Psalm 103:3

Hebrew Bible

1 By David. Praise the Lord, O my soul. With all that is within me, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, O my soul. Do not forget all his kind deeds. 3 He is the one who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases, 4 who delivers your life from the Pit, who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your life with good things, so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

Matthew 9:6

New Testament

4 When Jesus perceived their thoughts he said, “Why do you respond with evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then he said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your stretcher, and go home. 7 So he stood up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were afraid and honored God who had given such authority to men.

 Notes and References

"... forgiving of sins was God’s exclusive right, not something that could be ascribed to any person. When Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins, the religious leaders who were present thought to themselves, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus was either being accused of claiming to be God or of claiming to exercise God’s prerogative. Although the Tanakh never explicitly affirms that forgiveness of sins is God’s prerogative, it could perhaps be inferred from passages such as Exodus 34:6-7, Psalm 103:3, Isaiah 43:25, Jeremiah 50:20, and Micah 7:18.9 For example, Isaiah 43:25 states the following: “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” It is also reasonable to assume, as Daniel Johansson argues, that “only the one who has been sinned against can forgive.” A priest could perhaps declare that someone’s sins were forgiven (e.g., at Yom Kippur), and a prophet could sometimes also declare forgiveness (e.g., 2 Samuel 12:13) or mediate for others, but only God could actually forgive people ..."

Tejada-Lalinde, Andres A. Jesus as the Son of Man in Mark (pp. 50-51) Florida International University, 2014

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