The Gospel of Matthew

The Unpardonable Sin

Chapter 12:14 -32

Hatred of the Pharisees

The Pharisees rejected the idea that Jesus was the Messiah that everyone expected, and were jealous of the admiration that people had for Him. When they confronted the Lord Jesus, they were always beaten. He demonstrated having a most accurate knowledge of them and did not respect them.

They now began to conspire among themselves, and with their loathed rivals, the Herodians, on how they could destroy Him (Mark 3:6; Luke 6:11). The main obstacle was the admiration that people had for him.

The Lord Jesus could read their thoughts and moved away from there, accompanied by a large crowd. His time had not yet arrived, and they could not touch him until then. The crowd had the sick with them, and He healed them all but warned them not to say who He was.

No publicity

There are several possible reasons why He did not wish to get publicity regarding His identity at that time. It could, for example, have initiated some political movement resulting in a rebellion against the Romans, and He had not come for this purpose.

A prophecy was thus was fulfilled, made about seven centuries before by Isaiah, quoted here (Isaiah 42:1-4). The words do not all match exactly the original translation of the prophecy in the Old Testament, as also happens with other citations made in the New Testament. The most likely explanation is that there has been some difference in interpretation of the exact meaning of the words of the ancient Hebrew and ancient Greek from which the quotations were translated in the New Testament.

The meaning of that prophecy is that the Messiah, "the Servant", having with Him the Spirit of God, will announce justice to the nations (the Gentiles) quietly, without any fanfare. He will not change the world scene with violence until He has established His righteous Kingdom bringing justice to victory, when the nations will then place their hope on His name.

The prophecy spans a long period of time, but it starts with the ministry of Christ, with the Holy Spirit. Its purpose was not to change the political landscape of the Earth but to proclaim justice, which is the Gospel. His ministry would continue until He would bring justice to victory. It has been proclaimed throughout the centuries, and many Gentiles have been saved in His Name. They are pictured as waiting for His reign so that they might be His loyal subjects.

Healing the demoniac

Then they brought to the Lord a poor man who was demon possessed, blind and mute. His cure was immediate, so he came to see and speak. The people were amazed (literally beyond themselves) seeing such a great miracle, and asked (literally): "could this be the son of David?" By “son of David” they meant the descendant of King David who, according to the promises made to him, and the prophecies, would take over the Kingdom and bring eternal glory to Israel. Finally, the Messiah. The question was asked in a way that invited the answer "no", perhaps out of fear of the religious leaders among them. These noticed the great excitement of the crowd, and concluded that the manifest disposition of the people just then to believe that Jesus was the Messiah needed an extreme action on their part.

As it was not possible to deny the authenticity of such a supernatural marvel, in their desperation the Pharisees suggested that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. Beelzebub is a word of unknown etymology, but was used as a shameful name. According to some, it could mean "Lord of a house", "Lord of the flies", "Lord of the dung" or "Lord of the idolatrous sacrifices".

It was an ill-conceived and illogical statement, as the Lord Jesus soon showed everyone, because He knew their thoughts:

He pointed out that:

No kingdom, city, or house divided against itself can continue successfully. If He was casting out Satan's demons by the power of Satan, then Satan was working against himself. He would never do such a thing.
If He cast out demons by Beelzebub, then by whom did their sons do it? There were at that time some exorcists associated with the Pharisees, who said they had power to cast out demons. If the power to cast out demons were Satanic, then all who did it would be connected to that power.
If, on the other hand, He cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God had come to them (something the religious leaders refused to admit). The strong man of the house (Beelzebub) has to be mastered before his house can be robbed. No man can do this with his own strength, so there is no such alternative.

The two sides

Finally, He challenged them "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad". In relation to the Lord Jesus, one cannot be spectator on the fence: Those religious people had to decide what attitude to take.

Even today, the Lord Jesus has enemies who hate Him, just as they hate all righteous words and actions because they hurt their conscience and infuriate them. Christ, the Saviour, gathers His flock while Satan disperses. We can choose to walk and work with Christ, or to be against Him and spread confusion with Satan.

In Mark 9:40 the Lord Jesus said: “he who is not against us is on our side", which can make it seem that there is a middle ground. However, that is not the case: the decision in Matthew concerns salvation, to receive or not Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord of our life; in Mark, the decision concerns the service of the believer. There are big differences between the disciples of Christ, for example, as to the practice in the church to which they belong, methods and interpretation of doctrines. In this situation, who is not against the Lord is for Him and must be respected for it.

The unpardonable sin

The Lord Jesus then stated that “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men" and "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". These are solemn words: to declare that there is a sin for which there is no forgiveness from God, either in the present or in the future, for all eternity. Many people worry fearing that they committed it, because they are not sure what it is.

When a passage of Scripture is not sufficiently clear in itself, clarification must be sought through a parallel with other passages, because there can be no contradiction:

There is no sin committed today by someone who the Lord Jesus cannot forgive, because he died on the cross to take upon Himself all our sins: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). This is in line with the entire Bible, which teaches us that God is merciful, and His righteousness was satisfied in the blood of Christ, thus allowing the justification of everyone who receives Him as Lord and Saviour.
Those who have received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are promised eternal life, “for the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. This is a gift of God by His grace; it does not depend on our merit and it is eternal communion with God before whom there can be no sin.
There is certainty of eternal punishment away from God, therefore no possibility of forgiveness by God, for those whose name is not written in the "book of life" (Revelation 20:15). Among them are those who commit the unpardonable sin, as follows:
1. The context of the declaration of the Lord Jesus was the rejection of religious Jews to clear evidence that He cast out demons by the Spirit of God. The unpardonable sin has to do with the attitude that they were taking, or with the decision either to be with Christ or against Christ mentioned just before.
2. The Holy Spirit testifies about Christ (1John 5:6). Whoever resists this testimony makes the Holy Spirit a liar, and so blasphemes against the Spirit. He rejects the salvation that comes through the testimony of the Word inspired by the Holy Spirit, and rejects the regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Not only is this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, but also it is speaking out against Him.

Here is the unpardonable sin in this century and the next. For this, there will never be forgiveness.

R David Jones

14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known,
17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
18 "BEHOLD! MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN, MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL IS WELL PLEASED! I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE WILL DECLARE JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.
19 HE WILL NOT QUARREL NOR CRY OUT, NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.
20 A BRUISED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK, AND SMOKING FLAX HE WILL NOT QUENCH, TILL HE SENDS FORTH JUSTICE TO VICTORY;
21 AND IN HIS NAME GENTILES WILL TRUST."

22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"

24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."

25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
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.

30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

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.
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.

Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12, verses 14 to 32