Mathew 9:2-7 And behold they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on the bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven. And behold, certain of the scribes within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (then he saith to the sick of the palsy), Arise and take up thy bed, and go up to thy house. And he arose and departed to his house. (ASV)
Mathew 18:27-35 And the Lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, who owed him a hundred shillings: and he laid hold on him, and took him by the throat saying, pay what you owest. So his fellow-servant fell down and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee. And he would not, but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay that which was due. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were exceeding sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then the lord called him and said unto him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. So shall my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. (ASV)
Jesus’
proclamation, that we read in John’s Gospel the 20th chapter is
a strong one. It seemingly looks like he talks about people being able
to take God’s place in such a vital and fundamental thing as
forgiveness of sins (grace). Who did Jesus give this famous privilege,
if to anyone?
God’s Word is a harmonious complex with neither
contradiction nor conflict. Every single statement is backed up by
another one in a different place of the Bible, which either makes it
whole or confirms it. If we are not able to find such place, it doesn’t
mean that the Bible is in a conflict itself; only that we just don’t
understand the particular problem yet. In such a case we need to
acknowledge the fact and not to try to come up with teaching about it
based on one isolated verse, or to try to understand it through
mythology or philosophy. The results of such activities are most likely
devious false teachings.
The whole history is headed for people
to enter the Kingdom of God and for that the forgiveness of the sins is
necessary – because an unforgiven sin will certainly hinder us from
entering it. So grace (forgiveness of the sins) is a life-death matter.
The situation, when a grace is given by a human, not God, would
certainly fundamentally change the whole principle of the Gospel. Then
not only God, but also a man; and not on a basis of the repentance, but
on a settlement between a man and the sinner, would decide about his
being or not being. And who amongst the people should give such
absolution? Everyone? Or just some? And what kind of „qualities” would
they be required to have? And that’s why in such a fundamental question
as Grace is, we need more than one place from the Bible.
It’s
not surprising, that until that place in a Gospel of John 20 never
in history there is any indication of people being able and allowed to
forgive sins in God’s place. By contrast, there are many places
in God’s word that clearly state, that the only one who can forgive
sins is God Himself.
The example of that is a mentioned story of
a sick man, whose friends pulled him down through a roof of a house
where Jesus was. (Math. 9:2-7) Jesus
instead of an anticipated healing gave him a grace (forgiveness of
sins) and that provoked alarm among the people present. They said
in their hearts „Only God can forgive sins!” And that is why Jesus said
it, to prove them, that He is God. And He manifested it in healing
the man afterwards. So this story is a proof that only God Himself has
the authority to forgive sins.
Mathew 18:35
seemingly appeals to us to forgive others, but it doesn’t say that
a man has the authority to forgive a sin itself. It only asks us to
forgive in our hearts to people who have sinned against us - since
unforgiveness can hinder us from entering the Kingdom of God.
So despite of the proclamation of John 20:21-23
we can be certain, that only God can forgive sins. Man can encourage
others, who truly repented, that their sins have been forgiven, for
the Bible clearly says it many different times. And besides that we can
forgive people who have sinned against us. But we forgive only in our
hearts; we can never give them a forgiveness that would bring them to
Heaven. Whoever acquires such authority, will bring people to a mistake
that could become fatal to them.
Our assignment therefore is not
to forgive sins, but to bring the gospel to everyone – the good news
about the possibility and necessity to make peace with God and to
receive a grace (forgiveness of sins) and eternal life from Him.
The reconciliation must take place between a man and God, not through
anyone else.
