John 20:23 — Meaning and Application

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace {be} unto you: as {my} Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

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.

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.