Mark 3:22 – 30; (see also Matthew 12-24 through 37; Luke 11:17 – 23; 12:10; Hebrews 6; Hebrews 10 26 – 31; 1st John 5 16 – 17)
Scripture:
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 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.
28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Observation: The scribes came all the way from Jerusalem. Scribes were originally the ones who meticulously copied the Torah, but we’re in Jesus’s time more like lawyers or judges, figuring out the minutiae of what the “law “meant- and how to obey it, often by getting around it. They don’t seem to be talking to Jesus – but to the multitude – “he’s not just crazy, he’s the prince of demons.” Beelzebub was a pejorative for “Ba’alzebul” – the “lord of the Skies” – the Canaanite god of thunder. Jesus turns their ad hominem attack, (the Last Resort for those who can’t argue the point) into an exercise in high logic – “how can Satan cast out Satan”? (Answer – he can’t.) In the other passages in Matthew and Luke, this is associated with casting out a demon from a mute Man – something the Jews didn’t think was possible.
Verses 28 through 29 state “all sins can be forgiven, except those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit shall never be forgiven…”
Questions: What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? How does one commit it? Is it possible for a Christian to commit the blasphemy? A broader question is – can a Christian lose their salvation?
From the context of the passage, what the scribes were engaged in is probably the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Tri-unity- Father / Son / Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is to empower and strengthen the worship of the Father and to glorify the son. Jesus did all of his miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. The spirit can be quenched and or grieved by Believers. The spirit reminds us of the words of Jesus, and will give us words to refute those who persecute us.
To blaspheme is “to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, to speak evil of another.” Jesus was accused of blasphemy when he claimed to forgive sins – “for only God can forgive sins.” The scribes attributed the work of the Holy Spirit – casting out demons – to the prince (literally ruler) of the Demons. Jesus says, “…but he that blasphemes… Has not ( the absolute ‘no’ in Greek + forever) forgiveness.” in effect, “has no forgiveness forever.” The rest of the sentence –” but is in danger of eternal (the same root word as forever) condemnation.” “In danger” seems to have some wiggle room – but the word is translated elsewhere as “guilty of and subject to and means bound, under obligation, subject to, liable, guilty, worthy of punishment”. Jesus says that “all blasphemies are forgivable,” (verse 28) except this one thing. Verse 30 is a clarifying statement – “they said” is in the imperfect tense – continual, repeated action in the past. Not a one-time failure, but a willful choosing over an extended period. “They said (continually, willfully) he has an unclean spirit.”
All sin carries a death sentence (Romans 6:23), but only one sin is unpardonable – to call Jesus a demon – possessed man and a tribute The Works of the Holy Spirit to the devil.
1st John 5:16 – 17 talks of a “sin leading to death” and that “we should not pray about that” – this could be referring to the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 10:26 says there is a sacrifice for sins for those who, “sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth.” It later talks of “trampling the Son of God underfoot, counting the blood of the Covenant… A common (opposite of Holy) thing, and insulting the spirit of Grace,” – the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 6 : 1 – 12 is another warning passage – those who “Fall Away” – that it is “nearly impossible for them to renew again to repentance – for they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put him Jesus to an open shame.” 1st John 2 :18 – 19 speaks about believers who walk away -” it is the last hour… The Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrist (literally against Christ) have come… They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have abided with us…” (the word ‘Antichrist’ is only found in 1st John and 2nd John.)
Questions: How can one commit blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? It is a willful, repeated Act of attributing evil to Jesus – that the force of power in Jesus’s life is the devil.
Can a Believer blaspheme the Holy Spirit? A Believer is a sinner transformed by the Holy Spirit upon hearing / reading the gospel – that Jesus has come in the flesh, in the likeness of sinful man, has lived a morally perfect, sinless life, was betrayed, crucified, died– crushed by the father for the sins of the whole world, and was raised from the dead on the third day – and was seen for 40 days until he ascended into heaven – and is seated at the right hand of the father, and is awaiting his triumphant return to judge the living – Those whom the father has given him – and the dead – those who will suffer in Hell For Eternity for rejecting the free gift of Grace.
This dovetails with “Can a Believer lose their salvation?” We all know people who were on fire, who have walked away. It really hurts me to know many young men I discipled who have walked away…
This is why it is really important to know and communicate the gospel – it is not a prayer, or a decision (John 1:13), it is a supernatural work of God to transform a man from a sinner into a saint. Romans 8:30 says, “moreover, whom he God predestined these he also called; whom he called those he justified; and whom he justified, these he also glorified.” There is an unbreakable chain from the predestined to the glorified. The verb structure is Aorist/active / indicative. Aorist, which we don’t have an equivalent in English, is the idea of ‘true always’ – for instance in the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was (Aorist) the word…” Kind of an “is-was-always will be.” Active means that God does the action – we receive justification, for instance. Indicative is a simple statement of Fact – these things are true.
The Bible is filled with encouragement – and warnings… “He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6), and “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…” (Philippians 2:12)
it is not possible for a born-again child of God to either blaspheme the Holy Spirit, or to lose their salvation. A Believer can – more likely, will – go through a season of doubt, fear, rebellion, willful sinning – but God is a gracious Father, and he will not allow you to become Shipwrecked.
There are indicators of our “born-again” -ness. The Holy Spirit is given to us, and he will confirm with our spirit that we are the Father’s. Is it “no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”? Is the spirit convicting us of “sin, righteousness and judgment?” (John 16:8). Does God’s word bore me to tears, or fill me with Wonder? Are God’s people my people? Do I love what God loves– his church, his son, his word, his world – and hate what God hates – sin (and sinners), Injustice, divorce…? Do I prefer others to myself? Do I make disciples That Make Disciples? If everyone were to abandon me, and all I had left was Jesus, is he enough? Or is he everything?
Application: I’m not worried that I could blaspheme the spirit – or lose my salvation. I want to clearly communicate the gospel. The scribes and Pharisees were the leaders of their church and they completely missed Jesus. They didn’t lack information – how can I clearly communicate what intellect alone cannot? The gospel is the “power of God to Salvation to the one who believes” (Romans 1:16).
Prayer: Holy Spirit – you deserve My Worship, love, respect, appreciation – for all you have done. Please forgive me when I have grieved you buy the things I spend time on that are empty or worse. You deserve praise, honor, glory, for you have transformed me from a rebel to a son– not by good works, but by your Supernatural power that equals or surpasses the power that created the world. Help me to Love You Well – I pray for a greater measure of you – made the promise of Jesus be fulfilled in us, your church – greater things than these they will do… Amen