20:10 thru 20:31 (Apr 1)

Jesus' work on the cross is done. He has opened up God's family to us, God's adopted sons and daughters. Jesus tells Mary, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" This is the first time in John that Jesus calls the disciples "brothers".

Verses 23 is a difficult verse for me. The words in the NIV say, "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." I do not believe that there needs to be an intermediary between God and the sinner who accepts the work of Jesus to take away his sins. And I do not believe that we (the church) have the authority to forgive or not forgive sins. But the words here do seem to say that. The NIV study notes offer this interpretation: "God does not forgive people's sins because we do so, nor does he withhold forgiveness because we do. Rather, those who proclaim the gospel are in effect forgiving or not forgiving sins, depending on whether the hearers accept or reject Jesus Christ." This seems consistent to me with the rest of John, where the primary command is to share the message of the gospel.

John 3:34: "For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit."

John 6:63: "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life."

John 14:24: "These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."

John 17:8: "For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me."

If this interpretation is correct, it puts a sobering emphasis on the role of those who have received the Spirit of God. We cannot control whether someone accepts or rejects the truth of the gospel, but if we do not share the truth then there is no opportunity for them to be forgiven.