Chapter 61 – The Unforgiveable Sin

Chapter 61

The Unforgivable Sin

(Matthew 12:22-37, Mark 3:22-30, Luke 8:1-3 and 11:14-23)

Jesus went on another preaching tour in Galilee, accompanied by the twelve apostles and a number of women whom he had healed, including Mary Magdalene, “from whom seven demons had gone out” (Luke 8:2); Joanna, who was the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward; and Susanna. These women and others provided financial support for Jesus’s ministry.

In saying that “the twelve were with Him,” Luke 8:1 implies that they were sometimes absent, perhaps working to help support their families and/or Jesus.

Mary Magdalene means “Mary of Magdala.” Magdala was a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Tradition has often identified Mary Magdalene as a prostitute,^{^[1]} but this finds no support in the New Testament. Joanna was present when Jesus’s tomb was found empty, per Luke 24:10, and Luke 23:55 implies that she was also present at Jesus’s crucifixion. Susanna is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.

When Jesus returned to Capernaum,^{^[2]} he healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Many in the large crowd witnessing this miracle wondered if Jesus might be the “Son of David”—that is, the Messiah (although the wording in the Greek implies that the people were skeptical about that possibility). Hearing this, and refusing to believe that Jesus had come from God, some Jewish leaders from Jerusalem accused Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebul (that is, Satan) and of casting out demons by the power of Satan.

Jesus pointed out the flawed logic of this accusation. First, Satan would only hurt himself if he attacked his own interests. Second, since the Jewish leaders also claimed to perform exorcisms, Jesus asked if they were similarly doing so by the power of Satan. Finally, Jesus argued that casting out a demon was like robbing Satan, and to do so Jesus must have overpowered Satan rather than being Satan’s ally.

Jesus took this occasion to warn the people that every sin is forgivable except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is unforgivable, now or in the future. As if to emphasize that in the battle against Satan no one can remain neutral, Jesus added, “The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30, Luke 11:23) Finally, Jesus warned the Jewish leaders that a person’s character is revealed by their words, so that in the final judgment they would be judged by their words, for good or ill.

Jesus did not elaborate about exactly what he meant by blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and scholars have offered different interpretations. Some see this as limited to those who attribute miracles of the Holy Spirit to Satan, or more generally, ascribing the power of God to evil. Others contend that such blasphemy refers to an attitude that is so antagonistic toward the Holy Spirit’s solicitations that repentance and salvation become impossible.

Personally, I believe blasphemy against the Holy Spirit involves, at a minimum, rejection of the gospel message despite knowing it is true. The author of Hebrews seems to say something similar in Hebrews 6:4-6, where he says that a person who has fully embraced God and the Holy Spirit, and then fallen away, cannot be brought a second time to repentance:

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

Perhaps blasphemy against the Holy Spirit includes all of these to some extent. Of course, no ordinary human knows whether or not a person has committed the unforgivable sin.

Questions to Ponder or Discuss. What do you think it means to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? Why do you think blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be unforgivable?

Endnotes for Chapter 61:

[1]. For example, she was portrayed this way in the wonderful film, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

[2]. While Mark 3:20 is translated as “He came home”—which could refer to Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, or Capernaum, where his ministry was centered—the literal translation is “into a house,” an idiom referring to the place where he lived or resided, which would favor Capernaum. Any ambiguity seems to be resolved by what follows this in Matthew 13:1, which says that Jesus left the house and was sitting by the sea. This could only mean Capernaum, since Nazareth was not near the Sea of Galilee.