forgiven sin

The Messiah Versus Beelzebub

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.

—Matthew 12:22–30

From the temptation in the wilderness and throughout His ministry, Jesus was in conflict with satanic influences. The confrontations with demon-possessed persons provided settings in which this conflict was made evident. While Jesus had defeated Satan in the wilderness temptation, a fact to which he alludes in this section as His having entered the strong man’s house, the conflict continued, for He “will plunder his house” (v. 29). The section reaches its climax with the affirmation introduced in verse 28, that the coming of the kingdom is happening in the acts of God’s Spirit. According to Gustav Aulen, this passage is the basis for a very significant interpretation of the Atonement as Christ’s victory over Satan. And for at least one thousand years of church history this was regarded as the classical view of the Atonement.

The healing of a man who was both blind and mute because of demon possession offers a vivid illustration of the nature of Satan’s work which limited one by blindness and bound one with the inability to communicate. The story simply tells us that Jesus healed him with little attention to the actual miracle. It focuses instead on the comments of the people as to whether Jesus might actually be the Son of David! Faith is beginning to dawn. Even though Jesus did not fit their picture of the coming Son of David, His deeds were of such power and nature that they had some stirrings of an awakening of faith.

The scribes and Pharisees were prejudiced and offered an answer which placed Jesus in league with the prince of devils. The word “Beelzebub” is derived from 2 Kings 1:2 in reference to the god of Ekron, a word meaning “exalted lord.” But the biblical writers made the term Beelzebub, “lord of dung” or “lord of the flies” to show their contempt. Here the Pharisees used this contemptuous insult in saying that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, prince of demons.

Jesus responded with a series of logical arguments. First, if He were casting out demons by the help of the ruler of demons then the demonic kingdom was self-destructing. Second, the Jews themselves practiced exorcism and so they must be succeeding by demonic power, hence they were condemning themselves. And third, if He were casting out demons, which they had admitted by their statement, then it must be evidence that He had entered the strong man’s house and defeated the strong man! It is Jesus’ defeat of Satan in the wilderness through His authority as God’s Son which enabled Him to cast out demons with a word. His authority and method stood in contrast to the extensive and strange exercises of the Jewish exorcists.

Two other concepts call for attention in the concluding verses of this section. The first is that in Jesus’ acts the kingdom of God had come to them. Matthew used the term “kingdom of heaven” more frequently while the other Gospel writers used the expression “kingdom of God.” According to Caird, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are one and the same. The kingdom of God exists wherever God reigns, and the kingdom of heaven exists where heaven reigns, with “Heaven” as simply a title for God (as in Luke 15:18). Jesus was not talking of the church which, following Pentecost, actually became the visible expression of kingdom reality, but of the kingdom which comes and will ultimately come in its fullness. The second concept is the necessity to make our decision in relation to Christ. We must be either for Him or against Him, but not neutral. There are only two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. This is the “sword of division” spoken of in 10:34. In context, Jesus’ reply draws a clear line of distinction; those not with Him are against Him. It is a statement of awareness but also of judgment.

An outline for this section could include four aspects: (1) the charge is designed to refute His identity as “Son of David,” vv. 23–24; (2) the critique shows the impossibility of a divided kingdom, vv. 25–27; (3) the coming of the kingdom of God is happening in the works of God’s Spirit, v. 28; and (4) the commitment regarding Jesus and His claims is inescapable, v. 30.

The Messiah Proscribes Forgiveness

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.

—Matthew 12:31–32

The expression of God’s grace is a love which forgives sin, a love which reaches beyond the issue to the person and releases that person in mercy. The heart of the gospel is that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, kjv). And this grace of forgiveness is known fully in the Christ who is God’s extension of forgiving grace, the Christ who absorbed man’s hostility and sin to share the costliness of redemptive love. But if one completely rejects what God is doing by His Spirit in and through Christ and despises His Word, such a person places himself outside of the avenue to forgiveness. In Numbers 15:31 we read, “Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall be utterly cut off” (kjv). So here, Jesus says that those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit are, in so doing, severing themselves from the only power that can bring them to repentance, to the forgiving grace of God. Forgiveness is always in relationship, it is not a package that one can get and run off with. Consequently, forgiveness cannot be known if one is closing his life to God.

Jesus said that persons may not fully understand the man Jesus of Nazareth and, out of ignorance, may speak critically of what He was doing and yet have forgiveness. But where the truth of God comes through by the illumination of the Holy Spirit and men reject that truth, they place themselves beyond pardon. While some interpret this “unpardonable sin” as an act of attributing the work of the Spirit to Satan, it is much more an attitude than a single act; it is a state of willful sin. It is an attitude that closes one’s mind and conscience to the convictions of the Spirit until the conscience becomes so hardened that the one voice which calls to God, the voice of the Spirit, can no longer get through. Such are then beyond pardon, beyond hearing the call to pardon. Barnes interprets this as follows: “He that speaks against me as a man of Nazareth, that speaks contemptuously of my humble birth, etc., may be pardoned; but he that reproaches my divine nature, charging me with being in league with Satan, and blaspheming the power of God manifestly displayed by Me, can never obtain forgiveness.” This sin is not simply an act which makes God so disgusted that He cuts one off, but rather is a sin which so changes the person’s stance toward God that the one places himself outside of the experience of pardon—forever.

For those who are worried about their having committed the unpardonable sin, the very fact of conviction is evidence that the Spirit is still being heard in His conviction. Also, the mention of an unpardonable sin implies the pardonable; the latter being those rejections of Jesus’ claims without the blasphemous attitude of complete defiance of the Spirit’s illumination of the truth and call of Christ. The following points are submitted as a possible outline for this passage: (1) the unpardonable sin is the complete rejection of the Holy Spirit; (2) the unpardonable sin means refusing the realization that He alone could bring us to pardon; and (3) the unpardonable sin has eternal consequences, vv. 31–32.¹

There is no sin committed yesterday that the Lord would not forgive today because He died for all sin. The Holy Spirit came into the world to make real the salvation of Christ to the hearts of men. If you resist the working of the Spirit of God when He speaks to you, my friend, there is no forgiveness, of course. There is no forgiveness because you have rejected salvation made real to you by the Holy Spirit. And it is the work of the Spirit of God to regenerate you.

In Mark 3 the Lord amplifies the matter of the unpardonable sin by saying that it attributes the Spirit’s work to Satan, that Christ had performed these miracles by Beelzebub when actually He was doing them by the power of the Spirit of God. You see, they were rejecting the witness of Himself and of the Holy Spirit.

In our day that particular sin cannot be committed because it could only be committed when Jesus was here upon the earth. There is no act of sin that you could commit for which there is no forgiveness. Of course, if you resist the Holy Spirit, there is no forgiveness because He is bringing forgiveness. It is like the man who is dying from a certain disease, and the doctor tells him there is a remedy for it. The man refuses to take the remedy and dies, not from the disease but from refusing to take the remedy. There is a remedy for the disease of sin, and the Holy Spirit applies it; but if you resist it, there is no remedy. That is the only way sin can be unpardonable today.²

Rebellion against His Power (Matt. 12:22–37)

The accusation (vv. 22–24). The man that was brought to Jesus was certainly in a sad state, for he was blind, unable to speak, and possessed with a demon. Jesus delivered the man, something the Pharisees could not do. Their accusation was that He worked by the power of Satan and not by the power of God. They did not agree with Nicodemus’ evaluation of His miracles (John 3:2).

The answer (vv. 25–30). Jesus pointed out that their statement was illogical and impractical. Why would Satan fight against himself? Jesus affirmed that Satan had a kingdom, for he is the god of this age (Matt. 4:8–9; John 12:31). He also stated that Satan had a “house,” which seems to refer to the body of the man who was possessed (Matt. 12:43–44). If Satan casts out his own demonic helpers, then he is opposing himself, dividing his kingdom, and destroying his house.

Their accusation was also illogical from their own point of view, though they did not see it. There were Jewish exorcists (see Acts 19:13–16) who apparently were successful. By whose power did they cast out demons? If it was by Satan’s power, they were in league with the devil! Of course, no Pharisee was about to draw that conclusion.

Jesus was able to cast out demons because He had first defeated Satan, the prince of the demons. Jesus entered Satan’s kingdom, overcame his power, and claimed his spoils. His victory was through the Spirit of God (“the finger of God,” Luke 11:20) and not in the power of the evil one. This means that God is Victor over Satan, and that men must decide on whose side they will stand. There can be no compromise. We are either with God or against God.

The admonition (vv. 31–37). Jesus warned them that their words gave evidence of the evil in their hearts. The sin against the Holy Spirit is not a matter of speech; the words spoken are only “fruit” from the sinful heart. If the heart is a treasury of good, that good will overflow through the lips and do good to others. But if the heart is a treasury of evil, that evil will spill over through the lips and do harm to the person speaking and those listening.

But what is this terrible “sin against the Holy Spirit”? Can it be committed today, and, if so, how? Our Lord said that God will forgive evil words spoken against the Son, but not against the Spirit. Does this mean that the Holy Spirit is more important than Jesus Christ, God’s Son? Surely not. We often hear the name of God or Jesus Christ used in blasphemy, but rarely if ever the name of the Holy Spirit. How can God forgive words spoken against His Son, and yet not forgive words spoken against the Spirit?

It appears that this situation existed only while Christ was ministering on earth. Jesus did not appear to be different from any other Jewish man (Isa. 53:2). To speak against Christ could be forgiven while He was on earth. But when the Spirit of God came at Pentecost as proof that Jesus was the Christ, and was alive, to reject the witness of the Spirit was final. The only consequence would be judgment.

When the leaders rejected John the Baptist, they were rejecting the Father who sent him. When they rejected Jesus, they were rejecting the Son. But when they rejected the ministry of the Apostles, they rejected the Holy Spirit—and that is the end. There is no more witness. Such rejection cannot be forgiven.

The phrase “idle word” in Matthew 12:36 means “words that accomplish nothing.” If God is going to judge our “small talk,” how much more will He judge our deliberate words? It is by our conversation at unguarded moments that we reveal our true character.

Is there an “unpardonable sin” today? Yes, the final rejection of Jesus Christ. Jesus made it clear that all sins can be forgiven (Matt. 12:31). Adultery, murder, blasphemy, and other sins can all be forgiven; they are not unpardonable. But God cannot forgive the rejection of His Son. It is the Spirit who bears witness to Christ (John 15:26) and who convicts the lost sinner (John 16:7–11).³

12:25–28 Jesus’ defense was in three parts. First, a kingdom, city, or even a family cannot continue to exist if it is divided against itself. Second, when the followers of the Pharisees exorcized demons, the Pharisees claimed it was accomplished by the power of God. Third, the casting out of demons by the Messiah indicated the nearness of the kingdom.

12:27 your sons: Probably Jews who cast out demons in God’s name (Acts 19:13–18). they shall be your judges: Their own people recognized that only God could conquer demons.

12:29, 30 This verse shows how Jesus the King was confronting the kingdom of Satan. In His exorcisms, Jesus was binding Satan bit by bit. When He comes suddenly to establish His kingdom, He will bind Satan quickly and completely (Rev. 20:1–10).

12:31, 32 This passage discusses the infamous “unpardonable sin.” The first question to be answered is, “Why is blasphemy of the Son of Man pardonable, but not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?” The key seems to be in the title “Son of Man.” It describes Jesus or Messiah in human terms; He was a man. Someone could consider who Jesus was and conclude He was no more than a human being. However, if the Holy Spirit convicted a person of the fact that Jesus was more than a mere mortal, and this person refused to accept the ministry of the Holy Spirit, there would be no possible forgiveness. That the sin against the Holy Spirit is called “blasphemy” implies a final and unalterable decision has been made. The sin that is unforgivable is the stubborn refusal when the Holy Spirit convicts to accept the forgiveness Christ offers. Particularly in reference to the leaders of Israel, Jesus had offered them all the proof that could be expected—the ministry of John, the testimony of the Father, the prophecies of the OT, His own testimony, and the substantiation by the Holy Spirit. They rejected all proofs regarding Jesus as Messiah. Nothing else was to be given. ⁴

However, we must keep in mind what the writer to the Hebrews had to say on this subject:

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? (Heb. 10:26–29)

The writer here implies that “trampling the Son of God underfoot” and “insulting the Spirit of grace” are sins worthy of severe punishment. But notice that such punishment is earned when these sins are committed “after we have received the knowledge of the truth.” In every person’s life, there is a time when he or she does not understand who Jesus is, and if the person blasphemes Jesus in that time, it can be forgiven. But if the Spirit of God reveals the truth to that person, and he afterward tramples the Son of God underfoot and insults the Spirit, there is nothing to expect but judgment. This leads me and many others to conclude that the unforgiveable sin is blaspheming against the Holy Spirit by blaspheming against Christ after the Spirit has revealed to a person that Jesus is the Son of God.

A Gracious Warning

So, it is now possible to see why Jesus gave this warning at this particular time. The Pharisees had just suggested that He was casting out demons by the power of Satan. This was certainly blasphemy, but because their statements were directed at Jesus, they were not technically blaspheming the Spirit. Still, as we saw in the previous chapter, Jesus said He cast out demons by “the finger of God” (Luke 11:20), which was a metaphor for the Spirit. Thus, the Pharisees were coming perilously close to slandering the Spirit, and Jesus was most gracious to warn them.

Whenever the topic of the unforgivable sin arises, people naturally want to know whether a Christian can commit it. People write me letters and come to me at conferences to tell me they are afraid they have committed the unpardonable sin and to ask if I can help them understand their condition before God. When I am asked whether a Christian can commit the unforgivable sin, I always answer yes and no. I believe that, left to ourselves, believers have the capability in our hearts to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. That capacity is not erased from our hearts by conversion. However, I am convinced that God, in His mercy and grace, keeps believers from ever committing this sin. The Apostle Paul tells us that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Part of that good work involves keeping us from committing this terrible sin. If God did not keep us from doing so, we could and we would. But because He does, we do not. Therein lies our comfort—that the weakness of our flesh is trumped by the grace of God.

Blasphemy is a very serious slander against God. All blasphemy is a serious sin. If you are guilty of routinely blaspheming God by using the name of the Father or the Son in a frivolous manner, you need to plead with God for forgiveness. We have Jesus’ assurance in this passage that blasphemy against the Father or Son will be forgiven. Furthermore, I strongly believe that God preserves all those who are His from committing the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if you are trusting in Jesus for your salvation, trust Him also to preserve you from blaspheming the Holy Spirit.⁵

1 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

2 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34, pp. 169–170). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

3 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 42–43). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

4 Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Mt 12:25–32). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

5 Sproul, R. C. (2013). Matthew (pp. 386–387). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.