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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 6, NUMBER 5, FEBRUARY 5, 2006 BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT In Matthew 12:31-32, we read, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto me: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” The parallel accounts are found in Mark 3:28-30 and Luke 12:10. Mark wrote, “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.” Luke wrote, “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.” The three most popular interpretations concerning the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that are advanced are these: (1) The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was committed by these Pharisees when they said that Jesus was in league with the devil and was casting out demons by the power of the devil. Those who hold this view usually maintain that it is not a sin that is committed today, but was simply this particular charge made against Jesus during His ministry. (2) It is the sin of rejecting the invitation of Jesus to become His follower. It is committed by everyone who refuses to believe and obey when they hear the gospel. (3) It is the sin of continuous malicious attacks upon Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is not a single word or insult, but a continuous assault by word or deed. I do not accept any of these views entirely, but believe a combination of the second and third views to be most correct. In Luke 4:17-19, we find Jesus in the synagogue of the city of Nazareth. The passage says, “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” This passage, as well as the statement Jesus made in Matthew 12:28, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you,” indicates to us a very important function of the Holy Spirit as far as the Lord was concerned. Jesus performed the miracles that He performed through the Holy Spirit. The gospel accounts are clear that Jesus was anointed of the Spirit and that the Spirit was a vital agent in His work. This needs to be borne in mind as we seek to understand the nature of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit from the account itself. Jesus had wrought a notable miracle in the presence of witnesses. The subject of the miracle was both blind and dumb, afflictions that were evidently brought about by the fact that he was a demoniac, possessed by a demon. But Jesus healed him, or cleansed him, “insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.” The crowd of witnesses was convinced. They cried out, “Is this not the son of David?” Is not this miracle worker the Messiah? Didn’t the prophecies portray Him as a worker of miracles? Who could dispute that the Spirit of God was with Jesus? Who could dispute that He was the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ of God? The Pharisees did dispute it. Against the clearest of evidence, because of their pride and envy, they refused to accept what they had seen. Truly there are none so blind as those who refuse to see. To defend their opinion of the Lord and to retain some credibility in the eyes of the people, they invented the ludicrous charge that Jesus was casting out devils through the prince of the devils. Thus they blasphemously attributed the work of the Spirit of God to diabolical agency. The Holy Spirit was blasphemously identified with the very prince of demons. What had they done? They had rejected the clearest of evidence, the work of the Spirit through Jesus. It is my conviction that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the final rejection of the clearest of evidence produced by the Spirit through Jesus – the miracles that He worked. Obviously such an individual will reject Jesus as well. That there is no forgiveness for such a sin, while the sinner remains involved in it, is clear. But Jesus did say, “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him.” What would that be? I believe it to be resistance to the testimony of Jesus without the demonstration of the miracles. But to speak against the Holy Spirit, to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, is to resist that testimony when it is confirmed by the miracles. The sin denounced as the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the rejection of the evidence of the Messiahship of Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit – the miracles He performed. Can it be committed today? Yes it can, because we have the same evidence today that they had in the first century and it is present to us for the same reason. “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name” (John 20:30-31). The ludicrous charge of the Pharisees had shown the condition of their hearts. A man who was truly good would not speak such wicked things. They, by their speech, had shown the abundance of their hearts, and it was wickedness. To the Pharisees, and to all, Jesus gave a warning. For every word that we speak we will be held accountable. Idle words spoken thoughtlessly, without giving true consideration to their meaning or their affect, can condemn us.
Greg Litmer
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