John 20:19-31
19 Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you. 20 And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. 23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be to you. 27 Then he saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands; and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing. 28 Thomas answered, and said to him: My Lord, and my God. 29 Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed. 30 Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book.
31 But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in his name.
Today’s Gospel is one that is often glossed over in Protestant churches, at least, that was the case when I was younger. Even in most Catholic churches the homily will likely focus on Saint Thomas and the nature of belief. But, this passage is much more important to our faith than that. In this verse, our Lord gives to His Apostles and to His Church the “power to bind and loose.” He gives them the power to forgive sins. Protestants, who claim to believe in the Bible alone as the soul authority, reject this passage. They deny that a priest has the ability to forgive sins. Yet, Jesus’ plain words are that they have both the power to forgive sins and to retain sins.
The power to bind and loose goes further, though. It is the power behind all of the sacraments and the authority of the Church. Jesus had already said to them, “He who hears you hears me,” which established the teaching authority of the Apostles, now He gives them His power. Just as God spoke all that is into existence, our Lord gave to these 11 men the power of His Word to permanently, spiritually change people and things. He gave them the power to turn bread and wine into the spiritual body and blood of Christ. He them the power to join souls into the Body of Christ through Baptism. He gave them the power not only to confirm men and women into His Church, but also to excommunicate. He gave them the power to bind a man and woman in marriage. He gave them the power to heal the sick both in body and soul. He also gave the power to ordain priests and bishops to act under their authority with the same power.
Moreover, Jesus gave His Apostles the power to define doctrine and morals without error. This authority allowed them to decide which Jewish documents should be included in the Old Testament and to write the New Testament. This allowed them to state definitely that the Sabbath of Christians would be on Sunday and the Jewish Sabbath would no longer be observed. This power allowed His Church to condemn the many heresies that would begin to arise almost immediately after the founding of His Church and to continue today to teach the fullness of the truth in stark contrast to the thousands of Protestant denominations who lack this authority and divine guarantee.
Speaking of which, notice the final sentence in this verse. Jesus did many things and taught His Apostles many things that were not recorded in the Bible. The Bible makes no claim to hold the full teachings of Christ. Yet, Protestants reject Sacred Tradition as handed down by the Apostles in the Catholic Church and claim that the Bible, alone is the sole authority. If Protestants actually read the Bible in context and believed the words of Jesus, they would have no choice but to recognize the authority of the Catholic Church… that is what led me to convert!
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July - December, 2026 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRGY1D15
A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January - June, 2026 It is also available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GDK16N45
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Wonderful dissertation on the power of the priesthood Judson. Thank you.
Christ is RISEN! 🎣🔥🏔️🗡️
https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/235aa82a-acdd-4aac-90d5-a78ca6233c82
Glory to His Holy Third-Day Resurrection....