Reddit User Supporter Let the corpus of my replies speak for my beliefs

Before directly answering, I think it important to include a time when men questioned Yeshua's (Jesus') authority to forgive. Matthew 9:5-7 clearly states that the authority to forgive sins has been given to the "Son of Man,"...Of course there are other Scriptures that say exactly what those testing Him already knew. Only G-d can forgive sin!

(Matthew 28:18, John 5:22). As the appointed judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42), He will preside over the final judgment, including the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-12) and the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). 

These Scriptural contexts easily places Yeshua as G-d (The Son). 

That being said, what's truly being talked about here in John 20:22,23 (NASB)?
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

The apostles have a unique place in the world to come, for Yeshua clearly stated, that the apostles would sit on 12 thrones and judge the nations, in Yeshua's kingdom. Matthew 19:28, Luke 22:30 

Acts 5:1–11 Ananias and Sapphira
Acts 8:19-21 Simon the sorcerer

These are two cases of the Holy Spirit being involved, and sins being uncovered, proceeding from a sinful heart. The two cases looked--for all intents of man, to be genuine, but with the help of the Ruach (Holy Spirit) the ruse was easily laid bare to the apostle(s). 

Even though we are not apostles in the sense of the 12 set apart ones, we're told a fitting parable that does apply to us individually. Matthew 18:21-35 

The key takeaway there is that even though we make a "profession of faith" and hold to the Name of Yeshua (Jesus) if we do not bring salvation to others as He did, then we are not bearing fruit, as He did. 

When we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. Imagine appearing before the judge of all the earth and having been among the crowd who called for the stoning of the woman caught in adultery, io answer to the Judge of the quick and the dead that you think you are sinless and therefore cast the first stone, yet you did not forgive as Yeshua plainly bade us to.

That's why the work of the Ruach (Holy Spirit) is so essential, as well as getting all the Word into us, and He will pull it out at the right time.

In the Gospels, the apostles are told to "Wait in Jerusalem until you receive power from On High to become My witnesses, to Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world."

I take it that the Gospel of John was unique in that it included the gift of the Ruach being personally given by Yeshua, which happens slightly differently in Acts, but still happens all the same. Both are true. 

This was fulfilled in Acts (2:4) on the day of Shavuot / Pentecost and was essential for the work Yeshua gave the apostles to do. 

The "torch" has been passed to you and me in what we term "The Great Commission". We too have been sent out. Some to plant, some to water, but to G-d be the increase!

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Timothy Maas Supporter

The formal name given to the authority that Jesus granted in the cited verse is the Office of the Keys. This gave the apostles (and, by extension, subsequent ordained ministers who carried on the apostles' work in ministering to Christians) the authority to act on God's behalf in forgiving repentant sinners, but at the same time withholding God's forgiveness from the unrepentant.

A modern update of Martin Luther's Small Catechism expresses it as follows (as can be viewed at https://catechism.cph.org/en/confession.html):

"[W]hen the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sins and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself."

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