“In a world of cruelty, sympathy is a crime, and in a world of lies, truth is blasphemy.” Robert Green Ingersoll. What a statement of truth from Mr. Ingersoll. We live in a culture and world full of misconceptions and dangerous lies based on relative truth, with a shaky foundation of quicksand. What is right is called wrong, and what is wrong is called right. Morality is based on cultural desires and not concrete moral truths. The bible is seen as a book of myths, misguided statements, and history. It is right and good in the cultural eyes to call Christianity evil and the words of Scripture corrupt. We truly live in cultural of blasphemy.
In our text of scripture today, we are going to look at what is known in the theological world as the unpardonable sin! Blasphemy of God is the sin that is not forgivable, and that statement comes directly from the text of scripture, which we have read today. In our commentary devotional, we are going to look at the setting and then the accusation that leads to the blasphemy from the Pharisees.
The Setting
Jesus went home to where his family was living, and as was the case in every town, people gathered around wanting to be healed. Jesus and the disciples could not even eat. In this setting, we find the Pharisees at hand, and we also find Jesus’ family calling him crazy. “Mark never allowed his readers to get far from the fact that Jesus’ ministry was constantly being opposed. He balanced Jesus’ choice of disciples with the evolving group of opposition, including Jesus’ own family, who were prepared to call him deranged. The religious leadership chose to add the accusation of demon possession. Jesus handled his family’s doubt with compassion (3:31-35). He neutralized his enemies’ charge with a devastating counterattack.” (Life Application Commentary).
One thing that we continue to see in the setting is that Jesus is compassionate toward those who are not religious leaders. The religious leaders who had a deep understanding of the Old Testament and the prophecies of the Messiah were held to a very high standard, and they failed that standard time and time again.
The Accusation
“He is possessed by Beelzebub.” What an accusation! To accuse the Messiah (The LORD) of being Satan is a crazy and horrifying accusation to make! The one who had healed, raised the dead, and walked on water is being accused of doing all of that in the power of Satan. If I have read the Old Testament correctly, then every encounter we find with Satan, we find him up to no good. And if I am not crazy myself, I think healing the sick and raising the dead is a good thing and not a thing of evil. So, the accusation was that Jesus was doing good things in the name of Satan, who is evil. To me, that is a crazy accusation.
Jesus’ response should catch our attention. “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of eternal sin – for they were saying, He has an unclean spirit.” We find Jesus saying blasphemy twice in these verses. The first mention of it is the blasphemy we all commit as we sin. Blasphemy here is those statements we make knowing they are wrong, but we do it to cover up our sins and the desires of our hearts. The second blasphemy mentioned here is that of attributing the acts of God to the work of Satan. This blasphemy is blatant, and it intends to mock God and His work. The first of these blasphemies is forgivable, but the second is not. Mocking God, by attributing His work to Satan, is a deliberate attack on God and His Holiness, Sovereignty, and Righteousness. It is known that these works of healing and ministry that Jesus was doing were from God, but they hated Jesus so much that they attributed these acts to Satan. The Pharisees clearly knew that Satan would never do this kind of good, but they so hated Jesus that they attributed these miracles to the work of Satan. This direct action against God is blatant and evil, and it is not forgivable. It is an action that we must be fully aware of because that kind of action speaks of a heart that is blind and dead, with no ability to come alive.
Conclusion:
As we concluded today, the warning is very heavy. We must never attribute the miracles and works of God to Satan. When we see God moving and working, we must be careful and right to give glory and honor to God for those works of miracles. God will not share His glory with anyone and will not have His works attributed to the father of lies (Satan). So, when you and I see God as work, give Glory to God and worship Him and Him alone! Contributing the works of God to Satan is a condemning act that is unforgivable. So, let each of us be careful not to attribute the works of God to anyone other than God Himself!
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