Tweet
I've heard a wide array of thoughts concerning what blaspheming the Holy Spirit is. Most all acknowledge the basic definition as Mark describes in 3:30, as declaring the Spirit to be an unclean spirit. From there people reach all sorts of conclusions about how this sin can take shape in the lives of individuals. However, I do not believe that this sin can only be committed by one individual, nor do I think Jesus means that those who commit this sin are automatically doomed to hell. Turn to Matt. 12.
It is in v.24 that we read of the Pharisees calling the Holy Spirit "Beelzebub", and they do so in context to v.18, when Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1-4 as speaking of how God will put His Spirit upon Jesus. When they speak of the Spirit as the ruler of demons, Jesus speaks to them in parables, and then He explains the meanings of those parables. Perhaps it'd be best to move from the end back towards the beginning.
In v.43-45, in parable form, Jesus describes a man being filled with unclean spirits, and interprets the seven-fold demonized man as "this wicked generation". Within that parable, the man is called a "house" by the demon. In v.33 Jesus speaks in a parable of a tree, known by the fruit it produces. There is not a good tree and a bad tree - there is only one tree, and the tree speaks of the Holy Spirit. To "make the tree good", then, is to "speak good of the Spirit", and to "make the tree bad" is to "speak against the Holy Spirit". The man, then, of v.35 is, I believe, speaking of a generation as well, as evidenced by Jesus' reply to their "words", saying twice that their generation would be condemned (v.41-42).
Now back to the beginning, to the parable of the divided kingdom, city, or house. This too is parable language to describe their generation (cp. v.44's "house"). The multitudes were on the verge of proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of David, the King of the kingdom of Israel, but the Pharisees, their leaders, declared Him to be demon-possessed. They were a divided generation, and they were divided over His identity - an identity founded upon the spirit within Him. Jesus has been casting devils out of those in that generation (v.22); if it was by Satan that He casted Satan out of them, then Jesus was not King. But if He was casting Satan out by the Holy Spirit, then He truly was Israel's rightful King (v.28). Satan's house was that generation (cp. v.43-45), and Jesus was casting him out and plundering his house of souls! (This is where I got my sign-on name from.)
This has implications on the unforgivable sin - that it is committed by a whole generation of those who do not do the will of the Father (cp. v.50). In other words, it is a corporate sin. Which, of course, has further implications on this sin - namely, that it is not a "dooming to hell". Rather, as we see in v.41-42, it must be unforgivable in the sense that "destruction will come upon their generation", as Nineveh and Ethiopia were forgiven of due to their leaders' recognition of the Spirit of God as Holy. In Jesus' day, that generation was at risk of facing God's judgment, which, because their leaders considered Caesar as their only king, that judgment was manifested when Rome sieged Jerusalem and took down their temple in 70 AD.
What are your guys' thoughts? Thanks. - astrongerthanhe (Luke 11:22)
It is in v.24 that we read of the Pharisees calling the Holy Spirit "Beelzebub", and they do so in context to v.18, when Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1-4 as speaking of how God will put His Spirit upon Jesus. When they speak of the Spirit as the ruler of demons, Jesus speaks to them in parables, and then He explains the meanings of those parables. Perhaps it'd be best to move from the end back towards the beginning.
In v.43-45, in parable form, Jesus describes a man being filled with unclean spirits, and interprets the seven-fold demonized man as "this wicked generation". Within that parable, the man is called a "house" by the demon. In v.33 Jesus speaks in a parable of a tree, known by the fruit it produces. There is not a good tree and a bad tree - there is only one tree, and the tree speaks of the Holy Spirit. To "make the tree good", then, is to "speak good of the Spirit", and to "make the tree bad" is to "speak against the Holy Spirit". The man, then, of v.35 is, I believe, speaking of a generation as well, as evidenced by Jesus' reply to their "words", saying twice that their generation would be condemned (v.41-42).
Now back to the beginning, to the parable of the divided kingdom, city, or house. This too is parable language to describe their generation (cp. v.44's "house"). The multitudes were on the verge of proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of David, the King of the kingdom of Israel, but the Pharisees, their leaders, declared Him to be demon-possessed. They were a divided generation, and they were divided over His identity - an identity founded upon the spirit within Him. Jesus has been casting devils out of those in that generation (v.22); if it was by Satan that He casted Satan out of them, then Jesus was not King. But if He was casting Satan out by the Holy Spirit, then He truly was Israel's rightful King (v.28). Satan's house was that generation (cp. v.43-45), and Jesus was casting him out and plundering his house of souls! (This is where I got my sign-on name from.)
This has implications on the unforgivable sin - that it is committed by a whole generation of those who do not do the will of the Father (cp. v.50). In other words, it is a corporate sin. Which, of course, has further implications on this sin - namely, that it is not a "dooming to hell". Rather, as we see in v.41-42, it must be unforgivable in the sense that "destruction will come upon their generation", as Nineveh and Ethiopia were forgiven of due to their leaders' recognition of the Spirit of God as Holy. In Jesus' day, that generation was at risk of facing God's judgment, which, because their leaders considered Caesar as their only king, that judgment was manifested when Rome sieged Jerusalem and took down their temple in 70 AD.
What are your guys' thoughts? Thanks. - astrongerthanhe (Luke 11:22)
Comment