What does Jesus mean when He says to His disciples, 'Whosever sins ye remit, they are remitted'?

In John 20:23, Jesus grants His disciples the authority to declare whose sins are forgiven and whose are retained. This declaration is not about the disciples possessing the power to forgive sins independently; rather, it represents a God-ordained responsibility to proclaim the full message of the gospel—the forgiveness available through faith in Christ. The apostles exercised this authority in their ministry, urging repentance and faith in Christ as the basis for forgiveness. This emphasizes the minister’s role in the Church to provide clarity regarding the state of one's relationship with God based on belief and repentance, rather than the misleading notion of personal absolution without true faith.