Quasimodo Geniti

During the introductory rite of Confession and Absolution, the pastor speaks the following words: “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When visitors from another Christian tradition attend a Lutheran service, it is these words, perhaps more than any others in the divine liturgy, that seem shocking and perhaps even offensive. “Why did the pastor say, ‘I forgive you all your sins?’ Shouldn’t he have said, ‘Jesus forgives you all your sins?’ Wouldn’t that be better? After all, only God can forgive sins.”

A similar objection was once raised by the scribes and Pharisees when Jesus said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And they said in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mk 2:5–7) Jesus went on to demonstrate that the Son of Man has the power on earth to forgive sins.

Now, unlike the scribes and Pharisees who did not believe that Jesus could forgive sins, every Christian confesses that Jesus has this power. Of course He does. Yes, He is man, but He is also God, and therefore has the authority to say, “I forgive you all your sins.” But by what authority does the pastor, who is a man only, dare to speak these words?

The answer is found in the Gospel text appointed for the First Sunday after Easter. Consider the following: The disciples didn’t yet understand anything surrounding the events of the Crucifixion. They didn’t understand Jesus’ mission. They didn’t understand why it was necessary. They didn’t understand what Jesus had accomplished by dying. And up till this moment, they didn’t understand or believe in the Resurrection.

Then Jesus appears in their midst on Easter evening. It is the first time the disciples have seen the resurrected Lord. Every eye is fastened upon Him. Every ear is listening with rapt attention. Do you think that the first thing Jesus has to say after having conquered sin, death, and hell will be important? He has done battle with Satan, He has entered hell itself in triumph, and now He returns from the grave, and the first order of business is to tell His apostles: “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:19)

Every Christian confesses that Jesus came from the Father. Every Christian confesses that Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. And now Jesus says to His disciples, the first generation of pastors and ministers, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

Do you believe that Jesus was sent to forgive sins? Yes, you do; you are a Christian. And now Jesus says, “In the same way the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And what, specifically, does Jesus send His ministers to do, giving to them the same power and authority that He received from the Father? Perhaps you think it’s a stretch to connect this sending to the forgiveness of sins. But listen to what Jesus says: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. 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.” (Jn 20:21–23)

The authority to forgive sins is not something that the ministers of Christ have claimed for themselves. This is not a leftover abuse from the Roman Church that survived the cleansing of the Reformation. This authority is given by Christ Himself as the first order of business following the Resurrection. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.

In Luke 24 Jesus summarizes His own ministry and work in this way, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Lk 24:46–47) Jesus tells us that two things were necessary: 1) That He should suffer, die, and rise again, and 2) that repentance and forgiveness should be preached in His name to all nations. Immediately after purchasing our forgiveness, Jesus deputizes His disciples and tasks them with distributing that forgiveness to all nations. Did the disciples finish the job? No, but before their deaths they laid hands upon the next generation of ministers, appointing them in the name of Christ to continue the work from one generation to the next. As an example of this, St. Paul the apostle writes to the young pastor, St. Timothy: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands,” (1 Tim 4:14) and, “the things that you have heard from me… commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim 2:2)

Therefore, it is not only good but it is necessary that the ministers of Christ continue to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins today. And how should this be done? According to Jesus’ own words: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.”

The Small Catechismasks, “What do you believe according to these words? I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sins and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.”

In other words, because your pastor speaks by the command of Christ, because he forgives sins in the name of Christ, the forgiveness that he pronounces could not be any more real than if Jesus Himself stood before you and delivered it. St. Thomas refused to believe it—unless he saw Jesus physically standing in front of him—but Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (Jn 20:29)

Today, you did not see Jesus standing in front of you. You saw His humble minister instead. You didn’t hear the physical voice of Jesus sounding in your ears. Instead, you heard the voice of a sinful man. But the words that were spoken are the words that Jesus commanded. And when your pastor spoke them, he was not engaged in some sort of power play. He wasn’t trying to gain authority that does not belong to him. Instead, he was simply being faithful to the command of Jesus, the first command given following the Resurrection: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.”

Therefore, in faithfulness to the task given to me, let me speak once more the words that open heaven to repentant sinners, according to our Lord’s promise: “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.