"Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."
- Matthew 12:32
I love probing questions, and in this verse so much is implied through the Word of Christ. As Christians, we think of taking the Lord's name in vain and recognize it as a sin. But, Christ makes it a point to explain here that it IS pardonable. Why, then, do we continue to read in the latter half of this verse that it is unforgivable if one speaks against the Holy Spirit? What is the difference between speaking against the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit?
I'm looking forward to some wonderful thoughts. Just free right on this one... this is NOT an easy question!
Blessings,
Brandon
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This was said in the context of the Jewish leaders accusing Jesus of being from Satan. Some Bible commentators say that it means accusing Jesus and His works of being demonic/satanic rather than the Son of God is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Some would say that was only possible when Jesus was on the earth, not any longer. It has always been a difficult passage for me to really grasp. The good news is that it means that other sins, most of the stuff we struggle with daily, are not unforgivable!
ReplyDeleteGreat insight, Dr. Barnes! I hadn't looked at it from that perspective, and so I'm going to have to now reread the passage and attempt to grasp this new vantage point. I, too, have had issues understanding this specific passage.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the "good news," as well!
I spent a long time trying to understand this one too.. The commentary I was reading put it this way: ".. Jesus said they can't be forgiven.. not because their sin it worse than any other but because they will never ask for forgiveness. Whoever rejects the prompting of the Holy Spirit removes himself or herself from the only force that can lead him or her to repentance and restoration to God." This made sense to me, and reading what Dr. Barnes wrote helps too. I'd be interested to see what other people think about this perspective. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks guys for your thoughts on this! I was a little confused as well.
ReplyDelete