“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men,
and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy
Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” – because
they said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’”
In this passage, certain scribes had come down from
Jerusalem. The presence of such educated
religious leaders would have a great influence on the country folks, as well as
the local scribes. But the scribes from
Jerusalem were already resolved not to believe in Christ. They were not there to support His
doctrine. Rather than finding conviction
as Jesus miraculously cast out devils from the poor afflicted souls, they
sought to find fault and made the ridiculous accusation that Jesus had Beelzebub
and that it was by the ruler of demons that Jesus cast out demons. They were saying that Jesus Himself had an
unclean spirit. Now folks, we need to
realize that Satan is at war. Once he
gets a body or soul, he does not readily give up that territory. The doctrine of Christ was victorious in bringing
these poor souls out of the bondage of demons and into the freedom of
Christ. Jesus responded to the absurdity
of the scribes, saying “And if Satan has
risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.”
(Mark 3:26)
But Jesus does not end with that response. He goes on to give a stern warning about
blasphemy. Why would blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit bring eternal condemnation?
The answer is quite simple if you review the definition of blasphemy and
look at the job of the Holy Spirit.
Blasphemeo, according to Strong’s Greek Lexicon (987) means
to speak reproachfully, speak evil of, rail at, or revile.
As to the job of the Holy Spirit, Jesus talked with His
disciples about what would happen when the Holy Spirit came, which was to
happen after Jesus was glorified, “and
when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and
of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness,
because I go to My Father and you see me no more; of judgment, because the
ruler of this world is judged.”
(John 16:9)
My friends, the job of the Holy Spirit is to prod your
heart, He wants you to believe in Jesus.
He will work in those around you to introduce you to Jesus as your
Savior, Lord and Master. He will reveal
Jesus to you. If you reject Jesus after the
Holy Spirit has revealed Jesus to you, then you are calling the Holy Spirit a
liar.
The Apostle Paul tells us we cannot confess to the Lordship of
Christ except through the Holy Spirit: “Therefore
I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus
accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)
Do not be like these scribes. They were resolved in their hearts. They were zealous for their religion. They
were well educated and most sincere. They
refused to receive Jesus for who He was, is and ever will be, and they were
subject to eternal condemnation.
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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