But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.John 20:24
"If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." (v23) Thomas was not present when the Lord said this, so can we say that Thomas did not have this
authority to forgive sins?
Thomas professed the same rock like faith as Peter. So Matthew 16:19 applies to Thomas and the rest also as much as to Peter "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." (If
it was meant only for Peter, then John 20:23 is contradicting because this authority is given not only to Peter there, but also to the rest)
If Thomas had the responsibility to "baptize", will he not have the authority to "forgive" sins, just like the rest? Thomas as a chosen Apostle had this divine authority granted by the Lord, despite being absent on that first Sunday.
loosen. And Thomas was most definitely present on this occasion.
Thus, despite the defamation campaign, the plain truth is that the Lord granted nothing different on the first Sunday of Resurrection that was not granted before, or on subsequent occasions in the presence of Thomas. Thomas was represented by the others on that Sunday to receive the gifts from the Lord. Thomas, did not lose anything spiritually or sacramentally by his absence, nor did he forfeit his place as a prominent apostle by his absence. He was, and remained, a powerful source of inspiration, power and authority for the rest of the apostles, despite his absence on that first Sunday of Resurrection.
Character of Thomas : Descent of the Holy Spirit doubted
Source: ICON
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