Hello 
When Jesus tells the 12 apostles in John20:23, “Whose sins you forgive, are forgiven” how do we know that Jesus was speaking ONLY to the 12 apostles and not to all Christians? When Jesus gave his mother Mary to Saint John at the foot of the cross, Jesus was speaking to the entire church - that is why Mary is the mother of all Christians. But when Jesus said, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven” he wasn’t speaking to the entire church, but ONLY to the apostles. That’s why we Catholics go to Confession to a priest, and not to any other Catholic.
Your first part is an interesting and valid question. Jesus to John regarding Mary is understood and believed to be belonging to all Christians. Why isn’t Jesus speaking to the 12 applying to all Christians?
I can’t tell by the latter half of your post whether you’re answering your own question?
Peace to all,
So true, LN2.
From the cross, He looks at His Mother and Says, “Behold your Son,” and He looks at the Disciple He loves the most, and points to His Mother and says, “Ecce Mater Tua,” Behold Your Mother, He points to you, yes all Disciples are at The Cross and all Disciples, all mankind and all Creation are loved with only the most love and we take Mary home with us, The Disciple He loves the most, from the Cross.
Peace always,
Stephen
I believe the ability to forgive sins is a gift and the apostles understood that they need to pass it on.
I’m not answering my own question. How do we know that Jesus was speaking ONLY to the 12 apostles when he said, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven”? We Catholics use this verse to explain why Catholic priests have the power to forgive sins, but Protestants say this verse applies to ALL christians, not only to the 12 apostles. How do we know when Jesus is speaking to the whole church and when he is speaking ONLY to the 12 apostles?
but how do we know that the words of Jesus to John about Mary applies to the WHOLE church? What if Jesus was speaking ONLY to Saint John, and Mary is the mother of ONLY John?
He looks at His From the cross, He looks at His Mother and Says, “Behold your Son,” and He looks at the Disciple He loves the most, and points to His Mother and says, “Ecce Mater Tua,” Disciple, Behold Your Mother," He points to you, to all from the Cross and He calls us all by name before we were even born, yes all Disciples are at The Cross and all Disciples, all mankind and all Creation are loved with only the most love and we take Mary home with us, The Disciple He loves the most, from the Cross.
Peace always,
Stephen
We can also make a reasonable assumption that had John been delayed, sick, etc and didn’t make it, but another disciple had, Jesus would have likely placed Mary’s care with any disciple that was there at that moment; the assumption supports your statement.
Peace to all,
The One Lord and God becomes from the Incorruptible Spirit through the Immaculate Flesh for two preexisting Souls and Personal Gods in being becoming Virgin Born through The Immaculate Conception “In The Christ.”
Logically there are two Sacraments from Death to Life, Baptism and Confession.
Baptism is Death to Life through the Immaculate Flesh becoming Brothers and Sisters for all through the New Eve.
Natures become hypo-statically united from the Incorruptible Spirit through the Immaculate Flesh becoming “In The Christ.”
The Christ is Lord and God from the Spirit through the flesh, Two Gods in One Body.
For The Christ also suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.
Transformation is from The Living Waters Transforming Mortality becoming Immortality from Holy Spirit Incorruption Sanctified in One Body through the New Eve becoming for all into The Catholic Church.
Confession is Death to Life from the Holy Spirit Incorruption for all now able to become again Transfigured in One Family.
Glorification is in Confession from Sacrifice for Jesus becoming in the New Adam through Penance forgiven from the Words of Absolution from Sacrifice “In The Christ” for Penance becoming forgiven from the Words of Absolution becoming in Communion with The Family again through the Host with Him again Confirmed in the Will of the Father re-Sanctified becoming Sons and Daughters of God.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
11:36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
In him be the glory forever! Amen.
Transfiguration is becoming in One Holy Spirit Family from the combined Family Powers from Creation through Transformation for Glorification uniting Powers becoming again for all Creation Transfigured in One Holy Spirit Family One God in being.
Peace always,
Stephen Andrew
Welcome! If you go back a verse (to verse 22), you see that Jesus breathed specifically on the Apostles a certain authority and responsibility.
However, we too are called to forgive sins in a non-authoritative way. In the “Our Father” Prayer, which Jesus, our Lord taught us, we Pray, "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matthew 6:12).
And in verse 14, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Then there is the passage in The Scripturas where St. Peter (our first prime Bishop) asks Christ, our King, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” (Matthew 18:21). Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times."
At every single Mass, we offer the sign of peace. I read a very good book by a Lutheran author about this portion of the Sacred Liturgy. In this moment, we are called to forgive anyone we harbor ill feeling towards. We are not just shaking hand with our neighbor, but forgiving others in our hearts.
In Matthew 5:23-24 we are told, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
My Wife and I have a dear friend and she had gotten into an argument with her Sister-in-law and words were exchanged. Our friend knew that her Husband’s Sister would be at Mass and said, that she wouldn’t even be able to look at her. I explained to her that this was the time to seek reconciliation, not to harbor ill will towards her. I suggested she say, “I’m sorry” at the sign of peace. And Pray for her. I told her that if she does not do this, she should abstain from receiving our Lord in holy Eucharist.
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord… For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).
So going back to your original question, is Jesus giving this command to forgive sins only to the Apostles or to all Christians? The answer is both. And to the Apostles and their successors, in a special way, for He gave them authority to “loosen and to bind” on earth. (In Matthew 16:19 to St. Peter and in Matthew 18:18 to the Apostles.)
I hope this helps : )