Unpardonable sin? Repent and believe. What do you have to lose?

The Most Basic Spiritual Distinction

(Mark 3:22-30, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 23, 2018)

[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.” [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.

[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.”

What did the Scribes think of Jesus?

In the previous passage we learned that when Jesus' astounding public ministry attracted so much notice, the people who grew up with Him were very concerned. Mark quoted His brothers, who did not believe in Him until after the resurrection, as saying, “He is out of His mind.” In John 6 we learn that many who listened to His teaching found it to be more than they could accept. We are told that a significant number of the larger group of disciples who had been following this movement “turned back and no longer walked with him.” (John 6:66)

The reaction of the scribal leaders from Jerusalem was even more critical. They could not ignore that He was doing great deeds of power. That was obvious. They also found it just as certain that He could not be a godly man, since He so clearly rejected their holy traditions. Nicodemus, one of the important leaders from the Pharisees, came to Him “by night” and secretly broke with his colleagues by saying in John 3:2, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

While Nicodemus was complimenting Jesus, he did not go nearly far enough when He spoke of Him as a “teacher come from God.” Nonetheless, he was certainly more positive about Jesus than his colleagues. In Mark 3 we learn what the great majority of the religious authorities had concluded. Yes, Jesus, had power. Undeniable. But where did it come from? It couldn't be from God. He was too ungodly. He must be an agent of the devil, called here “Beelzubul.” Sure he was doing amazing signs, but these were part of a deceptive plot of the demonic adversary of the God of the Jews. “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”

Jesus responded with a parable.

This was a horribly arrogant accusation to bring against the Messiah. Jesus replied with a story with a question underneath it. If it is the work of the devil that is being overturned in releasing people from demonic oppression, how could it be Satan behind the assault against Satan. It just makes no sense. No, it has to be an adversary of Satan who is defeating Satan.

Jesus was not on the devil's team, but had authority over this frightening enemy. He was able to destroy Satan's evil kingdom because He had the strength to enter that “strong man's house” and to “plunder his goods.” How could the Lord do this? He first “binds the strong man” so that He then may “plunder his house.” That was the correct way to analyze Jesus' great deeds of power over the kingdom of Beelzubul. As Jesus said in Luke 11:20, “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (See also Matthew 12:28 where “finger” is “spirit” of God.)

A solemn warning

Now what? Was it ok to make an accusation like this against Jesus? What might be the consequences of such a brash verbal assault against the Son of God? After all, Jesus came to bring about the forgiveness of sins. Was this just another sin for Him to forgive?

Apparently not. This accusation that Jesus was actually an agent of God's enemy was an example of what Jesus calls blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. How so? The ministry of the Holy Spirit was to perfectly display Jesus as the fulfillment of every Scriptural expectation of the coming perfect Servant of the Lord. See John 15:26, “He will bear witness about Me.” The Spirit had inspired many passages (such as Isaiah's servant songs and great miracle passages such as Isaiah 35:5-6, 61:1-2) in order to prepare Israel to recognize her holy king. Instead, her spiritual leaders believed more in their own false Rabbinic interpretations of Torah than in the Man that God sent to live out what it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit beyond measure. To suggest that He was an agent was not only to attack Him, but also the Holy Spirit of God. Dangerous indeed.

Discerning the difference between Satan and Jehovah is a spiritual necessity. Jesus came to this earth in perfect unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He cannot be the Son of God and a servant of the devil. Despite the accusations of some of His powerful contemporaries, Jesus was not building Satan's kingdom but defeating it. To ascribe the works of the Lord to the prince of darkness is a serious and fundamental error.

“All sins will be forgiven the children of man,” but what if you persist in calling the only Savior of mankind a subordinate agent of the “prince of demons.” John 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 6:40 “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Application:

1. Be warned, but receive the forgiveness of “all” sins through Christ now.

2. Best not to cling to false religion and settle on the idea that Jesus is part of a demonic plot. Afraid? What do you have to lose by repenting the unforgivable even now?

3. Pray for wisdom and humility together with all the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, and receive them like a little child. (Message in Romania in 2000: Luke 19:13-15)

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 76 – God fearing

New Testament Reading—Hebrews 5 – His reverence