Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
This verse comes from one of the most dramatic moments in the Gospels: the evening of the day Jesus rose from the dead. His disciples were hiding in a locked room out of fear. Jesus appeared suddenly among them, showed them his hands and side as proof it was really him, and said "Peace be with you." Then he breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit" — an act that echoes the moment in Genesis when God breathed life into the first human being. This verse about forgiveness followed immediately. It has been interpreted in different ways across Christian traditions: some understand it as giving the church authority to declare sins forgiven in Jesus' name; others read it as commissioning his followers to be active agents of reconciliation in a broken world.
Jesus, you appeared in a locked room and breathed forgiveness into frightened, failing people. I have been in that room too. Show me what I'm still holding that needs to be released, and give me the courage to say the words even when they cost me something. Amen.
After everything — the cross, the tomb, the resurrection — the first topic Jesus raises is forgiveness. Not strategy. Not a victory speech. Forgiveness. Which tells you something about what the whole story was actually about. He had endured everything to make forgiveness possible, and the first breath of the new world he exhales is this: now go carry it. But the second half of the verse is harder to sit with. Sins that are not forgiven remain unforgiven. That's uncomfortable — not because God needs your approval, but because there's something true here about what unforgiveness does to the person holding it. You've probably felt it: the bitterness that doesn't dissolve with time, the conversation you replay at 2 AM, the quiet wall you've built between yourself and someone who hurt you. Jesus appeared in a locked room that night. He has a habit of finding people who have locked themselves in. The question this verse leaves hanging in the air is: what are you still holding? And is there someone who needs to hear, from you, the words that changed everything?
Why do you think forgiveness was the very first thing Jesus addressed after his resurrection — and what does that priority reveal about the core purpose of his life, death, and rising?
Is there a person or a situation in your life right now where forgiveness feels genuinely impossible or undeserved? What makes it feel that way for you?
This verse suggests that withholding forgiveness has real consequences — not just for the other person, but for you. Do you believe that? What have you actually experienced or observed that supports or challenges it?
How does the experience of having been forgiven yourself — whether by God or by another person — shape the way you approach forgiving someone who has deeply hurt you?
Is there someone you need to extend forgiveness to this week — even privately, even imperfectly, even if you're not fully there emotionally yet? What is one small, honest step you could take toward that?
And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Acts 13:39
To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
Acts 10:43
Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
Acts 13:38
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Ephesians 1:7
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 18:18
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 16:19
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:38
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:16
If you forgive the sins of anyone they are forgiven [because of their faith]; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained [and remain unforgiven because of their unbelief]."
AMP
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
ESV
'If you forgive the sins of any, [their sins] have been forgiven them; if you retain the [sins] of any, they have been retained.'
NASB
If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
NIV
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
NKJV
If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
NLT
"If you forgive someone's sins, they're gone for good. If you don't forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?"
MSG