Category:Forgiveness (subject)

Forgiveness of sins

Overview

Christian Origins

In the Synoptic tradition, the episode of the Paralytic at Capernaum culminates in Jesus' declaration that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Mark; Matthew; Luke). In all Synoptics, the narrative of the Recruiting the Tax Collector follows, in which healing is equated to forgiveness; Jesus is the doctor sent to the sinners: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."

In similar fashion, Luke reinterpreted the Anointing of Jesus as an episode in Jesus' ministry of forgiveness.

These are the only two episodes in which the historical Jesus is said to have explicitly affirmed his authority to forgive sins. Some scholars have questioned the historicity of these narratives. Luke's narrative is clearly secondary; and in the episode of the Paralytic Jesus may have referred not to himself but to the forthcoming "Son of Man." It remains undisputed the fact that the earliest Christian community firmly believed that Jesus was the Son of Man and forgiveness of sins was a central feature in his ministry as well as a strong component of his authority. They also believe to have inherited from Jesus the authority to forgive sins through Baptism.