(This message was preached (
SermonAudio) at Covenant Reformed Baptist Church on Wed. eve, 12/6/2017)
THESIS:
The
unpardonable sin is a great warning to all men. Yet the truth of forgiveness in
Christ can still ring true in your life! (Heb. 3:15)
This evening we’ll be considering Mark 3:22-30
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.”
The subject
of our focus this evening is just the last 3 verses of the passage in question.
The unpardonable sin is one of those gotcha texts of the Scriptures. We read a
text like this and find ourselves thinking of all the sins of our past, or
wondering if by chance this one got us years ago and we’re doomed. Grim
thoughts – so I’d like to demystify this sin. When this message is though, you
should have a very clear understanding of exactly what this sin is and who is
being warned of it. I’d also like to say that what I’ll be pointing out has not
come by simple measure. This is probably the most difficult message I have ever
prepared.
To begin
with, let’s consider the negatives – what this sin is not. First of all – this
sin is not tied to any of the warning passages in Hebrews. Both Hebrews 6 and
10 are passages which warn of apostasy. But this sin references blasphemy – a
very different thing. And the audience of Hebrews is not at all the same as the
audience to whom Jesus is speaking. In Hebrews the audience is Jewish
Christians – who are thinking about the cost of this commitment.
Neither is
this sin the same as that we read of in 1 John 5:16.
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which
does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who
commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say
that he should pray about that. All
unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.
Again let me stress that there is a difference in what John
is speaking of and what we are considering before us tonight. John’s audience
is clearly believers. And contextually, we all know what John tells us in 1
John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us… John’s whole letter is
there to help us distinguish whether we are Christians or not. Christians do
sin – but they can have forgiveness for their sin, justly because of the loving
sacrifice of our Lord on the Cross. The sin unto death referenced in 1 John
5:16 is something that a Christian brother could commit – whatever it is, death
is the result, but here’s the key – The Christian has forgiveness for even that
sin. He might pay with his life in the here & now, but his eternity is
secure through the blood of Christ.
Finally – as we are thinking about what the unpardonable sin
is not – it is not the rejection of Christ. To reject Christ until one’s death
is surely a fatal end – but it is not the unpardonable sin. Christ is very
specific as to this sin – as we will see in a moment. But ultimate rejection of
Christ to the point of one’s death is not what Christ is speaking of in
context. It cannot be the unpardonable sin to reject Christ until death – for
it to mean that is to make Christ’s warning nonsense – those being warned were
living men and if this were the interpretation, it renders Christ’s warning
senseless.
Having dealt with the negatives let’s go back to the passage
and positively identify the sin at hand so that we can make a proper
application to ourselves. Our passage begins in verse 22 with the Scribes who
had come from Jerusalem stating that he is possessed by Beelzebub and that it
was with this power Christ was casting out demons. But the specifics are found
in more detail in Matthew 12:22-32
Then one was brought to Him who was
demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute
man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were
amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”[3]…… 31“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be
forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 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.
The healing of a demon possessed man – and not just any
demon possessed man, but one who was both blind and mute. Whether the blindness
and muteness was due to the demon possession we are not told. We are told that
all of this man’s ailments were resolved. He was no-longer demon possessed, and
could now see and speak. It was so dramatic that those who saw this miracle
were beginning to suggest that perhaps Jesus was the Son of David, by
implication the Messiah! This is the backdrop of the Scribes and Pharisees
saying “He is possessed by Beelzebul!” and “By the
ruler of the demons he expels the demons!”
Doesn’t this strike you as odd? It should! These men are
laying a charge against Christ for
healing a man?! For freeing a man
from demons?! Yet this is exactly what these Scribes were doing! And this
is what elicits from Christ the some of the strongest language so far against
them.
But before we think about what Christ says – let’s consider
the charge. Who is this Beelzebub? If we look to the Greek word and the
history, etymology of the word there is a potential reference to the god of
Ekron in 2 Kings. It may reference the idea of Baal worship. But we really
don’t need to get into all that. A simple grasping of the charge the Scribes lay
against Christ is all we need. Whatever the history of this word, by the time
of Christ and the Pharisees, they assert that Beelzebub is prince or ruler of
the demons. And we know who that is – Satan.
Those of you who were present the last time I spoke may
recall that it was the outlandish claim that Christ was in league with Satan
which was a backdrop to the families’ charge that Christ had gone crazy. And I
noted then that it really was the Pharisees who were the insane ones. Yet it
really isn’t only simple insanity which drove these Pharisees to say these things.
It was jealousy. They could see the people reasoning out this amazing miracle
and wondered rightly – Could this be the Christ?
But the Scribes and the Pharisees accusation isn’t as simple
as a onetime comment. The verb ‘said’ in verse 22 is in the imperfect tense.
This verb type indicates continuous
action in past time. We might read the verse, And the Scribes kept saying, “He has Beelzebub.”
They kept saying, “By the ruler of the demons He casts
out demons.” This is an active continual accusation – not a single
settled statement. Really it’s an intentional murdering of the very character
of Jesus!
In response to this very evil accusation Christ first speaks
in logical fashion to the issue laid out before the people. But the text says
something interesting – Christ called
them to himself. In a rather intimate manner Christ begins to destroy their
accusations. We read in both Matthew and Luke’s account that He knew their
thoughts (Matt. 12:25; Luke 11:17) and this is why he began to expose the
foolishness of their hearts. Luke’s account includes some very pointed
comments, “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by
whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if
I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely
the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
In verse 28 Jesus vocalizes this great sin. I want to point
out to you the very familiar prefix – ‘Assuredly, I say
to you’. This phrase has special meaning. It’s rendered ‘Verily, I say unto you’ in the KJV. Several
translations put it, ‘Truly I say to you’. This
preface tells us – Take Note! Listen! What is about to be stated is very
important.
“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”
One matter to be aware of is the Greek word for sins in verse 28 is NOT the usual word
for sins employed by NT writers. In fact Mark alone has this unusual variant
for ‘sins’ which specifically focuses on individual
acts of sin. This variety, hamartēma,
occurs only 4 times in the NT whereas the more common hamartia occurs 174 times. The overwhelming majority of the time when
‘sin’ is referenced it is used in a more theological manner. In other words, the Bible is more interested in our sin
condition than the specific sins we commit. We might say that finding a
resolution for sins in someone’s life is not so important than dealing with the
underlying root problem of sin. Sins are only the symptom of the deeper root
problem.
But in our passage alarmingly, Christ speaks of a certain
unpardonable sin. An act so evil that it was unforgiveable. So we can’t dodge
this so easily. We have to deal with the text rightly.
So what is this unforgivable sin? We might look at the very
thing these Scribes and Pharisees had done. This Holy Spirit work which Christ
had done – casting out a demon and restoring sight and speech to this man – was
being credited to Satan. Aside from the very ridiculousness of the accusation –
consider what is really happening in this accusation. This great miracle – this
good deed was being called a wicked deed – done for wicked motives actually.
They were saying that Jesus’ motives were not right, that He
had ulterior motives. To say that His motives were impure and wicked speaks
more to their carnal eyesight than anything about Christ. Remember how I
mentioned that Matthew references He
knew their thoughts? The Scripture never
says that they knew His
thoughts. Yet they boldly asserted themselves as though they did!
And think about the goodness of this miracle for a moment.
Here we have a person not only without the means to see – but also unable to
speak. Christ frees this one so that he can indeed see and speak! His bondage
to the demon broken! This very person could be a type of all men before
conversion to Christ. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. Blind to our
condition – unable to remedy ourselves. We don’t even see how bad we are. John
describes the Church in Laodicea as wretched,
miserable, poor and blind (Rev. 3:17) – which very aptly describes all
unconverted souls.
And this healing – this conversion if you will permit – the
Scribes call ‘of the devil’. There is a
very real sense that all conversions get under the skin of the devil. He is a
defeated enemy. And Christ, in raising men and women from the deadness of their
1st estate, is plundering the house of the strong man, that is to
say, Satan.
So exactly how would I define
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? It is to so twist the work of God into an evil
act that one can never really see the work of God in the first place. We read
in Isa 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil
good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who
put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
The Scribes knew better! These were the very men to teach the people
what Messiah’s coming would be like. The very comment of the people, Could this be the Messiah actually
condemns the Scribes. To admit that these miracles may indeed point out the
Christ as Jesus of Nazareth meant that they would have to submit to Him. These
men were never going to submit! That’s why they HAD to speak against Christ.
But their continual accusation that Jesus’ miraculous power was demonic at its
source also betrayed what they knew to be true – This man indeed was the
Messiah.
Since it is the blasphemy of the
Spirit that these Scribes were guilty of, I want to share with you just 3
verses that demonstrate the Work of the Holy Spirit in Salvation. Consider
Ezekiel 36:26-27, “I
will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the
heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My
Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My
judgments and do them.”
Or John 3:6, “That
which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is
spirit.”
Finally also in John, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The
words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
I quoted those verses to demonstrate the critical part the Spirit of God plays
in regeneration. Dead men cannot believe and those who deliberately malign the
work of the Spirit are in great peril for their lives, even though they don’t
see it!
Let’s look at some of the actual motives
of these Scribes. The Gospel of John is a great place to see many of the
motives of those who encountered Jesus. Just listen as I read some potent
dialogue from John chapters 7-11. John 7 – teaching in the temple during the
Feast of Tabernacles:
25 Now some of them
from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? 26 But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do
the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? 27 However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ
comes, no one knows where He is from.”
28 Then Jesus cried
out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where
I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you
do not know. 29 But I know Him,
for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
30 Therefore they
sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet
come. 31 And many of the people
believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than
these which this Man has done?”
John 8 – again teaching in the Temple:
46Which of you convicts Me
of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not
hear, because you are not of God.”
48 Then the Jews
answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and
have a demon?”
49 Jesus answered, “I
do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and
judges. 51 Most assuredly, I say
to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
52 Then the Jews said
to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets;
and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ 53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the
prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
John 9 – the man born blind:
30 The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous
thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!
31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners;
but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone
opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in
sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.
John 11 – the case of the raising of Lazarus from the dead:
45“Then
many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did,
believed in Him. 46 But some of
them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works
many signs. 48 If we let Him
alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and
take away both our place and nation.”
In every example I just read the motive of the scribes was
to protect themselves. They were more concerned about their own power and
prestige than godliness and truth. Jesus is the promised Christ – all the signs
demonstrated it. The Scriptures attested so (John 5:39). But they were so
twisted that they would now call good evil and evil good. Rather than release
Christ – they went so far as to convince the crowds to release a murderer! This
is the essence of pure evil. And this is where these Scribes ended up going –
they attributed to Satan the good works of Christ in order to defame Jesus and
keep their own place.
The miracles of Christ are not in the Scriptures as freak
side shows – They were the very essence of the identity of the Messiah. They
fulfilled the Scripture in identifying Jesus as the Christ. Yet the very men
who ought to have pointed the people to Jesus actually did the very opposite.
But what about us? We’re in this sanctuary, how does any of
this information become useful? Why do we consider a warning to the Scribes –
probably the strongest warning ever – as relevant to us? Or so what?
My comments are divided to two different parties. Perhaps
you’re here and you have had a secret dread in your heart over this warning.
Let me encourage you! I cannot say it better than J. C. Ryle:
Ryle’s famous words are great reassurance to any who
might be anxious about this sin: “There is such a
thing as a sin which is never forgiven. But those who are troubled about it are
most unlikely to have committed it” (J.C.
Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
[New York: Revell], 2:59). On the other hand, those who actually do
commit the sin are so dominated by evil that it is unlikely that they would be
aware of it
. (Walter W. Wessel, “Mark,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 645–646.)
On the other hand – it may be that you have never considered
this because you never read it before. Are you reading your Bible? The fact
that you are not likely to commit the unpardonable sin should not be a great
comfort to you. There are a great many sins you can commit to damn you to hell.
But it’s not the matter of sins –
rather it is sin
which must be dealt with. We never want to cure only the symptoms (which is
moralism) we want to cure the disease (which is salvation).
I would rather warn you to examine yourself, as Paul tells
us in 1 Corinthians 11, to see if you are in the faith or not. Do you go to
church only rarely, or only to sooth a guilty conscience? Or are you committed
to a group of believers in covenant with them and ready to be where they are as
often as possible?
I am not looking to lay heavy guilt on you – I love you. It
takes a lot to stand up here and challenge people I care about with hard
things.
So if you are thinking to yourself – I’m ok, I’ll never do that – I’ll
never say a good work is evil. I’m not as bad as the rest. You are
indeed as doomed as the Scribe who committed the unpardonable sin. You however
have some hope. But such hope could extinguish in a moment. No one is
guaranteed tomorrow. The Scripture says that today is the day of Salvation.
Please do not leave here leaning on hope, but not doing
business with God.
Amen.
