John the apostle wrote after Jesus was dead, buried and resurrected how, “the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and sad unto them, Receive you the Holy Ghost:”, and in chapter twenty and verse twenty-three of his book John shared how Jesus instructs His disciples about “remitting and retaining sins” where we read:
Whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them;
and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained.
The verse begins, “Whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them;” John began with the words, “whose soever sins” which means “whatever errors, mistakes and wrongs of certain and particular person” “you remit” or “you, disciples of Jesus, disregard, omit, forgive or keep no longer”, “they are remitted unto them” which means “those errors, mistakes and wrongs exist as disregarded, omitted, forgiven and kept no longer to that certain and particular person”. John shared how Jesus gave His disciples the ability to “forgive and keep no longer” the “errors and wrongs” of particular people.
The verse continues, “and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained.” John added the words, “and whose soever sins” or “whatever errors, mistakes and wrongs of certain and particular person” “you retain” which means “you, disciples of Jesus, take possession of, power over, master, seize and take hold of”, “they are retained” or “those errors, mistakes and wrongs exist as possessed, powered over, mastered, seized and taken hold of toward that certain and particular person”. John shared how Jesus also gave His disciples the ability to “seize and power over” other “errors and wrongs” of people.
When we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we learn how Jesus delivered to His disciples the ability to “forgive” or “master over” the “errors and wrongs” of particular people. In other words, they were given the ability to “forgive” or “not forgive” the “sins” of certain people. This would indeed require the help of the Holy Spirit that Jesus just “breathed” upon His disciples. God desires to forgive the sins of every person through belief and trust in His Son Jesus, and when they yield their lives to Him, they receive His “forgiveness” and the promise of eternal life with Him. Let everyone who carefully considers these words understand the power Jesus gave to His disciple to “forgive or retain” sins and submit themselves to Jesus who alone is able to save them.
Next time John shares how “Thomas … was not with them when Jesus came”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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