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The
Unpardonable Sin
Before we look at the Unpardonable sin, I
would like to read through the entire narrative that we might be reminded of
the context in which this question arises. It is the Lord Jesus stating
something about to the Pharisees, to the Pharisees, in the immediate presence
of a great multitude pressing in against them so that nobody could even eat. We
saw that from the parallel passage in Mark 3:20.
Here is the entire narrative, even though
today we will be looking at verse 30b through 37.
1.
The Demon-Possessed Man’s Condition
22 ¶ Then one was brought to Him who was
demon-possessed, blind and mute;
2.
The Son of Man’s Provision
and
He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
3.
The Crowd Amazed Yet Again
23 And all the multitudes were amazed and
said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
4.
The Pharisee’s Contrary Reaction
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they
said, “This fellow does not cast out
demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
5.
The Knower of Hearts Speaks Again
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said
to them: Point A. “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to
desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
Point B. 26 “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided
against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
Point C. 27 “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by
whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
Point D. 28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of
God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Point E. 29 “Or how can one enter a strong man’s house
and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will
plunder his house.
Point F. 30 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters
abroad.
6.
Jesus goes on to a related topic addressed to the Pharisees
31 “ ¶ Therefore I say to you, every sin
and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not
be forgiven men.
7.
The Unforgivable Sin Defined for the Pharisees
Matt. 12:32 “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of
Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it
will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
8.
A Few Related Applications Spoken to the Pharisees
Matt. 12:33 “ ¶ Either make the tree good
and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is
known by its fruit.
9.
The True Character of the Pharisees Stated
Matt. 12:34 “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good
things? For out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaks. 35 “A good man
out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man
out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
10.
A Indictment of the Pharisees in General
36
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give
account of it in the day of judgment.
11.
An Indictment of the Pharisees in Particular
37
“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be
condemned.”
**** Let’s look a bit closer at the
narrative:
Verse 30b where the one who knew the
hearts of the Pharisees finishes his summary based upon a series of short
parables he spoke to them.
30B
and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
This
encounter has become an issue of allegiance and loyalty. Jesus just said, He who is not with Me is against Me...then
he applies it with an illustration drawn from life in first-century Palestine.
Jesus illustrates allegiance and loyalty to God’s cause with the metaphor of
harvesting crops. That is what gathering is all about.
There are two classes of people: one with
the Lord Jesus Christ and all the rest are against him. Those who are with him,
help him harvest the souls of those who hears and receive the Word preached.
Those who do not are like those who destroy what is being gathered by taking it
and throwing it around. They bring confusion to the orderliness of the harvest.
They don't let things develop and reside in their rightful places, They are
disruptive influences that detract from the ingathering. And such were the
Pharisees.
There remain two options: either you are
with the Lord Jesus Christ and promote his harvest of souls, or you are not and
you work against his purposes by scattering.
There is no middle ground. There is no such thing as Burger King
Christianity--you know what that is--Christianity, Have it your way! We cannot pick and choose what we want as disciples
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must follow him.
Our allegiance is to him as our Lord, we are not his equal in authority.
In many respects we lose our own rights when we come into the Kingdom of God.
We willingly follow him as his servants out of love and loyalty to him and his
cause. We accept and promote his agenda. We see to it that his imperatives
become our concerns. We live unto him, not unto ourselves. And, he gives the
grace to do what he commands.
Up to this point, the narrative has showed
us this great confrontation. Jesus goes further to apply all of what we have
already looked at directly to the Pharisees, in the presence of the disciples
and the multitude and most likely the man healed of being blind, mute and
demon-possession and those who brought him.
6.
Jesus goes on to a related topic addressed to the Pharisees
Verse 31 is Jesus general introduction to
a new point. As a Rabbi would introduce a binding idea with his own authority
behind it..... It is a generalization
with a qualification. Jesus
continues....
The General Truth:
31a “ ¶ Therefore I say to you, every sin
and blasphemy will be forgiven men,
The translation starts with therefore. The
addage in biblical studies is “Whenever you find a therefore, explain what it
is there for. It ties the words of the Pharisees to the perfect thoughts that
happened in the mind of the perfect and righteous Son of God. The sin of
blasphemy of a particular sort had just occured. It is the blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit. We read:
The Qualification
31b but the blasphemy against the Spirit
will not be forgiven men.
We like to hear the first part. That is
easy to take--everything may be forgiven.
We like the idea that everything we do as sin in thought word and deed
can be forgiven. But, people sometimes stumble over Jesus’ qualification. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven.
This is a question asked by a lot of
people who read Mark or Matthew for the first time. Even people who grew up in
church have heard very little about this topic.
What is Blasphemy?
Eaton’s Bible Dictionary defines it this
way: Blasphemy: In the sense of speaking evil of God. [It is found over
60 times in Scripture including many Old Testament references.] It denotes also any kind of calumny, or evil-speaking,
or abuse Our Lord was accused of
blasphemy when he claimed to be the Son of God (Matt. 26:65; comp. Matt. 9:3;
Mark 2:7). They who deny his Messiahship blaspheme Jesus (Luke 22:65; John
10:36).
The last part of that definition is not as
problematic as it may seem. For Jesus goes on to say...
7.
The Unforgivable Sin Defined for the Pharisees
Matt. 12:32 “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of
Man, it will be forgiven him;
This is good news! Pharisees, you can say all you what to say about
me and even though it is sin, it can be forgiven. You have said many things
about me that are scandalous and abusive, but all of these are forgivable. When
you called me Lord of refuse, it can be forgiven. But, let me tell you
something of utmost importance....
but
whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him,
How could Jesus all of a sudden start
talking about the Holy Spirit? How does the Spirit and his work fit in here?
Jesus said to the Pharisees in verse 28
asked them, 28 “But if I cast out demons
by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. The
inference they should have drawn by their observation of Jesus’s miraculous
deliverance of the demon-possessed man was that the Kingdom of God had come by
virtue of this work done by the command of Christ and the execution of the
Spirit of God.
Jesus did his miracles by the power of
God, specifically, by the work of the shy sovereign of the Holy Trinity, the
blessed Holy Spirit. You see, a proper theological framework is needed to
rightly understand the implicit in the Gospels, and the rest of God’s Word.
Here is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit with power that should have been
realized by all present, but it was not. It showed their minds were darkened by
the spirit of the world. They could not see the spiritual realities behind and
in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ executed by his Holy Spirit.
The Pharisees insulted the Spirit of God
by what they said about the source of Jesus’ power and authority. It was not an
ordinary sin.
There is a lot of theology about the Holy
Spirit that goes into a right understanding of the works and ways of the Lord
Jesus Christ and that touches upon who demons can bother.
A house divided against itself cannot
stand. A Christian house cannot be owned by God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit and
Demons at the same time and in the same sense.
But back to this sin that cannot be
forgiven. Jesus adds, either in this age
or in the age to come. Those are the only two ages of redemptive history
present or future to the Lord Jesus Christ. What it means is this--blasphemy of
the Holy Spirit, attributing the work of the Holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus
Christ to the Prince of Demons, was presumptuous, inconsiderate and insulting
of who Jesus and his Spirit are, the good that they did in casting down his
demon and healing his body.
This pharisaical presumptuousness is more
than just presuming something of another person or a similar situation. It is
manifold disrespect of the one sent as the anointed of God to bring deliverance
to his people. It shows that the
Pharisee had no ability to perceive of even the possibility that the Lord Jesus
Christ was who he claimed to be and went about doing his works by the power of
the Spirit of God throughout the Old Testament was a sure sign of God’s
presence had come among them whether they realized it or not. In their
overconfident arrogance, they were passing judgment upon something when not
qualified to pass judgment.
They usurped the rightful authority,
place, rank and work done by the Godman before their eyes. This they were not
entitled to do. They had no warrant, nor authority from God to speak on his
behalf. They were blinded by their
presupposes beliefs--they could not see the glory of the triune God revealed in
the face of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus had taught them and answered them on
many occasions. Rather than submit themselves to the truth, they sought
alternative interpretations in order to justify themselves. And, in the continual
practice of this, they have more than grieved the Holy Spirit, they had
rejected his work upon them. They
remained in obstinate unbelief even when in direct contact as eyewitnesses of
the glory and grace of the Spirit’s work. They were truly “blind guides” as
Jesus will call them latter in Matthew. They were evil men.
They had persistently rejected the light
God had given to them. The Pharisees present that day are those to whom Jesus
speaks these words. There were some,
however, who acted out of ignorance and were not given over to that which was
unpardonable.
The Apostle Paul is the one notable
example. Listen to what he said about
himself. 1Tim. 1:12-16 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled
me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a
blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I
did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14
And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which
are in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a
faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first
Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going
to believe on Him for everlasting life.
Paul did, as a Pharisee, in ignorance what
others knew was wrong. The most plausible explanation is that he was taught his
hatred of the followers of Christ by those who wanted to kill him during his
life. There is little evidence to believe Paul and Jesus had ever met before
they were face-to-face on the road to Antioch. Paul may have been the Rich
Young Ruler, but that is circumstantial. Paul did great evil against the
Church, but it was vincible ignorance --rather than the invincible kind. Grace
conquers vincible ignorance. Paul’s ignorance was conquered by a work of
God--by his Spirit, that shy sovereign who executes the will and purposes of
God.
So, what can we tentatively conclude about
the unpardonable sin? What, then, is
this sin against the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost? The sin we call the
unpardonable sin?
One thing is clear: Its unpardonableness
cannot arise from anything in the nature of sin itself; for that would be a
naked contradiction to the emphatic declaration of Matthew 12:31, that all
manner of sin is pardonable. And what is this but the fundamental truth of the
Gospel? (See Acts 13:38, 39; Romans 3:22, 24; 1 John 1:7, etc.). Then, again
when it is said (Matthew 12:32), that to speak against or blaspheme the Son of
man is pardonable, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is not pardonable,
it is not to be conceived that this arises from any greater sanctity in the one
blessed Person than the other. These remarks narrow the question so that the
true sense of our Lord’s words seem to disclose themselves at once. It is a
contrast between slandering “the Son of man”
in His veiled condition and
unfinished work — which might be done “ignorantly, in unbelief” (1 Timothy
1:13), and slandering the same blessed
Person after the demonstration of glory.
This would be to slander Him with eyes
open, or to do it “presumptuously.” To blaspheme Christ in the former condition
— when even the apostles stumbled at many things — left them still open to
conviction on fuller light: but to blaspheme Him in the latter condition would
be to hate the light the clearer it became, and resolutely to shut it out; which, of course, precludes salvation. (See
on Hebrews 10:26-29). The Pharisees, in charging Jesus with being in league with hell they were displaying
beforehand a startling determination to shut their eyes to all evidence, as we
shall see shortly, and so, bordering upon, and in
spirit committing, the unpardonable
sin. That was the path they were on and they enjoyed the scenery. It was crass
unbelief in the face of the incredible, but not unbelievable. Hearing and
seeing what Jesus said and did had no effect upon them. The Holy Spirit who
convicts men of sin, did not work in them because the Spirit was grieved by
their perpetual unbelief.
But on the other hand, Here we find a
gracious assurance of the pardon of all sin upon gospel terms. Christ herein
has set an example to the sons of men, to be ready to forgive words spoken
against them. But humble and conscientious believers, at times are tempted to
think they have committed the unpardonable sin, while those who have come the
nearest to it, seldom have any fear about it. We may be sure that those who
indeed repent and believe the gospel, have not committed this sin, or any other
of the same kind; for repentance and faith are the special gifts of God, which
he would not bestow on any man, if he were determined never to pardon him; and
those who fear they have committed this sin, give a good sign that they have
not. The trembling, contrite sinner, fearing the wrath of God due to sin, has
the witness in himself and of the Spirit that this is not his case. It is the
persistent unbelief and inconsiderate rebellious attitude of unbelievers hardened
in sin so they dismiss the general workings of the Holy Spirit that places them
in danger. Some in willful ignorance, others with ignorance the Holy Spirit
will conquer. But, do not ever presume
upon God to forgive sin when you engage in it in a high-handed manner. Because
God forgives all manner of sin, it does not follow that it is alright to sin.
All sin is cosmic rebellion against the
holiness and glory of God. Knowing it is contrary to the work of the Spirit in
you or others and dismissing the sin as unimportant, will bring you close to
that line of Spirit blaspheming.
What does Jesus go on to teach?
8.
A Few Related Applications Spoken to the Pharisees
Matt. 12:33 “ ¶ Either make the tree good
and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is
known by its fruit.
Jesus is telling the Pharisees an
important principle. The fruit on a tree shows what kind of root it
possesses. A good tree--good fruit, a
bad tree--bad fruit. It is that simple. Fruit tells us about the root. The
blasphemy of the Pharisees, even if spoken out of a good motivation to protect
Israel from what they viewed as a false Messiah, showed the true state of their
hearts--evil, disbelieving and at odds with God’s agenda of grace.
Jesus goes on to tell us this explicitly
with words that should shock us.....especially among those, in our day, who
still view the Lord Jesus Christ as some sort of effeminate man talking only in
soft tones. That is not Jesus. He was meek, but his meekness was no weakness.
He said what needed to be said. And, at times, in striking words.
9.
The True Character of the Pharisees Stated
Matt. 12:34 “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good
things? For out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaks. 35 “A good man
out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man
out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
Jesus, who knows all things, tells them
they are evil and unable to speak good things. WOW! I might think someone is
evil and given over to some sin, but Jesus knows infallibly. That is a theme we
have encountered in a number of contexts during this study. That is why it can
be a scary thing to consider, Jesus knows.” But for those who seek after the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, it can be a great comfort that, “Jesus
knows.” He knows our struggle to bear even the light burden he places on our
shoulders.
This is first and foremost an application
of what Jesus taught the disciples during the Sermon on the Mount. Then it had
application to his followers, here it has reference to his detractors.
Luke 6:43
For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good
fruit. 44 “For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a
bramble bush. 45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his
heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart
brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
That’s the way it is. What does a person’s
life produce? Is it good or evil? By it we can know what the root is--the root
causes the fruit just like every fruit bearing tree in the world.
Is there a difference between the evil of
the disciples and the evil of the Pharisees? You bet there is. Not necessarily
in kind, but in degree. Jesus is training the disciples, the Spirit is at work
within them. It is the Spirit who must work for anyone to even see or percieve
the Kingdom of God (John 3:3ff). But disciples should not think they are
different than the enemies of Christ in and of themselves. Professing believers
can become ungodly apostates rather quickly. I hear of people every few months
who had so much promise who threw it all away. I have friends in this category.
10.
A Indictment of the Pharisees in General
36
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give
account of it in the day of judgment.
Jesus tells the Pharisees they will have
to give an account for each idle word they speak. What a sobering thought!
Judgment shows that things in this life have an effect on the life to come.
Jesus goes on to say something about these words. These idle words will divulge
the final character and state of heart.
11.
An Indictment of the Pharisees in Particular
37
“For by your [these] words you will be justified, and by your words
[these idle] you will be condemned.”
Little things have a profound effect in
God’s economy.
If in your heart, you blaspheme the work
of God’s Holy Spirit by your own perpetual unbelief, you may be in grave
danger. At any point, God may give you up to yourself.
There have been times when sins could not
be forgiven and when God gives people up to the sin they practice:
2 Chr. 30:7
“And do not be like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed
against the LORD God of their fathers, so that He gave them up to desolation, as you see.
Ezek. 20:25
“Therefore I also gave them up
to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live;
Acts 7:42
“Then God turned and gave them up
to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the
Prophets: ‘Did you offer Me slaughtered
animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
Rom. 1:24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to
dishonor their
bodies among themselves,
Rom. 1:26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the
natural use for what is against nature.
Let us take this to heart that we may not
sin presumptuously in the face of truth and find our souls to be shipwrecked or
our profession to be one of hypocrisy. It is possible, let’s guard against it
by staying close to the Lord Jesus Christ and watching over our souls with
prayer. Consider these words....
1Tim. 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in
latter times some will depart from
the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
The remedy is revealed for us as well.
2Tim. 2:19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God
stands, having this seal: “The Lord
knows those who are His,” and, “Let
everyone who names the name of Christ
depart from iniquity.”, that includes presumptuous sins whatever they may
be.
May the example of Hebrews strewn in the
wilderness be a warning to us upon whom the fulfillment of the ages has come,
that we might follow the Lord Wholly. Something that is rather rare indeed. It
happened in Israel,once,
2Chr. 34:33 Thus Josiah removed all the abominations
from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who
were present in Israel diligently serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not
depart from following the LORD God
of their fathers.
We should follow there example accompanied
by faith. That is only possible to those who take the Lord Jesus Christ in
faith to follow him and with him comes the work of his Spirit to complete the
work begun. What a blessing there is for true believers, what a curse it is for
others. It is the believers who endure to the end for whome Jesus came to seek
and to save. If he has called you out of the darkness of sin, show your love to
him by living in hiw way, showing forth the fruit of the Spirit and the works
that flow from a heart that has been saved. Jesus and his blessed Spirit does
this work for us and in us by God’s conquering grace.
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