On the Matter of Blaspheming the Holy Spirit
The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven - not because it is a sin “too big” for God to forgive, but because it is an attitude of heart that cares nothing for God’s forgiveness. It never has forgiveness because it never wants forgiveness God’s way.
“These words were never intended to torment anxious souls honestly desiring to know Christ, but they stand out as a blazing beacon warning of the danger of persisting in the rejection of the Spirit’s testimony of Christ, until the seared conscience no longer responds to the gospel message.” (Ironside)
“Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” (Mat 12:22-35) "How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil."
Examine yourself: are you able to speak good? Are you able to speak well of Jesus? To speak well of someone is to praise them.
“And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”” (Mark 3:22-30) “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” Do you believe Jesus is possessed by the devil?
From David Guzik's Enduring Word
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-3/
2. (22) An accusation from the religious leaders.
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
a. The scribes who came down from Jerusalem: This was an official delegation of experts from Jerusalem coming to Galilee to observe and assess the ministry of Jesus. The opinion of these scribes carried a lot of weight with many people.
i. “It is possible that they were official emissaries from the Great Sanhedrin who came to examine Jesus’ miracles and to determine whether Capernaum should be declared a ‘seduced city,’ the prey of an apostate preacher.” (Lane)
b. He has Beelzebub: Actually, they accused Jesus of being possessed by Satan. “He hath Beelzebub, implying that Beelzebub hath Him, using Him as his agent. The expression points to something more than an alliance [but] to possession, and than on a grand scale.” (Expositor’s)
i. They wouldn’t say that Jesus was possessed by just any demon, but by Satan himself. This was “an involuntary compliment to the exceptional power and greatness of Jesus.” (Expositor’s)
ii. This wasn’t the only time Jesus was insulted like this.
• “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” (Jhn 10:20)
• “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” (Jhn 8:48)
• “We were not born of fornication.” (Jhn 8:41)
• “A glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Luk 7:34)
• “You have a demon.” (Jhn 7:20)
c. By the ruler of demons He casts out demons: Luk 11:14 tells us this accusation came in response to a dramatic demonic deliverance. The religious leaders attributed this working of Jesus to Satan (Beelzebub).
i. His own people misunderstood Jesus, but the scribes who came down from Jerusalem viciously and cynically attacked Jesus. Because of their official position, this was the first step in the plot to destroy Jesus referred to in Mrk 3:6. Before they could destroy Him, they had to first discredit Jesus in the eyes of the multitude. (MOTIVE !!!)
d. Beelzebub: This name clearly refers to Satan, but it is a difficult name to analyze. It may have been coined because it sounds similar to the Hebrew phrase for “Lord of the Flies.”
i. “It is supposed that this idol was the same with Baalzebub, the god fly, worshipped at Ekron... who had his name changed afterwards by the Jews to Baal zebul, the dung god, a title of utmost contempt.” (Clarke)
3. (23-27) Jesus answers those who attributed His work to Satan.
So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.”
a. How can Satan cast out Satan? Jesus showed that if He were an agent of Satan and was working against Satan, then surely Satan’s kingdom was in a civil war and would not stand. Jesus said this to show that Satan would not work against himself.
b. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods: With this Jesus answered the charge that He was in league with the Devil. He said, “I’m not under Satan. Instead, I am proving that I am stronger than he is.”
c. Unless he first binds the strong man: In this parable Satan is the strong man who guards what belongs to him. Jesus’ ministry was defeating this strong man, both in the case of casting the demon out of the man who was mute and in the broader sense.
d. Then he will plunder his house: Jesus looked at every life delivered from Satan’s domination and said, “I’m plundering the kingdom of Satan one life at a time.” There is nothing in our life that must stay under Satan’s domination. The one who binds the strong man and will plunder his house is our risen Lord.
4. (28-30) Jesus please leave your message the religious leaders about the unforgivable sin.
“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”; because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
a. He who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness: This blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is serious indeed. The person guilty of this sin is subject to eternal condemnation. In other Gospels (such as in Luk 12:10), this sin is described as “unforgivable.”
b. Because they said, He has an unclean spirit: These religious leaders were in danger of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit because they looked at the perfectly good and wonderful work of God in Jesus and officially pronounced it the evil of Satan. This pointed to a settled rejection of heart against Jesus - possible evidence of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
i. “Notice that these men had not yet committed the unpardonable sin... Otherwise Jesus would never have warned them. By his own words, there is no use warning a man who has committed the unpardonable sin; he is beyond help.” (Steadman)
c. He who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness: Many people wonder what the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is, and some wonder if they have committed this sin. The warning of Jesus makes us recognize the terrible danger of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and our need to avoid this sin at all cost. At the same time, we guard our hearts against the unwarranted accusation of this sin.
i. We understand what the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is by first understanding what the ministry of the Holy Spirit is all about. Regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment(Jhn 16:8), and that He will testify of Me (Jhn 15:26).
ii. Therefore, when we persistently reject the work the Holy Spirit wants to do in us and when we have a continued, settled rejection of what He wants to tell us about Jesus, then we blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
iii. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven - not because it is a sin “too big” for God to forgive, but because it is an attitude of heart that cares nothing for God’s forgiveness. It never has forgiveness because it never wants forgiveness God’s way.
iv. “These words were never intended to torment anxious souls honestly desiring to know Christ, but they stand out as a blazing beacon warning of the danger of persisting in the rejection of the Spirit’s testimony of Christ, until the seared conscience no longer responds to the gospel message.” (Ironside)
““And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”” (Luke 12:8-12)
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