Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 20:22-23

"And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained." — John 20:22-23 (ASV)

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

This is, in effect, Christ saying, "I will back up your ministry. When you preach that people are condemned for sin of which they have not repented, I will make it so in fact. When you declare pardon to all who trust in my precious blood, I will make it so. That truth, which you preach, will have my seal of approval set upon it. My power will go forth with your proclamation of the truth, so that it will be seen that you are not proclaiming a fiction. When you preach my gospel, I will remit the sins of all who believe it; and when you pronounce sentence of condemnation on those who remain in unbelief, I will confirm your declaration!"

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and says to them, Receive you the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted to them; and whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained.

That is to say, "As you proclaim my gospel, I will back up your message; when you preach of pardoning blood, I will make it efficacious. When you declare to penitent sinners that their sins are remitted, it will be so; and when you tell those who believe not that they are condemned already, and that unless they repent they will abide in condemnation, their sins will still be retained."

The true minister of God does not speak apart from the Word of God, and when he speaks the Word of God, the God of the Word is himself there to make it effectual. It will be no brutum fulmen, no wasted thunderbolt; it will fall in reality, and what the servant of Christ declares, according to the Scriptures, will really be proved to be true.