Eastertide
April 27, 2019
Scripture Reading: John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ –John 20:19-23
When we think of sin what is the first thing that comes to mind? Doing right or wrong? Obeying laws? Sin is the translation of the Greek word Hamartia, which is defined as missing the mark, a failure, an ethical failure*. The NIB Commentary explains it this way: To have sin is to be blind to the revelation of God in Jesus. Jesus brings people to judgment by his revealing work and presence in the world**. Matthew 25 is explicit in describing this judgment when it talks about taking care of the least of these. Christ judgment is based on how well we love our neighbors as we love ourselves, how well we carry on Jesus’ work throughout the world, how well we let his gift of the Spirit work within us. Any ultimate judgment is reserved for Jesus according to John 5:22, The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son
So, what is Jesus saying in the above scripture about forgiving the sins of others and retaining the sins of others? He is not saying that we are sent into the world to judge the behavior of others. Such judgments are often based on cultural norms even as they apply to the laws set forth in the Hebrew Bible. For example, we now have fact checkers assigning degrees of lying. Since lying is so common place, it seems not to matter anymore at least to humans. Some laws like the Ten Commandments stand the test of time and, if followed, can contribute to the development of the Kingdom of God.
Other laws and rules are needed to add order to our world. They change as society progresses. New laws were needed when horse and buggies were replaced by cars and they will change again as car no longer require a driver.
Here John is saying that our judgment of others is based on their acceptance of a role in being the Body of Christ fed by the Holy Spirit in the world today. As the conduits of love to reach all the peoples of the world, we have a grave responsibility to fulfill, before we could ever decide to retain the sins of anyone.
Prayer: Lord, strengthen us in letting he Holy Spirit work through us toward building a better world. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/greek/266.htm
**The New Interpreter’s Bible, A Commentary in Twelve Volume’s Volume IX, Abingdon Press, 1995, Page 847
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.