred from Christ to
the apostles and their successors.

Matt. 18:18 – the apostles are given authority to bind and loose. The authority
to bind and loose includes administering and removing the temporal penalties
due to sin. The Jews understood this since the birth of the Church.
John 20:22-23; Matt. 18:18 – the power to remit/retain sin is also the power to
remit/retain punishment due to sin. If Christ’s ministers can forgive the eternal
penalty of sin, they can certainly remit the temporal penalty of sin (which is
called an “indulgence”).

2 Cor. 2:10 – Paul forgives in the presence of Christ (some translations refer
to the presences of Christ as “in persona Christi”). Some say that this may
also be a reference to sins.

2 Cor. 5:18 – the ministry of reconciliation was given to the ambassadors of

the Church. This ministry of reconciliation refers to the sacrament of
reconciliation, also called the sacrament of confession or penance.

James 5:15-16 – in verse 15 we see that sins are forgiven by the priests in the
sacrament of the sick. This is another example of man’s authority to forgive
sins on earth. Then in verse 16, James says “Therefore, confess our sins to
one another,” in reference to the men referred to in verse 15, the priests of the
Church.

1 Tim. 2:5 – Christ is the only mediator, but He was free to decide how His
mediation would be applied to us. The Lord chose to use priests of God to
carry out His work of forgiveness.

Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22 – even under the Old Covenant, God used priests to
forgive and atone for the sins of others.

II. The Necessity and Practice of Orally Confessing

Sins
James 5:16 – James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one
another,” not just privately to God. James 5:16 must be read in the context of
James 5:14-15, which is referring to the healing power (both physical and
spiritual) of the priests of the Church. Hence, when James says “therefore” in
verse 16, he must be referring to the men he was writing about in verses 14
and 15 – these men are the ordained priests of the Church, to whom we must
confess our sins.
Acts 19:18 – many came to orally confess sins and divulge their sinful
practices. Oral confession was the practice of the early Church just as it is
today.

Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5 – again, this shows people confessing their sins before
others as an historical practice (here to John the Baptist).

1 Tim. 6:12 – this verse also refers to the historical practice of confessing both
faith and sins in the presence of many witnesses.

1 John 1:9 – if we confess are sins, God is faithful to us and forgives us and
cleanse us. But we must confess our sins to one another.

Num. 5:7 – this shows the historical practice of publicly confessing sins, and
making public restitution.

2 Sam. 12:14 – even though the sin is forgiven, there is punishment due for
the forgiven sin. David is forgiven but his child was still taken (the
consequence of his sin).

Neh. 9:2-3 – the Israelites stood before the assembly and confessed sins
publicly and interceded for each other.

Sir. 4:26 – God tells us not to be ashamed to confess our sins, and not to try
to stop the current of a river. Anyone who has experienced the sacrament of
reconciliation understands the import of this verse.

Baruch 1:14 – again, this shows that the people made confession in the house
of the Lord, before the assembly.

1 John 5:16-17; Luke 12:47-48 – there is a distinction between mortal and

venial sins. This has been the teaching of the Catholic Church for 2,000 years,
but, today, most Protestants no longer agree that there is such a distinction.
Mortal sins lead to death and must be absolved in the sacrament of
reconciliation. Venial sins do not have to be confessed to a priest, but the
pious Catholic practice is to do so in order to advance in our journey to
holiness.
Matt. 5:19 – Jesus teaches that breaking the least of commandments is venial
sin (the person is still saved but is least in the kingdom), versus mortal sin (the
person is not saved).

Question: A question that is often asked by non-Catholics or even some Catholics who do not
appreciate the idea of humblingthemselves by confessing their sins to a priest, is "why not
confess your sins directly to Jesus"! After all they say, He is the one mediator between God and
man, isn’t He? Besides, they complain, confession to a priest is not Biblical.

Response: Of course, one can confess one’s sins directly to God, but if a priest is available
than one should confess their sins to him because Christ so ordained it and the Church he
founded has been hearing confessions for 2000 years. Did Jesus, who is the one Mediator
between God and man, direct us to confess our sins to another person? Since we know that
the Old Testament prepared the way for the New Testament, do we find confession of sins
there? We do. For example:

Leviticus 19: 20-22: A man who committed adultery had to bring a guilt offering for himself to
the door of the tent of meeting (holy place where the ark of the covenant, which contained God’s
true presence was kept). But then it adds “And the priest shall make atonement for him
…before the Lord for his sin…and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven.” (see also
Leviticus 5: 5-6) The priest could not make atonement if he were not aware of the man's sin. He
is acting as a mediator for the repentant sinner.

The complaint might be, well that is the Old Testament, but now we have Jesus, who suffered
for our sins. What does the New Testament have to say?

Matthew 3: 6 (and Mk 1: 5): “. . . they were baptized by him [John the Baptist] in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins.” So he who prepared the way for Christ, listened to confessions
of sin.

John the Baptist, whom Jesus called him the greatest "among them that are born of woman,"
preached a baptism of repentance. Mark tells us that ". . . there went out to him all the country
of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins. We learn in Luke's account of the Baptist that he answered
many questions for the people concerning the behavior they should follow, but freely confessed
that he was not the Christ (Luke 3: 16-17). He doubtless heard countless confessions of sin,
but he knew where forgiveness of sin came from for when Jesus approached he declared,
"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1: 29). Jesus than sent
his disciples to baptize throughout Judea (John 3: 22) and they too, doubtless heard the
confessions of many sinners as they traveled from village to village. So Jesus used his disciples
and John the precursor to hear confessions of sins, but this is not the sacrament of confession,
anymore than the baptism of John was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which came after John the
Baptist's time. Let's see if the New Testament shows men receiving the authority to forgive sins
in God's name.

Matthew 9: 6-8: Jesus tells us that He was given authority on earth to forgive sins (a power
reserved to God alone) and proves it with miraculous healings and then Scripture notes this
same authority was given to “men” (plural). Is this merely a figure of speech? No, John's
Gospel makes it clear Jesus intended to give this sacrament to men:

John 20: 21-23: In his very first Resurrection appearance our Lord gives this awesome power
to his Apostles with the words:

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins
of any, they are retained.” How could they forgive sins if they were not confessed? They could
not. This authority comes through the gift of the Holy Spirit which precedes it.

Does this remind of you what He told Peter (Mt. 16: 19) and then the other apostles (Mt.
18:18)? “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.” This
includes sins. Jesus allowed for us to receive spiritual consolation and counsel in this beautiful
sacrament of the Church. We see this awesome power in other sacraments as well. What
today we call the sacrament of the sick. Again, we look to Scripture:

James 5: 14-17: "Is any 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; 15 and the prayer of faith will
save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will
be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another …”

Notice the command does not say confess your sins straight to God. Notice also who they are
to go to the “elders” (bishops or priests—see the Acts 14: 23; 15: 2 for example).

John 1: 9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.” The word confess has an oral/verbal or proclamation
meaning. St. Paul describes his ministry as one of reconciliation of sinners:

2 Corinthians 5: 18: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave
us the ministry of reconciliation . . .”

Conclusion: The Bible clearly shows that while God alone can forgive sins and Christ is the
one Mediator between God and man, and that God uses men to bring about his
reconciliation. Clearly he gave that authority to his Apostles and they in turn "layed hands" (1
Timothy 4: 14 and 5:22 show laying on of hands as an ordination to God's service) on other
good men (this is the sacrament of holy orders) and hence ordained men are used by God to
give assurance of forgiveness of sins (absolution) to one who is sincerely repentant, has a firm
purpose of amendment (confession of sins must not be a mere ritual but rather part of a process
of conversion of heart and mind) and confesses their sins (honestly). This requires great
humility but then as Scripture says, "Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his
commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the
wrath of the Lord" (Zephaniah 2: 3 ); or from the New Testament Book of James:

But he gives more grace; therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the
humble." 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify
your hearts you men of double mind. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be
turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will
exalt you" (James 4: 6-8).