With a Subtitle: Why a dying woman refused absolution and pointed to Christ alone for forgiveness

A brief Excerpt: When a parish priest came to absolve a dying woman of her sins, she asked one piercing question: show me your scars. Only Christ, the Lamb of God, can forgive sins.

The Author is: Jeff Hilles

Quote Source – Perhaps Jimmy Chapman, but brought to my attention by Ben Ochaya Dermoi.

A Bedridden Woman and a Question That Still Pierces

The story is told of a Christian lady who was bedridden with sickness and not expected to recover. She was a member of a certain parish, and upon hearing of her decline, the parish priest came to administer the Anointing of the Sick. “My dear lady,” he said, “I have come to absolve you of your sins and to anoint you.”

She hesitated, unsure she had heard him correctly. He repeated himself: “I have come to forgive you of any transgressions that you may have done.”

The woman looked steadily at him and replied, “Let me see your hands. Show me your scars.”

Confused, the priest asked, “Which scars?”

“You are an imposter,” she said. “You are an imposter. Only the Lamb of God can forgive sins.”

The embarrassed sacerdotal forgiver left the lady in the hands of her own Maker and quietly walked away.

A Story With Many Tellers and No Clear Author

This account has been retold across countless sermons, blog posts, and social media forwards. The closest documented version I have been able to locate appears in a sermon titled “Behold My Hands” by Jimmy Chapman, posted on SermonCentral. In his telling the setting is a hospital, and the woman, about to undergo surgery, gently tells the visiting priest, “I’m sorry, you can’t forgive sins. The only one who can forgive me of my sins has nail prints in His hands.”

Whether it began as a true account or as a teaching parable, no original author is verifiable. It now functions as anonymous Christian folklore, retold because the punchline still pierces.

Only the Lamb of God Can Forgive Sins

The theology beneath the story is what makes it endure. When Jesus forgave the paralyzed man, the scribes objected, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). Their question carried real weight. Only God can forgive sins, because every sin is ultimately committed against Him.

That is why John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The forgiveness no priest, pastor, or church can dispense is the very forgiveness Jesus carried to the cross. He alone bore the wounds. He alone paid the price. He alone holds the authority to forgive.

Where to Look for Forgiveness of Sin

The bedridden woman’s question was simple and devastating: “Show me your scars.” It was not cruelty toward the priest. It was clarity about the Savior. Forgiveness does not flow from a robe, a ritual, or a religious office. It flows from the pierced hands of the risen Christ.

When sin presses heavy and the soul cries out for absolution, the place to look is not toward any human mediator but toward the One who said from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30). His scars are the only proof a sinner needs.