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Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
One of Jesus' most enigmatic and controversial statements - a person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven - is found in the three synoptic Gospels.
The Savior's words have often had one of two reactions
1.) Many believers find this statement very difficult to understand as it seems to completely contradict the whole point of Jesus' death on the cross which was to offer anyone who repents, believes, and lives a righteous life forgiveness from all sin and eternal life in His Kingdom.
See Understanding Sin, Repentance, Salvation, and Holiness
2.) Many others have either fearfully worried that somewhere along the line they may have somehow blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. Others are convinced that they have actually managed to do so in spite of the fact they haven't the faintest idea of what exactly blaspheming against the Holy Spirit means, and cannot recollect ever having done so.
In either case there is no hope for them because no matter what they do they will never be forgiven.
The reasons they torture themselves with this possibility are many and varied. For example, at some point in time they may have spoken against Jesus, made fun of Christianity, walked away from the Gospel message, even returned to the same old sins that they have vowed to stay away from. etc.etc.
Something steals peace of mind from these believers and causes them to fret that they have committed a sin that will never be forgiven
So What Did Jesus Mean?
In order to understand what Jesus meant we have to consider the context because in all three occurrences of this statement the Savior was responding to a very specific situation and a very specific accusation made by the scribes which was that He was casting out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons. In other words the good that Jesus was doing was being called evil.
See Context is CRUCIAL
No Biblical author simply strung together a number of lofty sounding phrases disconnected from one another. Since each verse is an integral part of a particular point the author was trying to make no one should read, much less base their beliefs on, stand alone verses. The reader can only be accurately informed by God's Word the way it is written - in its context. Understanding what the author meant comes not only from the words he wrote, but also by what the overall message of the chapter is intended to convey. But, since this takes a lot more time, and effort, most Christians are content with allowing a verse to be wrested from it's context, and used to convey whatever meaning the speaker/author wishes it to convey.. This, all too often is nothing but a corruption of Scriptures done (intentionally or unintentionally) to persuade men that whatsoever the false teacher says is based on Biblical truth.
Note: Blasphemy is being defiantly irreverent or impious in behavior or expression in regard to something inviolable or sacrosanct.
Mark
And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.” So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ... Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.” Jesus made this statement because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit.” (Mark 3:22-23. 28-30 BSB)
Matthew
But when the Pharisees heard this (Jesus healed a demon possessed man), they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.”..
Jesus' response...
If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you...
He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 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 one to come. (Matthew 12:24. 26-28. 30-32 BSB)
Luke
One day Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. And when the demon was gone, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed, but some of them said, “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons.”... (Luke 11:14-15)
It was only a little later (in the next chapter in our Bibles) that Luke quoted Jesus as saying,
I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God. But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (Luke 12:8-10 BSB ).
Our Lord clearly was calling His listeners to a choice either to confess Jesus or deny Him; To be noted is that Jesus very specifically said the person who denied the Savior before men would incur a terrible penalty. Speaking a word against the Son of Man could be forgiven however, he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit in public in complete rejection of of Gods truth will not be forgiven.
These words were uttered as a very final warning. The Pharisees and scribes whom Jesus directed these statements to in Matthew and Mark had no qualms about having done something wrong because they were quite certain they were right. Their hearts were so hardened that they were certain they didn't need forgiveness.
There is Nothing In between Being For or Against Christ
When Jesus said "He who is not with Me is against Me" He removed any illusions that someone could have a neutral response or passive disregard of Him or His message
He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. (Matthew 12:30 BSB)
He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. (Luke 11:23 BSB)
The Evidence - Authenticating The Claims
We have to remember that throughout His time on earth Jesus literally crisscrossed Israel spending I believe the earliest days in Judea teaching and working miracles. However, although most of His time in ministry was spent in Galilee and some of the surrounding areas, He eventually came back into Judea.
Very large crowds of people that continually followed Him everywhere He went were given irrefutable evidence of who He was. The many people He healed, the delivery of those possessed by demons, the raising of some who had already died, to say nothing of the feeding of a large crowd with a few fish and a couple of loaves of bread are scattered throughout the Gospels.
Even if they hadn't witnessed a miracle for themselves, every single person in that small country had to either know someone who had, or at least had heard of the Savior and His works.
The miracles were too numerous to miss.
As John wrote
There are many more things that Jesus did. If all of them were written down, I suppose that not even the world itself would have space for the books that would be written. (John 21:25 BSB)
In other words, the few recorded miracles in the Gospels are just a drop in the proverbial bucket. There were plenty more that the people of the time were witness to.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were so opposed to Him that they kept close track of everything He said and did. They would certainly not have lost any time discrediting Him by challenged the accounts had they been accurate or exaggerated in any way.
Compassion and Authentication
There is no question that Jesus often healed people because He had immense compassion for the suffering. However, the miracles had an even more important purpose - that is to authenticate His message and mission and show that He was indeed the Messiah.
Luke tells us that at the very outset of His public ministry Jesus went to the synagogue as was His custom, but this time stood up to read from the Isaiah scroll handed to Him. Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The retribution of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened, And the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped. Then those who limp will leap like a deer, And the tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:4-6 NASB)
The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (Luke 4:18-20 NASB)
Jesus Himself declared that His works testified that the Father had sent Him (John 5:36). For example, when John the Baptist sent men to ask Jesus if He was "the Coming One" or whether they were to look for another. Jesus' reply was simply to point them in the direction of the miraculous works He had done...
"Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them . (Luke 7:22 NASB)
John would have understood this to mean that the healings promised in Isaiah were happening in Jesus' ministry proving that He was indeed the One who was ushering in the kingdom.
Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The retribution of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened, And the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped. Then those who limp will leap like a deer, And the tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:4-6 NASB)
The apostle John plainly said that Jesus' miracles served to authenticate His claims.
Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30-31 NASB)
Even the Pharisee Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night said,
Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.(John 3:2 NASB)
Conclusion
Yet in spite of all the evidence the Pharisees' hearts were so hardened that they could not see the miracles for what they were - proof that Jesus was indeed the One who was ushering in the kingdom.
Their hearts were so hardened and stubborn that, in spite of all the evidence, they refused to believe that this man who walked among them was the one prophesied by the prophets of old.
Thus their only recourse to explain away the fact that Jesus by the Spirit of God drove demons out of people, was to say that He did so by Beelzebub, the prince of demons.
Attacking Jesus is one thing. Attacking the Spirit of God means that the person has blasted their last and final refuge and closed every door. There is no one that can possibly save them.
None of the three disciples even hinted that Jesus' statement was about saying or thinking the wrong thing. It was not about having doubts or struggling with one's faith. It was not even about sinning.
It was about God's work being deliberately attributed to Satan in public.
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