Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:21-23
“The prerogative to absolve and retain sins only belongs to God, and the Jews sometimes raised this objection with the Savior, saying, “Who can forgive sins by God alone? The Lord generously gave this authority to those who honored him.”
Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350-428) in Commentary on John 7.20.22-25 (CSCO 4 3:357)