If
you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.”
John 20:23
John 20 [18.] Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her. When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
John 20 [20.] When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.”
John 20 [24.] But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Meaning:
On the evening of the first Easter Sunday, the disciples were hiding behind locked doors. Jesus came and stood among them, showed them the wounds in his hands and side, and gave them his peace. Then he sent them out as the Father had sent him, breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit!” This verse completes that commission. The risen Lord entrusts his followers with the message of forgiveness.
- “If you forgive anyone’s sins”
Only God can forgive sins. When Jesus forgave a paralysed man, the scribes rightly asked, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). God himself says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake” (Isaiah 43:25). So Jesus is not giving the disciples a power of their own. He is sending them, filled with the Spirit, to announce God’s forgiveness with his authority. On the same evening, according to Luke, he told them “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations” (Luke 24:47).
- “they have been forgiven them”
The wording is the same kind used in Matthew: “will have been bound in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). The disciples declare what God has already done. When they proclaim forgiveness to a person who repents and believes in Jesus, that person truly is forgiven. Peter did this on the day of Pentecost: “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2:38).
- “If you retain anyone’s sins”
The message has two sides. Those who refuse to repent and reject the Saviour remain in their sins. The disciples must say so honestly, not to condemn, but to warn. This matches Jesus’ teaching on the discipline of an unrepentant brother in the assembly (Matthew 18:15-17) and the promise first given to Peter about binding and releasing (Matthew 16:19).
- The gift of the Holy Spirit
The commission is joined to the breath of Jesus and the gift of the Spirit. Just as God breathed life into the first man, the risen Christ breathes new life into his people. Without the Spirit, the church could not know whom to forgive or how to speak; with him, it carries the very voice of Christ.
The Significance of John 20:23
- The church carries the message of forgiveness
Every believer is part of this commission. Paul says, “We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). The good news is that forgiveness is offered freely to all who turn to Jesus.
- Honesty and love together
Christians must neither water down the warning nor withhold the welcome. Forgiveness is announced to all who repent, and those who refuse are lovingly warned.
Cross-References:
Luke 24:47: "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations," The same commission in Luke.
Matthew 18:18: "whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven," Binding and releasing in the assembly.
Acts 2:38: "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins," The apostles proclaim forgiveness.
Mark 2:7: "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Forgiveness belongs to God.
Conclusion: On the evening of his resurrection, Jesus sent his disciples into the world, gave them the Holy Spirit and entrusted them with the message of forgiveness. When they announce forgiveness to those who repent and believe, heaven has already forgiven them; when people refuse, their sins remain. The church still carries this message, offering God’s forgiveness to everyone through Jesus.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible