Refutation of Protestant denial of the priestly ability to forgive sins?

Catholics and some Protestants believe that priests/pastors can forgive sin, usually citing John 20:23 as justification. For example, one variant of the Anglican liturgy has the Pastor make the following pronouncement: > By the authority of Christ given to the Church I absolve you from your sins Another, similar form: > By [Christ's] authority committed to me, I absolve you from all your sins Other Protestants believe that John 20:23 only applied to the original Apostles and would apparently object to the above. (I should note that my understanding is that Protestants, and perhaps even Roman Catholics, do agree that pastors/priests aren't *themselves* able to absolve sin, but merely serve as "intermediaries" of Christ to do so. Indeed, the specifics of the above clearly call this out.) Now, this discussion is *usually* entangled with the Roman Catholic belief in the Apostolic Succession. However, as I understand it, all Protestants reject the Succession. On what grounds, therefore, do (some) Protestants accept John 20:23 as applying to all called and ordained ministers? (In other words, what do those Protestants who side with Roman Catholics on the matter of the priestly/pastoral ability to deliver or withhold forgiveness respond to those who deny such ability?) Related reading: - https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/91388 - https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/89608 - https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/13841 - [Does John 20:23 mean that Catholic priests can forgive sins?](https://carm.org/roman-catholicism/does-john-2023-mean-that-catholic-priests-can-forgive-sins/)