The Unpardonable Sin
When Jesus spoke of an unpardonable sin in Matthew chapter twelve, He introduced a concept which is difficult for some to comprehend. There is a difference between an unpardoned sin (any sin for which one will not repent) and one that God would not forgive in the age of Jesus or the age which followed. Read Matthew 12:23-32 several times, then think about the following truths.
What is the Unpardonable Sin?
There is a historical setting for what Jesus said. Jesus had just cast out a demon by the Holy Spirit of God. His enemies could not deny what they had seen so they attributed His action to the power of Satan. Think for a moment, what if the accusation brought by the Jews had been accepted? There would have been no way for Jesus to show He was the Son of God, for He could have raised all the dead, but it would only have shown He was the “son of Satan.” Thus Jesus’ words stopped this charge the first time it was said.
Consider the words used by Jesus. The Bible elsewhere speaks of “resisting the Spirit” (Acts 7:51) and of “quenching the Spirit” (1 Thess. 5:19), but this is not what Jesus said about this unpardonable sin. He was very specific about its nature when He said the sin was blaspheming the Spirit. He then defined the word blaspheming of the Spirit as “to speak against the Spirit” (Matt. 12:31-32). His words show that the unpardonable sin was to speak against the Spirit. This is precisely what the Jews had done. Jesus had cast out the demon by the Spirit of God (12:28), and they spoke against the Spirit by calling Him the Spirit of Beelzebub (12:24).
Were the Jews guilty of speaking against the Spirit (the unpardonable sin) on that day? An action is not sinful until God reveals that such is sinful. Suppose you drove down the highway at 55 miles per hour and officials came behind you posting the speed limit as being 35 miles per hour. You did not do wrong, for the law had not been given. Thus, on that day, the action of the Jews preceded the revelation that speaking against the Spirit was unpardonable. They were not guilty of sin. His words ended such speaking against the Spirit.
Could men blaspheme the Spirit today? It is highly unlikely for one would have to see miracles to call them actions of Satan. It would indeed be strange for one to accept the Bible account of the fact of His miracles as trustworthy while denying the trustworthiness of the source of His power.
Read Mark’s account. Mark concludes and forever settles this matter when He adds these words to this event. “Because they said He had an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:28). Mark clearly defined what Jesus meant. Both the context and word definition help us understand this sin.