Dan Evans :
Jesus forgave sins before the cross because He had divine authority, not because the atonement had not yet happened. In the Gospels, when Jesus forgives sins, the issue raised by the scribes is not timing but authority, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus’ answer is not to deny it, but to demonstrate that He does possess that authority. The cross does not create His authority to forgive; it is the means by which that forgiveness is justly accomplished in history.
Biblically, the cross works retroactively as well as forward. Romans says God had “passed over former sins” in His forbearance until the cross, meaning forgiveness was real before Calvary but awaited its public, legal grounding. In other words, God could forgive on credit because the payment was certain. The cross is where God’s justice and mercy meet, not where forgiveness suddenly becomes possible for the first time.
Without the cross, forgiveness would be arbitrary. With the cross, forgiveness is righteous. Jesus could forgive sins before the cross because He is God in the flesh and the Lamb already “slain” in God’s plan. The cross was necessary not to give Jesus permission to forgive, but to reveal, satisfy, and secure that forgiveness for all time.
2026-01-04 06:29:11