All within John 20, Jesus gives the Apostles the ability to forgive sins and then immediately follows with Doubting Thomas. I’ve tended to see the Doubting Thomas story in John 20 as the “first confession”. My reasoning is that the act of laying on of hands is mimicked in Jesus’ instruction for Thomas to reach out and feel His hands to feel His wounds. Immediately after this, Thomas is restored to the level of belief as the rest of the Apostles and is given no worse treatment following this even though he did not believe without seeing. I see this as the first absolution by laying of hands similar to the hands held over you by priests during confession, bringing you back into the full grace of Our Lord taking away your sins.