Scribe

An explanation of an often misunderstood sin.

The Blasphemy Against The Holy Ghost

The Unpardonable Sin Committed by the Jewish Religious Leaders in Their Rejection of Jesus Christ Which Resulted in Eternal Consequences!
In honest consideration of this serious Biblical truth which is commonly known and referred to as the Blasphemy Against the Holy Ghost, it behooves every Bible student to approach this subject with prayerful thought and humility. This is the only sin spoken of in the entirety of Holy Scripture that carries such eternal consequences; that is remaining in a state of eternal unforgiveness.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher Himself, is the only one in all Scripture to make clear reference to this hideous sin and to utter the guilty verdict upon those that committed it. This sin was committed twice, first in Matthew 9:32-34 and then in Matthew 12:22-32. The account of the incident involving the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is recorded in all three synoptic Gospels (Matt. 12:22-32; Mark 3:22-30; Luke 11:14-26).

The word blaspheme in its technical sense signifies; speaking evil of the Almighty or His name. According to Strong's Concordance the word blaspheme means to speak evil of, rail on, revile, defame, slander, insult and vilify. In the Old Testament, blasphemy was punishable by stoning which was inflicted on the son of Shelomith in Leviticus 24:10-16.

In New Testament times, it was this Old Testament law against blasphemy, that the Scribes, Pharisees, Chief Priests and rulers of the people used in order to condemn anyone who spoke out against the corruption of their religious order. It was this law that they used in order to indict and condemn:

The Lord Jesus - Matt. 12:6, 26:61, Matt. 27:40; Luke 5:21; John 2:20
Stephen - Acts 6:13
Paul - Acts 24:6, 21:28 

In their evil and conniving effort to snare the Lord Jesus in His words, in order to accuse and condemn Him on the charges of blasphemy, the Scribes and Pharisees eventually became blatantly guilty of this transgression themselves. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost has been mistakenly identified as an individual's mockery of spiritual manifestations and/or refusal to accept Christ as their personal Savior, yet many of these 'blasphemers' are later gloriously converted to Christ and become faithful servants of God. Therefore, what Jesus was specifically referring to must be of greater meaning and consequence.

The Scriptural Incident:

The healing and deliverance of those possessed with a devil (demon).

Matthew 9:32-34, 12:22-45
Mark 3:22-30 Luke 11:14-26

The Blasphemous Accusation:

In the blatant refusal of the religious leaders to accept and believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, they boldly attributed to the power of Satan those unquestionable miracles which Jesus performed by the "finger of God" and "by the Spirit of God" - Matt. 12:28. It was plainly such a state of willful determined opposition to God and the work of the Holy Ghost, that no effort will avail which will lead to their repentance and forgiveness.

Beelzebub Identified:

The Philistine god of Flies, I Kings 1:12. The Jews had changed it to the dung god, or lord of the dunghill, a most contemptuous and vile idol. He was the prince of demons.

It was the Pharisees (Matt. 12:24) and the Scribes (Mark 3:22) who were the official representatives of Judaism and the Jewish people in their confrontations with Jesus. Therefore, it was not only the leaders themselves that committed this unpardonable sin, but the consequences rested upon the people as a whole and continues to this day as stated at the trial of Jesus. "Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and our children" - Matt. 27:25.

The following is a list of the proofs of the divinity of Jesus Christ, yet each one of them is denied by the leaders of Judaism in their rejection of Jesus as the manifestation of God in flesh. Each of the following proofs were by or of the Holy Ghost.

1. His Virgin Birth - Matthew 1:20
           Rebuttal: "Where is thy father?" - John 8:19
2. His sinless life - Hebrews 4:15
           Rebuttal: "a man that is a sinner" - John 9:16
3. His baptismal anointing as prophet - Matthew 3:16
           Rebuttal: "... if he were a prophet" - Luke 7:39
4. His miracles - Matthew 12:28; John 20:30-31
           Rebuttal: Matthew 12:24
5. His priestly atonement - Hebrews 9:8, 11-14
           Rebuttal: Matthew 27:41-43
6. His resurrection as King of Kings - Romans 8:11
           Rebuttal: Matthew 27:63

The Verdict of Jesus

Matthew 12:43-45 Luke 11:24-26

During the discourse of Jesus concerning this blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, He states the fact that due to the severity of this sin the consequences are unpardonable. In the Scriptural record Jesus gives further explanation concerning the eternal condition of those that commit this sin. He refers to the house that is once swept and garnished, yet empty. The unclean spirit returns to that house with seven other spirits which results in a worse state than before. Jesus then applies this verdict of eternal doom to this wicked generation. This word generation (Matt. 12:45) refers to the Jewish race as shown by Strong's Concordance and Thayer's Greek English Lexicon #1074 which reads, "A whole multitude of men living at the same time; used especially of the Jewish race living at one and the same period." The word generation in Matt. 12:34 refers to "that which has been begotten or born, the offspring or progeny" (#1081).

In their arrogant unbelief, certain of the Scribes and Pharisees wanted Jesus to prove His deity by making a public display of His power in performing a visible miracle. They said;

"Master, we would see a sign from thee." Jesus then calls three witnesses:

• The prophet Jonah as a sign of His own death and resurrection;
• The men of Ninevah, and
• The Queen of the South (Matt. 12:38-42) as evidence of the unrepentant attitude of the Jewish leadership and people in rejecting Him as the Son of God.

Therefore, this unpardonable sin was a racial or national sin with eternal generational consequences applying to the Jewish people and is not necessarily a personal sin committed by individuals.

"And I said unto them, if ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver."
Zechariah 11:12

"Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, what will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver."
Matthew 26:14-15