In Matthew 12:32 (see also, Luke 12:10; Mark 3:28,29) Jesus makes the statement, “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”[1] Jesus made this statement while being confronted by the Pharisees over their (emphasis mine) Sabbath Law. This confrontation started with Jesus being questioned about the disciples plucking grain to eat (vv. 1-5) and continued with Jesus’ healing the withered hand (v. 13). However, the intention of the Pharisees was not to show concern for the sacred Sabbath as much as it was to try to find a way to “accuse” Jesus publicly and further discredit and remove Him (see vv. 9, 14). In the beginning of chapter 12 they were the accusers- by the end they stood as the accused. All this was said just to set up the scene in the passage and give some context to what was happening.
While studying this passage with our men’s group at church there seemed to be some confusion as to what this “unpardonable sin” was and what it meant to “blaspheme the Holy Spirit” (v. 32). I will do my best to keep my explanation simple, clear, and within the bounds of God’s Word. But first I think we need to start with an idea or better understanding of what blasphemy means and what it is.
Blasphemy is described in the Pocket Dictionary of Ethics as “a transliteration of the Greek term blasphēmia, meaning “slander, revile.” In the Bible, the term blasphemy is used describe the act of intentionally or carelessly profaning God.”[2] So, in essence blasphemy is the misuse of God’s name in any fashion that is not glorifying or bringing glory to His name. This includes the whole of the Trinity- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God commands against this sin in Exodus 20:7, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”[3] This is a warning against profaning God’s name, but it doesn’t say that this action is not forgivable, indeed it is (though some will disagree). I added this little section because some have been taught and believe that this type of blasphemy is the one in question and that just is not the case in. Especially, as it pertains to the context of the passage and to the blasphemy in which Jesus was speaking.
To keep in context, we must look to whom Jesus was speaking, the Pharisees. As we know the Pharisees were to be the spiritual leaders of the nation of Israel. They were the peoples direct connect to God, the upholders and teachers of His Word. However, Jesus continually calls them out on their misunderstandings and misinterpretations of what they were supposed to know about God’s Word. His questions in Matthew 12:3,5 “have you not read,” are somewhat humorous, He basically points out that they have read it but don’t understand. Rather it seems they have turned a blind eye (or heart) to the Word in favor of their own desires for their positions and lifestyles (see again, vv. 9,14).
I say this to point out that it wasn’t the Sabbath Law, or Mosaic Law for that matter, that the Pharisees were concerned with. They had hardened their hearts to the things of God, as evidenced in Jesus’ statement of “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice (v.7).”[4] It was this hardening that Jesus was speaking to when He made the statement of blasphemy in verse 32. The Pharisees should have known better than anyone else that the signs they had seen could only have come from God. All these miracles performed by Jesus were foretold in the Messianic texts of Isaiah 26:19; 29:18; 35:5–6; 42:7, 18; 61:1. The Pharisees who would have know these texts, should have understood these texts, and who were to be watching for the Messiah had hardened their hearts to the point they couldn’t even acknowledge the work of God when they saw it.
That is what made their blasphemy unpardonable, they knew it was of God, but their hardness of heart towards Jesus made them attribute the work the Holy Spirit was doing through Christ to the devil. Their position on these miracles “indicates a deliberate refusal to acknowledge God’s power, a totally perverted orientation, like that of Isaiah 5:20 (‘those who call evil good and good evil’).[5]Their failure to see Jesus for who He truly was – the Messiah – was forgivable (because His identity was partially veiled) but attributing the divine work of the Holy Spirit to Satan was not. The Pharisees unwillingness to acknowledge the work of the Spirit proved a heart so callous as to be beyond salvation. William Barclay states, “They had for so long been deliberately blind and deliberately deaf to God that they had lost the faculty of recognizing him when they were confronted with him.” [6]
Furthermore, this blaspheming of the Holy Spirit can only be done in the manifest presence of Christ. What I mean is that Christ must be physically present for this type of blasphemy to take place. I can say this due to Jesus’ own words “either in this age or the age to come (v.32).” “This age” referred to Christ’s first coming, “age to come” refers to “the messianic kingdom on earth when Jesus once again will be physically present performing miracles. Some will reject Him then also (Rv 20:7–10). The conditions will exist for this sin to be committed again without hope of forgiveness.”[7]
To state the Unpardonable Sin plainly, I’ll put it like this: 1) If you are worried if you have ever committed this sin, then you have not because if you had the concern of it would not cross your mind; 2) the only time this could be committed is in the presence of Christ; 3) taking God’s name in vain is blasphemy, but is not unforgivable (yet not recommended); 4) not accepting Christ as Lord is unpardoned sin but not what is being spoken of in this passage, although it carries the same consequences.
As always, I hoped this blog has reached and even helped someone in their walk with Christ, and if you haven’t accepted Christ as Savior it is my prayer that you do. If you have questions or comments, please click the link at the bottom.
Blessings,
Pat
[1] All Scripture references taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted.
[2] Grenz, S. J., & Smith, J. T. (2003). In Pocket Dictionary of Ethics (p. 14). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ex 20:7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Mt 12:7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[5] France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 1, p. 214). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[6] Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 52). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.
[7] Vanlaningham, M. G. (2014). Matthew. In The moody bible commentary (pp. 1474–1475). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.