Does this passage support the forgiveness of sins through a priest?

Jesus said, “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained” (Jn. 20:23). Roman Catholic authorities claim that this passage supports the notion of penance being distributed through the priesthood (see The Catholic Catechism, paragraphs 976, 1461, 1485). Currie writes, “Only God can forgive sins. Jesus demonstrated that when he was here on earth. But here Jesus explicitly delegates this power to the group of men who will lead his Church.”^[1]

[1] David B. Currie, Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic (San Francisco [Calif.: Ignatius, 1996), 66.

A number of observations can be made:

First, there is not a single example of sacramental confession in the entire NT. This is a conspicuous argument from silence. If sins are forgiven through the sacraments and the clergy, it’s baffling as to why we don’t find a single example of this in the NT.

Second, the Roman Catholic interpretation lacks support from the church fathers. Tenney writes, “The Greek fathers never quoted this passage in support of absolution.”^[1] This is another conspicuous silence from a Roman Catholic perspective.

Third, this refers to disciples—not necessarily the apostles. John doesn’t mention the Twelve (or really the Ten, because Judas is gone and Thomas hasn’t arrived). If this power was only and uniquely bestowed on the apostles, it’s odd that we have no mention of who was present. Luke numbers the group of the Eleven “and those who were with them” in one of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances (Lk. 24:33). Here, John simply records that Jesus appeared “where the disciples were” (Jn. 20:19). Who was in attendance? How many disciples? Were these the apostles? The text doesn’t say.

Thomas—one of the twelve apostles—was absent during this event (Jn. 20:24). If Jesus bestowed a unique spiritual authority to the apostles to forgive sins, it’s difficult to believe that one of the apostles wasn’t in attendance at this important event.

Fourth, Jesus is most likely referring to the preaching of the gospel. In context, Jesus says, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (Jn. 20:21). In Luke’s account (24:46-48), we see that this distribution of forgiveness is simply through the preaching of the gospel. Jesus said, “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained” (Jn. 20:23). In our view, this refers to the forgiving of sinners—not individual sins. Earlier, Jesus said, “I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (Jn. 8:21). Here, the concept of believing in Jesus is directly connected with finding eternal life and being forgiven for our sins.

Fifth, the grammar describes a perfect, completed tense. John uses a “perfect passive” verb tense, but Greek expert Daniel Wallace goes further to describe these verbs as being a “proleptic futuristic perfect,”^[2] which he says is “quite rare.” Based on this, we would be wise not to build a complex doctrine on a rare use of grammar.

That being said, we would understand the grammar as describing a future event as though it has already transpired. For example, Paul writes, “He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8). The “love” occurs in the present tense, but the “fulfillment of the law” is already completed. Wallace gives several examples of this grammatical form (Jas. 2:10; 1 Jn. 2:5; Rom. 14:23; Jn. 20:23).

Our interpretation of this passage doesn’t hang on the verb tense. However, the grammar supports the idea that God’s forgiveness precedes our preaching. Based on this, we could render Jesus’ statement in this way: “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have [already] been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have [already] been retained” (Jn. 20:23). Based on this, Tenney writes, “The delegation of power to the disciples to forgive or to retain the guilt of sin thus depends on the previous forgiveness by God.”^[3] Morris adds, “If the church [i.e. all believers on Morris’ view] is really acting under the leadership of the Spirit it will be found that her pronouncements in this matter do but reveal what has already been determined in heaven.”^[4] Carson states that these clauses can be rendered, “They are in a state of forgiveness’, i.e. ‘they stand forgiven.”^[5] And he adds, “The passive voice implies it is God who is acting.”^[6]

^[1] Merrill C. Tenney, “John,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 9 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), p.194.

^[2] Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 581.

^[3] Merrill C. Tenney, “John,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 9 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), p.194.

^[4] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), p.750.

^[5] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), p.655.

^[6] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), p.655.