Who has authority to forgive sins?

from the old testament

• On forgiving sin, God said, “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). This places forgiveness of sin as a divine prerogative.
• God must forgive because all sin is ultimately against Him. David, who sinned greatly by committing adultery and murder (cf. 2 Samuel 11), said in his repentance Psalm, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4). This doesn’t mean that sin doesn’t affect or hurt others, but God is always directly offended by our sin.
• In the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites the sacrificial system to provide a means for forgiveness. Although the system included a High Priest (Leviticus 16:2; cf. Hebrews 5:1), even he could not forgive sin. Instead, he would first sacrifice an animal for his own sin (Leviticus 16:6; cf. Hebrews 7:27) and then, once a year, enter into the holy of holies with a blood sacrifice for Israel so that God would forgive their sin (Leviticus 16:15–16; cf. Hebrews 9:7).

from the new testament

• When Jesus came and began declaring people’s sins forgiven (e.g., Luke 7:48), the Jewish leaders were offended, saying, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). What they missed was that Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 16:16) and thus fully divine (John 1:1). He, thus, had the authority to forgive sins.
• Jesus came to die in the place of sinners, as a sacrifice (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:26). Unlike the Old Testament sacrifices, Jesus was also fully human and without sin (Hebrews 4:15), so His death could bring the means for God to forgive a sinner permanently (Hebrews 10:10–14). This is why Paul said of Jesus, “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time (1 Timothy 2:5–6). Jesus brought salvation in His death and is also the only mediator; the only person who stands between God and man to bring forgiveness.
• John 20:23 is the primary verse the Roman Catholic Church uses to argue that its leaders have special authority to forgive sin. Jesus is speaking in that verse. It reads, If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20:23). There are at least three problems with reading this to mean that leaders in the RCC can forgive sin.
• First, though Jesus was speaking to His twelve disciples, this “ministry of reconciliation” was not limited to them. Paul later explained that all believers have this responsibility (2 Corinthians 5:18–20; cf. Matthew 28:18–20).
• Second, the preceding verse, John 20:22, reads, “When [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’.” What exactly is going on in John 20:22 with Jesus breathing on the disciples is debated, but it effectively previews when Jesus sends His Spirit to all believers (Acts 2:1–4). The Holy Spirit is the means of forgiveness in John 20:22, and since all believers have Him (Romans 8:9), the RCC claim that forgiveness is a special leadership role is further undermined.
• Third, John 20:23 uses a passive verb when it says that if a believer forgives someone, “they are forgiven.” So, while a believer can actively forgive someone, the passive wording means someone else is actually declaring them forgiven. Scholars call this type of passive a “divine passive” because God is the one doing the actual action, in this case, the act of forgiving.

implications for today

Only God can forgive sin, leading to salvation (Mark 2:7), so no one can forgive sin that way except God and His Son. This eliminates anyone’s claim to provide such forgiveness. Therefore, acts such as confession or penance do nothing to remove guilt for sin. Indeed, those who make such declarations of forgiveness are themselves sinful!

We need forgiveness because our sin has broken our relationship with God. That broken relationship can only be restored if our sin and guilt are dealt with, but God requires death as the punishment for sin (Romans 6:23). Forgiveness of sin, then, requires someone to die in our place. That someone is Jesus.

In the Old Testament, the priests sacrificed animals for sin. However, the death of animals could not save anyone (Hebrews 10:4). Instead, they acted as a shadow, pointing to God’s Lamb, Jesus (Hebrews 10:1, 9–10). God sent Him to add on human nature (Philippians 2:6–7) and be like us, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15), so He could pay sin’s penalty on the cross (Hebrews 2:14–17). God grants forgiveness to those who repent of their sin and trust in Jesus as the only escape from God's wrath against sin (Romans 5:9).

Your sin has also broken your relationship with God. No priest, except Jesus, the perfect High Priest, can forgive your sin against God. If you are relying on religious ceremonies to save you, then you are still spiritually dead. Instead, please turn now and be truly forgiven. Jesus promises that those who come to Him for forgiveness will never be cast out (John 6:37)!