(10/14/18 – Mark 3:22-30)

Main Point of Mark: Mark wrote to Roman Gentile Christians to ground them in the facts about Christ so that they could be and make disciples of Christ. Message Main Point: Be submissive to the work of the Holy Spirit by believing and becoming a disciple of Christ. Context: Jesus has just called the Twelve and given them authority to cast out demons. The religious leaders now go out of their way to oppose Jesus. In the process of trying to discredit Him, their hearts are revealed. They blaspheme by attributing the Holy Spirit’s work of casting out demons through Jesus to Satan. Mark 3:22 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” They came 64 miles (straight line) from Jerusalem, which is about a 3 ½ day trip to oppose Jesus. They attributed the exorcism work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus to the power of Satan. Mark 3:23-27 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. Jesus spoke to them in parables. As a parable primer, they were not for making complex truths simple, but for veiling truth from those who were not spiritually discerning. He shows that any community that is divided will fall; therefore, Satan could not be tearing down his own kingdom by casting out demons. One stronger than Satan must bind him before He plunders his house. Jesus is clearly referring to Himself as God who has authority over Satan.

Mark 3:28-30 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Jesus shows the outcome of those who accept Him and those who oppose. There is forgiveness all sorts of sins against God, but those consciously reject and attribute the testifying work of the Holy Spirit to Satan will never find forgiveness. Beelzebul in the OT, Beelzebub (Beelzebul) meant lord (Baal) of flies or fly–god (2 Kgs. 1:2) and was in common use

among the Jews in Christ’s day as the title of Satan as the prince of the demons. Blaspheme verbal abuse against someone which denotes the very worst type of slander mentioned. Forgiven to remove the guilt resulting from wrongdoing— to pardon, to forgive Eternal a period of unending duration, without end Discussion Starter: What have you heard taught about blaspheming the Holy Spirit? How have you heard this text applied? What counsel would you give someone who fears that they have committed this sin? Application: Jesus and His disciples were continually opposed for their good work in the name of the Lord. How are you experiencing opposition, mistreatment or persecution as a follower of Christ? If you are not, what implications does that have? Based on Jesus’ parable, how does the church act illogically when it discards a fallen brother/sister? In the case of sin in the church, how should we address a brother for the building up of the Church? How does Jesus’ parable about a kingdom divided speak a word of warning to the greater church? How are divisions over opinions, preferences, practices and minor theological positions tearing down the Kingdom that Christ seeks to build through us? What can we do about it in our sphere of influence? Read Mark 3:28. Take several minutes to list all the sins that you can think of. Worship God that all of these sins can be forgiven in Christ! Are yours?

Who are you withholding forgiveness from? Commit to the Lord to reflect Christ through seeking reconciliation by His grace. Cross Reference Verses: 2nd Kings 1:2 2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” John 16:8-11 8 And He (the Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. Matthew 12:22-32 22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 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.

1st Timothy 1:12-15 12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

John 9:30-34 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

Luke 12:45-48 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Quotes:

Ed Welch - In one sentence the passage on the unpardonable sin can deliver the most fear and guilt in all Scripture.

Ravi Zacharias - One of the most staggering truths of the Scriptures is to understand that we do not earn our way to heaven. …works have a place–but as a demonstration of having received God’s forgiveness, not as a badge of merit of having earned it.

C.S. Lewis - To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.

John Piper - When a human says, “I’ll never forgive you,” we may go on with life. There are others we can turn to; and “never” really doesn’t mean never. But when God says, “I will never forgive you,” then there is nobody to turn to in all the universe and “never” really means “never.” If God says to you, “Never will I forgive you,” then a million ages from now his verdict will be like granite.

What the unpardonable sin is not: 1. It is not mere unbelief (Matthew 12:32 say forgive in this age or the one to come). 2. It is not a particularly heinous sin mentioned elsewhere in Scripture. (Mark 3:28) 3. It is not denying Christ (Peters explicit and repeated denial of Christ) 4. It is not blasphemy of Jesus (Paul – 1 Timothy 1:13). 5. It is not flippantly saying something against the Holy Spirit. 6. It is not grieving or quenching the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). 7. It is not the sin unto death from 1st John 5:16 (Context was a believer).

What the context of the Synoptic Gospels reveals about the sin:

1. There is an unpardonable sin. 2. The Scribes had not yet committed the sin. 3. It involves attributing the work of the Spirit in testifying to Christ to the power Satan. 4. It is a sin that willfully rejects the truth. 5. It seems to be a more than a one-time action or else the Scribes would have already been guilty. 6. Since God will forgive anyone who repents, the person must be hardened past repentance.

Baker Encyclopedia- Unpardonable Sin, The. Attributing the righteous work of the Holy Spirit demonstrated through Jesus Christ to Satan. The unpardonable sin is not Israel’s rebellion against God, even though this rebellion resulted in the eternal judgment of thousands and a temporary elimination of God’s blessing.

The “sin unto death” (1 Jn 5:16, 17) is not the unpardonable sin. It would be impossible for a person who has redemption and the forgiveness of sin (Eph 1:7), cleansing for present and future sin (1 Jn 1:7), and eternal life (Jn 3:16) to commit an unpardonable sin. But those who commit the “sin unto death” are all Christians. First John 5:16 says the person who commits the “sin unto death” is a “brother” in Christ.

The unpardonable sin is not rejection of the Lord Jesus, until the rejector dies in his unbelief. Such a sin will not be forgiven throughout eternity, but is not the same sin as that which Jesus condemned with the words: “It shall not be forgiven him either in this age, or in the age to come” (Mt 12:32). Numerous passages repeat the warning that unbelief in the Savior results in an eternal second death (Jn 3:18, 36; 1 Jn 5:12; Rv 20:15; 21:8), but do not include the definition of the unpardonable sin. Jesus asserted that a person could be an unbeliever in him even to the degree of speaking against him, yet not be guilty of the unpardonable sin.

The unpardonable sin must be defined by its context (Mt 12:31, 32; Mk 3:28–30). Jesus cast a demon from a blind-dumb man. Incontrovertible evidence of the power of God had occurred. The Pharisees with stubborn unbelief credited this display of God’s power to Beelzebul, the devil (Mt 12:24). Several Scriptures reveal that many Jews practiced this sin (Mt 9:34; 11:18; Lk 7:33; 11:14–20; Jn 7:20; 8:48, 52; 10:20). A group of Jews, mostly Pharisees, were guilty of attributing the righteous works of the Spirit demonstrated through the Lord Jesus, to the devil. They committed the unpardonable sin when they called the highest manifestation of holy labor by the most offensive opprobrium—the work of Beelzebul.

Evangelical Dictionary of Theology - Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit. Overt, verbal, and conscious repudiation of the fact that God is at work in Jesus Christ accomplishing his designs through the power of the Holy Spirit. Exactly what is being described by this expression, found in Mark 3:29 (par. Matt. 12:32; Luke 12:10), has vexed both scholars and ordinary Christians for centuries.

Several observations are in order. First, the object of this “blasphemy” is the Holy Spirit, who is clearly distinguished in the context from Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, who may be blasphemed by someone who yet is forgiven (Matt. 12:32). While the Spirit is the object, however, it is the Spirit’s work in Jesus Christ that is the focus of the passage. Second, the result of this blasphemy is that the blasphemer cannot be forgiven by God. Third, the consequence of this blasphemy is eternal unforgivability. Mark calls this the “eternal sin,” a term found in modern translations; the kjv has “eternal judgment.” Finally, the circumstances of Jesus’ pronouncement include the attribution of his powers to demonic sources (Mark 3:22).

What is this sin? Both Mark and Luke use the term “blaspheme” while Matthew has the more ordinary “speaks against,” showing that all three have in mind some kind of verbal repudiation or denunciation of the Spirit of God in the ministry of Jesus. Ancients believed in the power of words and uttering imprecations, curses, and blasphemies were taken seriously. The verb “blaspheme” means to speak abusively or insultingly of someone or something (Acts 18:6; Rom. 14:16). In the Old Testament the term was used specially for derisive language and attitudes toward the God of the covenant with Israel (2 Kings 19:4; 6, 22; Isa. 66:3; Ezek. 35:12–13). The fundamental notion inherited by New Testament authors, and Jesus in particular, is expressed in Leviticus 24:15–16: “Whoever curses ( ; k t reō) his God shall bear his sin. He who blasphemes (nā b; onom zō) the name of the Lord shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him; the sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes (nā b; onom zō) the Name, shall be put to death” (rsv; cf. Lev. 24:10–23 for the blasphemer).

Furthermore, the Spirit is the sign of the new age and the reception of the Spirit is the focus of hope in some Old Testament visions. Thus, Isaiah 63:7–64:11 speaks of God’s covenantal faithfulness to his people, led by Moses, even when they grieved

the Holy Spirit (63:10). The prayer is that God would rend his heavens and come down to his people and make his name great among the nations (64:1–2). One suspects that the advent of the Holy Spirit at the baptism of Jesus fulfills this Old Testament hope, and yet Israel remains hardened and grieves the Spirit once again (cf. 63:10; Mark 3:29). What we find then is double accountability: Old Testament disobedience, followed by God’s promised restoration in sending the Spirit, and now once again the same rejection.

Consequently, when we come to the text of the Synoptic Gospels there is a history of interpretation and applications that prohibit anyone (Lev. 24:15–16 includes the sojourner) from denouncing the God of Israel, repudiating his claims, and insulting his honor. What Jesus claims is that a similar type of sin is being committed whenever one speaks against the Holy Spirit as revealed powerfully in his ministry. What caused stoning in the Old Testament, now incurs eternal condemnation; such a sin is unforgivable.

What are the specific symptoms of this sin? There have been many suggestions in the history of interpretation, including breaking the third commandment (Exod. 20:7: taking the Lord’s name in vain) or the seventh commandment (Exod. 20:14: adultery; cf. 1 Cor. 6:18), postbaptismal sins (Origen), post-Pentecost rejection of the Spirit, and the attempt to achieve meritorious righteousness before God. Others have given up on finding the meaning. While the various proposals may have some merit, it is best to examine “blasphemy against the Spirit” in the Gospels themselves to see what light they shed on what is being addressed.

The contexts of the Gospels provide the important clues. In Mark and Matthew, the context is Jesus’ exorcisms by the power of God’s Spirit (Matt. 12:22–24; cf. Mark 3:22). While Jesus contends that one might miss the revelation of God in his lowly person (Matt. 12:32a), no one can miss the power of God at work in his ability to exorcize demons (Matt. 12:32b; Mark 3:29). Thus, the unforgivable sin is repudiation of the work of God, seen in Jesus’ powerful acts of exorcism.

Luke puts this same saying in a slightly different context: the public acknowledgment of Jesus Christ. Jesus says it is one thing to deny him publicly; it is quite another thing to repudiate the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 12:8–10). Thus, the unforgivable sin here seems to be public repudiation of the power of the Spirit in the ministry of the apostles of Jesus. What we see here is probably an application: inasmuch as it is blasphemous to reject the Spirit in the ministry of Jesus, so it is also blasphemous to reject the Spirit in the ministry of the Twelve (since they are personal agents of Jesus). After all, the Spirit purifies and enables holiness (Ps. 51:11–13; Ezek. 36:25–27). In summary, we may confidently conclude that “blasphemy against the Spirit” is overt, even verbal, repudiation of the presence of God’s Spirit in the ministry of Jesus and those whom he has sent.

After the earthly ministry and death of Christ, the emphasis on the Spirit as the object of the blasphemous words and attitudes will give way to an emphasis on Jesus Christ (cf. James 2:7). Hence, we find Paul’s preaching of Christ crucified being repudiated; this would appear to be “blasphemy against the Spirit” as well (Acts 13:8, 45; 14:2; 18:6; 19:13–16).

Blasphemy against the Spirit and apostasy are related. Apostasy, whether defined in the Calvinistic or Arminian sense, is committed by those who have had some relationship to God through Christ. Thus, apostasy is acceptance followed by repudiation of Jesus Christ (Heb. 6:4–6; 10:29–39; 1 John 5:16–17); blasphemy against the Spirit is not preceded by acceptance. It describes overt repudiation before any kind of commitment is made. While we may distinguish these two sins in this manner, it also needs to be observed that the two sins amount to largely the same stance. For both involve an overt repudiation of God’s work in Christ. Scot McKnight

Sam Storms (Gospel Coalition)- Blasphemy of the HS is willful, wide-eyed slandering of the work of the HS, attributing to the devil what is undeniably divine. These men had seen as well as anyone could see and had known as clearly as anyone could know that Jesus performed his miracles by the power of the HS, yet they defiantly insisted, contrary to what they knew to be true, that it was Satan who empowered him. This was not a one-time, momentary slip or inadvertent mistake in judgment, but a persistent, life-long rebellion in the face of inescapable truth. Blasphemy of the HS is not a careless act but a calloused attitude. The Pharisees had seen Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, teach the Sermon on the Mount, give sight to the blind, heal the paralytics. Blasphemy of the HS, therefore, is not just unbelief but unashamed unbelief that arises not from ignorance of what is true but in defiance of what one knows beyond doubt to be true. It is not mere denial, but determined denial; not mere rejection, but wanton, willful, wicked, wide-eyed rejection.

John Piper - The person who commits this sin is guilty forever before God and under his wrath without end: “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness; but is guilty of an eternal sin.” If forgiveness is withheld for eternity, guilt is sealed for eternity. God is never neutral to sin. He either forgives it or punishes it. There is no neutral middle ground of indifference. Not to be forgiven by God forever is to suffer his wrath forever. To reject the doctrine of eternal hell under the wrath of God is to reject the forthright teaching of our Lord Jesus. Mark 3:29 is one of the clearest passages in the Bible to the effect that there will be those shut out of forgiveness, bearing their guilt forever.