John 20

At youth we have been teaching on resurrection life, the power that the word and the resurrection of Jesus gives to believers.

As we examined a few passages where Christ encounters people after his resurrection I came across John 20:23: "If you forgive anyone their sins they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

This is a really tough verse. Let's look at the context:

"On the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After this he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, "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 their sins they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." (John 20:19-23 NIV)

There's alot going on in this passage. First of all I love how Jesus appears in the room when they are locked inside alone. Clearly the disciples are hiding from the outside world in embarrassment (I'm sure a few couldn't help but think they put their trust in the wrong messiah) or fear (of persecution, or a similar fate to their rabbi). Jesus beams into the room ala Star Trek and I like to imagine there was a freak out moment.

(Side note: we were looking at this passage originally to note the radical change in the apostles before and after encountering the resurrected Christ. They go from being embarrassed of their position as disciples of a crucified rabbi to bold proclaimors that they serve the risen God! They go from fear of persecution and mistreatment to courageous ambassador's who take their gospel message across the continent without regard to threats of harm or death. The power of resurrection life!)

So the big issue I have with this verse is that it seems to imply that we (or at least the disciples) have divine authority to administer God's forgiveness. That may seem like a stretch, but a little research revealed that it is this portion of scripture that led the Roman Catholic church to institute confession and adopt the idea that a priest has the divine right to administer God's forgiveness and that the Pope has the authority to forgive or retain sin against individuals on the earth.

The idea that my own (as a regular individual or as a pastor-- or any person apostle or pope) inability to forgive an individual for wronging me would limit an individual's ability to receive divine forgiveness for their earthly sins is appalling.

After reading a few commentaries on this passage it seems there are several thoughts:

1. Jesus is talking specifically to the apostles here and it has no application to us today. The apostles (as hand picked by God) had the authority to forgive on God's behalf.

--> I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this analysis simply because the apostles were still human and capable of error. We see disputes between Paul and Peter as well as Paul and Barnabus. In fact the dispute between Paul and Barnabus is a pretty serious one. The event is recorded in Acts 15:36-41. It seems John Mark (writer of the gospel of Mark, Peter's translator, and also Barnabus' cousin according to Colossians 4:10) went home during an early missionary journey with Paul. Paul seemed to think this was a greater offense than Barnabus did since their dispute arose over it. I don't want to imply Paul did not forgive John Mark or Barnabus, but it certainly demonstrates that the apostles were capable of relational errors.

Now, I know Paul, Barnabus and John Mark were not part of the 11 disciples present in John 20:19-23, however we also know Paul wrote canon and was considered an apostle... perhaps this mandate remains true only for the 11 disciples present, but what makes them any less capable of relational qualms as Paul and Barnabus?

2. Another analysis of this passage has to do with the idea that Jesus was giving them authority to evangelize, that is, spread the gospel and therefore setting the parameters for forgiveness. Preaching the message of the cross let's people know the forgiving work was finished on the cross, so trust in it, have faith in it, believe it.

I agree with this interpretation, but perhaps it's simplifying it too much... and maybe even avoiding a more literal reading?

The thought I had last night and today as I meditated on this passage was perhaps Jesus was telling the disciples that they are to be ambassador's of this kind of forgiveness. Twice in this encounter he says "Peace be with you"... other times when Jesus talks about that shalom peace are when he is asking his disciples to learn from him, take his yoke upon them etc.

Central to Christ's teaching is the emphasis that living the life modelled by Christ creates peace, joy, harmony and "rest for our souls".

So perhaps Jesus is giving his disciples the mandate to go into the world and demonstrate this type of forgiveness. He is only asking us to do what God has done for us isn't he?

We live in a world where forgiveness is not real forgiveness, it's just "letting it go"-- but unfortunately we can't let anything go until we have our revenge... until the person who wronged us "gets what they deserve".

Well in that kind of society how can anyone understand a God who is willing to forgive all thier sins past, present and future if they would only ask? Sometimes people need an example, a walking, talking, flesh and blood example of what that type of forgiveness looks like.

And maybe, when they see it demonstrated in us, the body of Christ, they will be able to trust in a God of grace and have faith that he is real and they are forgiven.