20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” 23 So He called them to Himself 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 cannot stand. 26 “And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. 28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 “but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.
Devotional
Jesus having chosen His twelve disciples to be with Him on a mountain and having taught them again comes down with them to where He was staying and soon the multitude presses to see Him. And such were their needs that Jesus and the disciples could not even take time to eat bread. Now somewhere in between is the time where Jesus heals a man who was demon-possessed, blind and mute which caused great amazement amongst the multitudes, and they began saying amongst themselves: “Could this be the Son of David” (Matt. 12:23). Now Jesus’ own people, when they heard about this went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.” While the scribes who had come up from Jerusalem, said: “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” Mark 3:22 The Gospel of Matthew records the Pharisees likewise making the same blasphemous assertion when they heard the crowd’s reasoning’s about Jesus being the Son of David.
Now in the midst of this crowds questioning amongst themselves about whom Jesus is the scribes and Pharisees seek to undermine Jesus’ Person to them which only reveals them for what they are, not Jesus Christ for whom He is. Unfortunately Jesus’ own people from Galilee still remain hardened towards Him, something that hadn’t changed since Jesus gave His first sermon in their synagogue. When He warned the people there about as much, before commending two Gentiles to the people of Nazareth as people of true Godly faith. Saying to them though there were many widows in Israel in days of Elijah. God only sent Elijah to a Gentile widow from Zarephath, an obscure place in the region of Sidon. Similarly though there were many lepers in Israel in days of Elisha the prophet, only Naaman the commander of the Syrian army would be healed by him, for which they violently rejected Jesus and thought to throw Him off a cliff; but He passed through the midst of them and remained unharmed by them (See Luke 4:23-27). Now Luke’s gospel also records that some at this time also tested Jesus and sought a sign from heaven from Him (Luke 11:16). Jesus then being reproached by His own is largely how they will treat Him until He departs from them. This is one of the things the Lord Jesus warned the twelve disciples about when He commissioned them into His Apostleship, saying: “It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!” Matt. 10:25 Now in both Matthew and Luke Jesus perceives their blasphemous thinking about Himself; both from the Pharisees and those who asked for signs from Him, which initiates His parable to them all. Jesus’ reasoning within it though is neither obscure, nor abstract, but rather to the point and goes uncontested by them (vs. 24-27). Now the word translated blasphemies in verse twenty eight is according to the NIDNTT an action noun that “means profane language or slander, defamation, by which another person is damaged” (page 95). This is the word Jesus uses when He says: “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter.” However the Lord Jesus Christ makes a severe distinction in verse twenty nine when He says: 29 “but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit. Mark 3:29-30
The word Jesus uses in verse twenty nine though related to the first word He used in describing God's willingness to forgive mens blasphemies, “It refers to a strong expression of personal defamation” NIDNTT
is not related to the second in how the scribes and Pharisees use it. And that is the distinction Jesus is making. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit then is those who knowingly and willingly attribute Jesus Christ’s works done by the Holy Spirit to Satan. That is what the scribes and Pharisees were doing; since they could not deny that the miracle that Jesus did was clearly a miracle of God. Instead they blasphemy the work of the Holy Spirit and attribute Christ’s Power to Satan. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit then is not having demonic powers attack a person with condemning thoughts of having blasphemed the Holy Spirit because of whatever blasphemies and or taking of God’s or the Lord Jesus' Name in vain before they came to repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ. Those people's consciences that are sensitive to the things of God through the Lord Jesus Christ are either saved or are within the reaches of Christ’s salvation. As the Apostle Paul declared of his former unregenerate self: “although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 1 Tim. 1:13
There is then a distinction to be made between what people ignorantly do in unbelief which can be forgiven them, when they repent and believe, and what the scribes and Pharisees knowingly did here. On an unrelated note when believers sin by saying blasphemous things about others the Lord Jesus says that we are to make this a priority in our lives and go and make right it again and seek out the person whom we have hurt (Matt. 5:23-26). Similarly the Apostle James says we are to confess our trespasses to one another so that we may be healed (James 5:16).
Likewise the Proverbs also declare:
“He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Prov. 28:13
Therefore confession of ones sins and repentance from them is where a believer finds relationship restoration both with their fellow believers and with God Himself when we let our tongues get the best of us. For God promises in His Word "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
Scripture Quotations
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
Biblical Reference Works Cited
New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT). Abridged Edition; Verlyn D. Verbrugge, Editor.
Devotional
Jesus having chosen His twelve disciples to be with Him on a mountain and having taught them again comes down with them to where He was staying and soon the multitude presses to see Him. And such were their needs that Jesus and the disciples could not even take time to eat bread. Now somewhere in between is the time where Jesus heals a man who was demon-possessed, blind and mute which caused great amazement amongst the multitudes, and they began saying amongst themselves: “Could this be the Son of David” (Matt. 12:23). Now Jesus’ own people, when they heard about this went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.” While the scribes who had come up from Jerusalem, said: “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” Mark 3:22 The Gospel of Matthew records the Pharisees likewise making the same blasphemous assertion when they heard the crowd’s reasoning’s about Jesus being the Son of David.
Now in the midst of this crowds questioning amongst themselves about whom Jesus is the scribes and Pharisees seek to undermine Jesus’ Person to them which only reveals them for what they are, not Jesus Christ for whom He is. Unfortunately Jesus’ own people from Galilee still remain hardened towards Him, something that hadn’t changed since Jesus gave His first sermon in their synagogue. When He warned the people there about as much, before commending two Gentiles to the people of Nazareth as people of true Godly faith. Saying to them though there were many widows in Israel in days of Elijah. God only sent Elijah to a Gentile widow from Zarephath, an obscure place in the region of Sidon. Similarly though there were many lepers in Israel in days of Elisha the prophet, only Naaman the commander of the Syrian army would be healed by him, for which they violently rejected Jesus and thought to throw Him off a cliff; but He passed through the midst of them and remained unharmed by them (See Luke 4:23-27). Now Luke’s gospel also records that some at this time also tested Jesus and sought a sign from heaven from Him (Luke 11:16). Jesus then being reproached by His own is largely how they will treat Him until He departs from them. This is one of the things the Lord Jesus warned the twelve disciples about when He commissioned them into His Apostleship, saying: “It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!” Matt. 10:25 Now in both Matthew and Luke Jesus perceives their blasphemous thinking about Himself; both from the Pharisees and those who asked for signs from Him, which initiates His parable to them all. Jesus’ reasoning within it though is neither obscure, nor abstract, but rather to the point and goes uncontested by them (vs. 24-27). Now the word translated blasphemies in verse twenty eight is according to the NIDNTT an action noun that “means profane language or slander, defamation, by which another person is damaged” (page 95). This is the word Jesus uses when He says: “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter.” However the Lord Jesus Christ makes a severe distinction in verse twenty nine when He says: 29 “but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit. Mark 3:29-30
The word Jesus uses in verse twenty nine though related to the first word He used in describing God's willingness to forgive mens blasphemies, “It refers to a strong expression of personal defamation” NIDNTT
is not related to the second in how the scribes and Pharisees use it. And that is the distinction Jesus is making. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit then is those who knowingly and willingly attribute Jesus Christ’s works done by the Holy Spirit to Satan. That is what the scribes and Pharisees were doing; since they could not deny that the miracle that Jesus did was clearly a miracle of God. Instead they blasphemy the work of the Holy Spirit and attribute Christ’s Power to Satan. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit then is not having demonic powers attack a person with condemning thoughts of having blasphemed the Holy Spirit because of whatever blasphemies and or taking of God’s or the Lord Jesus' Name in vain before they came to repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ. Those people's consciences that are sensitive to the things of God through the Lord Jesus Christ are either saved or are within the reaches of Christ’s salvation. As the Apostle Paul declared of his former unregenerate self: “although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 1 Tim. 1:13
There is then a distinction to be made between what people ignorantly do in unbelief which can be forgiven them, when they repent and believe, and what the scribes and Pharisees knowingly did here. On an unrelated note when believers sin by saying blasphemous things about others the Lord Jesus says that we are to make this a priority in our lives and go and make right it again and seek out the person whom we have hurt (Matt. 5:23-26). Similarly the Apostle James says we are to confess our trespasses to one another so that we may be healed (James 5:16).
Likewise the Proverbs also declare:
“He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Prov. 28:13
Therefore confession of ones sins and repentance from them is where a believer finds relationship restoration both with their fellow believers and with God Himself when we let our tongues get the best of us. For God promises in His Word "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
Scripture Quotations
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
Biblical Reference Works Cited
New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT). Abridged Edition; Verlyn D. Verbrugge, Editor.
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