That is, to deny on earth that one belongs to Jesus, the Son of Man (v. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven” ( Luke 12:9–10 ). He then admonishes them to fear God, not their adversaries ( Luke 12:4–7 ), before continuing, “Whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. Jesus has been warning his disciples against hypocrisy, reminding them that everything purportedly concealed will ultimately be revealed ( Luke 12:1–3 ). The context of Jesus’ saying is different in Luke. In reality, it was by the Spirit of God that Jesus was expelling demons ( Matt 12:28 ), but these visitors from headquarters in Jerusalem were so perverted and hardened in their spiritual outlook that they saw only darkness where there was light, and evil where there was only good. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness they are guilty of an eternal sin” ( Mark 3:28–29 ). Their bizarre conclusion was that Jesus himself had “an impure spirit” and was under the control of Beelzebul, the prince of demons ( Mark 3:22, 30 )! After pointing out the absurdity of this conclusion ( Mark 3:23–26 ), Jesus speaks of sins and slanderous utterances that God could forgive, and one sin that was impossible to forgive-the attributing of the works of Jesus to the activity of Satan: “Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. In Mark’s Gospel, the setting was the arrival in Galilee of experts in the Jewish law from Jerusalem who were investigating Jesus’ work of exorcism, the expelling of demons from demon-possessed sufferers.
Jesus’ teaching about the unforgivable sin may well have been given on more than one occasion. But today in the Western world, “blasphemy” has been watered down to the offense of religious hatred, and in particular, “hate speech.” Did Jesus teach about the unforgivable sin more than once? Originally blasphemy also involved the repudiation of the political and social order that God commanded and upheld. To blaspheme is to injure the reputation of God by slanderous speech about him or by misusing his name ( Exod 20:7 Deut 5:11 ). Our English word “blaspheme” derives from two Greek words- blaptō (“harm,” “damage”) and phēmē (“reputation”). Harris explains what it is-and discusses the one thing that shows evidence you have not committed the sin God doesn’t forgive. In this excerpt, adapted from Navigating Tough Texts: A Guide to Problem Passages in the New Testament, Murray J. Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Email LinkedIn
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