20:23 What does Jesus mean by what He says here?
20:23 What does Jesus mean by what He says here?
Here Jesus gave the disciples (and by extension, the church), authority to declare the certainty of God's forgiveness of sins for those who accept Christ, and the authority to declare the certainty that God will not forgive the sins of those who reject Him.
This is simply another form of binding and loosing (CP Mt 16:19; 18:18).
Jesus has given Christians authority to declare the judgment of Heaven, based upon the principles of God's word. When such a judgment is made we have the assurance in these scriptures that God will confirm it. (See also comments on Mt 16:19.)