In Mark 2, Jesus said to a paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven,” and he went on to claim that he had authority to forgive sins. The religious leaders accused him of blasphemy, since only God can truly forgive our sins. Was Jesus claiming to be divine? Anthony Rogers discusses the passage.
Why do you deny God the ability to give authority to the Messiah, the Son of the Living God? Jesus himself said that all authority was given to him. I confess that there is one God, and one mediator between God and men…
Jesus has authority because Yahweh GAVE him authority:
John 5:26-27 (NASB95) 26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
Jesus didn’t have aseity nor authority until Yahweh gave it to him.
Jesus ain’t muslim…
Super clear teaching. Thank you, Anthony.
If you guys see this please respond .the disciples were also given the authority to forgive sins weren’t they ?saying if you forgive them they will be forgiven and if you won’t then they won’t be forgiven .the objection I got from a Muslim is that not only god can forgive sins .if this was the case then why did the scribes acted how they did in response to Jesus saying that he can forgive sins
How Jesus was able to forgive sin before he die on the cross ?
VERY GOOD!!!
Thank you Rogers for sharing. GOD bless you.
I have a question. This question came up the other day to me. I would love a response to help me out. God bless you.
John 20:23 shows Jesus told His followers they can forgive or retain sins. If Jesus is giving them authority to forgive sins, how does that make Jesus unique in this way if disciples have the same authority?
Jesus gives his power to forgive sins to His priests
Matthew 16:19 - (Jesus gives the apostles the power to bind and loose sins)
Matthew 18:18 - whatever you bind and loose on earth, so it is in heaven
John 20:22 - If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.
John 20:23 - After saying this he breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit. (recall Genesis 2:7)
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 - “God … has reconciled us to himself … given us the ministry of reconciliation”
James 5:14-15 - “presbyters of the church … pray over him … he will be forgiven” (prayer of presbyters forgives sin)
See also: - Luke 22:29-30, James 5:16
After forgiveness, the need for reparation can remain.
2 Samuel 12:13-14 - “The LORD … has forgiven your sin … but … child born to you must surely die”
Luke 19:8-9 - (Jesus praises Zacchaeus for his promise of reparation)
Penance as satisfaction for sins.
Matthew 3:8 - “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.”
2 Corinthians 7:10 - “godly sorrow produces a salutary repentance without regret”
See also: - Luke 3:8, Acts 2:38
You ARE joking right?? Are you that ignorant of the Holy Scriptures??
Lord, have mercy!
You want some Bible? Here’s some Bible for ya:
I. Jesus Christ Granted the Apostles His Authority to Forgive Sins
John 20:21 - before He grants them the authority to forgive sins, Jesus says to the apostles, “as the Father sent me, so I send you.” As Christ was sent by the Father to forgive sins, so Christ sends the apostles and their successors forgive sins.
John 20:22 - the Lord “breathes” on the apostles, and then gives them the power to forgive and retain sins. The only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on man is in Gen. 2:7, when the Lord “breathes” divine life into man. When this happens, a significant transformation takes place.
John 20:23 - Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” In order for the apostles to exercise this gift of forgiving sins, the penitents must orally confess their sins to them because the apostles are not mind readers. The text makes this very clear.
Matt. 9:8 - this verse shows that God has given the authority to forgive sins to “men.” Hence, those Protestants who acknowledge that the apostles had the authority to forgive sins (which this verse demonstrates) must prove that this gift ended with the apostles. Otherwise, the apostles’ successors still possess this gift. Where in Scripture is the gift of authority to forgive sins taken away from the apostles or their successors?
Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10 - Christ forgave sins as a man (not God) to convince us that the “Son of man” has authority to forgive sins on earth.
Luke 5:24 - Luke also points out that Jesus’ authority to forgive sins is as a man, not God. The Gospel writers record this to convince us that God has given this authority to men. This authority has been transferred from Christ to the apostles and their successors.
Matt. 18:18 - the apostles are given authority to bind and loose. The authority to bind and loose includes administering and removing the temporal penalties due to sin. The Jews understood this since the birth of the Church.
John 20:22-23; Matt. 18:18 - the power to remit/retain sin is also the power to remit/retain punishment due to sin. If Christ’s ministers can forgive the eternal penalty of sin, they can certainly remit the temporal penalty of sin (which is called an “indulgence”).
2 Cor. 2:10 - Paul forgives in the presence of Christ (some translations refer to the presences of Christ as “in persona Christi”). Some say that this may also be a reference to sins.
2 Cor. 5:18 - the ministry of reconciliation was given to the ambassadors of the Church. This ministry of reconciliation refers to the sacrament of reconciliation, also called the sacrament of confession or penance.
James 5:15-16 - in verse 15 we see that sins are forgiven by the priests in the sacrament of the sick. This is another example of man’s authority to forgive sins on earth. Then in verse 16, James says “Therefore, confess our sins to one another,” in reference to the men referred to in verse 15, the priests of the Church.
1 Tim. 2:5 - Christ is the only mediator, but He was free to decide how His mediation would be applied to us. The Lord chose to use priests of God to carry out His work of forgiveness.
Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22 - even under the Old Covenant, God used priests to forgive and atone for the sins of others.
II. The Necessity and Practice of Orally Confessing Sins
James 5:16 - James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. James 5:16 must be read in the context of James 5:14-15, which is referring to the healing power (both physical and spiritual) of the priests of the Church. Hence, when James says “therefore” in verse 16, he must be referring to the men he was writing about in verses 14 and 15 – these men are the ordained priests of the Church, to whom we must confess our sins.
Acts 19:18 - many came to orally confess sins and divulge their sinful practices. Oral confession was the practice of the early Church just as it is today.
Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5 - again, this shows people confessing their sins before others as an historical practice (here to John the Baptist).
1 Tim. 6:12 - this verse also refers to the historical practice of confessing both faith and sins in the presence of many witnesses.
1 John 1:9 - if we confess are sins, God is faithful to us and forgives us and cleanse us. But we must confess our sins to one another.
Num. 5:7 - this shows the historical practice of publicly confessing sins, and making
public restitution.
2 Sam. 12:14 - even though the sin is forgiven, there is punishment due for the forgiven sin. David is forgiven but his child was still taken (the consequence of his sin).
Neh. 9:2-3 - the Israelites stood before the assembly and confessed sins publicly and interceded for each other.
Sir. 4:26 - God tells us not to be ashamed to confess our sins, and not to try to stop the current of a river. Anyone who has experienced the sacrament of reconciliation understands the import of this verse.
Baruch 1:14 - again, this shows that the people made confession in the house of the Lord, before the assembly.
1 John 5:16-17; Luke 12:47-48 - there is a distinction between mortal and venial sins. This has been the teaching of the Catholic Church for 2,000 years, but, today, most Protestants no longer agree that there is such a distinction. Mortal sins lead to death and must be absolved in the sacrament of reconciliation. Venial sins do not have to be confessed to a priest, but the pious Catholic practice is to do so in order to advance in our journey to holiness.
Matt. 5:19 - Jesus teaches that breaking the least of commandments is venial sin (the person is still saved but is least in the kingdom), versus mortal sin (the person is not saved).
Please…take a class in “Basic Christianity 101” that includes study of the Church before 1600 A.D. (about the time your way of interpreting Scripture came about!) and you just might find out a few things about the "Faith Once Delivered
really show me in the bible This office has now expired then show me where thiese have expired as well John 20:21 John 20:22 John 20:23 Matt. 9:8 Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10 Luke 5:24 Matt. 18:18 John 20:22-23; Matt. 18:18 2 Cor. 2:10 2 Cor. 5:18 James 5:15-16 1 Tim. 2:5 Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22 James 5:16 James 5:14-15 Acts 19:18 Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5 1 Tim. 6:12 1 John 1:9 Num. 5:7 2 Sam. 12:14 Neh. 9:2-3 Sir. 4:26 Baruch 1:14 1 John 5:16-17; Luke 12:47-48 Matt. 5:19
Notice also the fact that people lower a paralyzed person down to Jesus, with the reasonable expectation that since He was healing others, He would heal him too. Jesus, however, doesn’t immediately heal his defect, but rather forgives His sins, which is definitely weird.
Imagine if I went to the doctor with a stomach ache, and his response to me is “I have healed your leg.” Unless, of course, Jesus was presupposing to know the man’s heart (which only God can assert) and thus discern that the greater defect in him was not his being paralyzed, but his being a sinner. But that would mean that Jesus is God, which He is.
Amen!
Praise CHRIST, Jesus our LORD!
100% JESUS IS GOD.
Jesus is amazing
Matthew 28:18 says: "And Jesus came and said to them “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.” This is not something a mere prophet would say. If someone says this, they are either insane or evil, intending to deceive; or maybe, just maybe, He was telling the truth. Given that He died and rose from death, He cannot be crazy or evil, He truly does wield immense authority, which means He is God.
sorry man, jesus can’t save his own ass when curcified
Do you not think that a book written by g0d would not have so many mistakes or ambiguity, it’s made up by men.
the hole bible indicates that jesus is good human on earth whom god loved so much because being someones love make that man very special and its heavenly thing and most importantly he’s love of god and quran also indicates the same not nor even prophet mohammed but Allah love jesus so much Allah and god is one how can he change his sayings trust me i say learn with his personality and accept his good saying and habitats don’t run behind that he’s god or not your love and good heart will make him god because he will be succeeding on that second I am saying it because your running behind ego not behind god please understand me with open heart be godly like him be like him try everyday please I am also trying my level best I can’t i know but I am trying to be good at least 2%of him
I UNDERSTAND YOUR ARGUMENT HERE ,BUT LETS SAY WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ADOLF HITLER,HE KILLED 7 MILLION JEWS,AND CAUSED A LOT OF DAMAGE WW2 ESTIMATE WAS 97 MILLION KILLED AND STALIN KILLED 12 MILLION OF HIS OWN PEOPLE AND GERMANS ,ARE THESE TWO GUYS SAVED,BOTH ARE CHRISTIANS,AFTER ALL THESE KILLINGS ,WHAT JESUS AND HIS FATHER WILL DO TO THEM NEXT LIFE,ARE THEY GOING TO THROW THEM IN HELL FIRE,DO NOT ARGUE ABOUT STALIN THAT HE IS NOT CHRISTIAN,CHRISTIANITY WAS AND IS FLOURISHING IN OLD USSR AND NEW RUSSIA ,BUT YOU NEVER KNEW IT WAS BEHIND THE IRON CURTAINS,RUSSIA WAS SOCIALIST IN ONLY GOVERNMENT ISSUES ,BUT RUSSIANS AND THEIR NEARLY ALL LEADERS ARE DEVOUT EASTERN CHRISTIANS,WHAT THE HOLY BIBLE WILL SAY ABOUT THESE TWO AND A LOT OF MENTALLY DISTURBED SERIAL KILLERS? THANK YOU/PLEASE DO NOT MIND MY CAPS ,I WRITE THIS WAY,AND BY THE WAY WHY IN SOME SCRIPTURE YOU CALL HIM "SON OF MAN"IF HIS FATHER THE GOD IN HEAVENS??OR I QUOTE YOU WRONG HERE ,SO I AM SORRY