Matthew 12:31-32 "Therefore I say to you, All kinds of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven to men. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this world or in the world to come."

Happy Sabbath!

Before we dig to much into these texts let's first look at the word "blasphemy. Blasphemy means to;

1) slander, detraction, speech injurious, to another’s good name

2) impious and reproachful speech injurious to divine majesty (Thayer's Greek Translation)

From the Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary we find;

(especially against God): - blasphemy, evil speaking, railing.

Now let's take a look at Holy Spirit. A few of the words for Holy is "pure", "blameless" and "sacred". There are several definitions for the word "Spirit", but the only one which fits this text is the word "God". Let me explain why.

The texts in Matthew 12:31-32 follow the story of Jesus healing a blind and mute man. The Pharisees were of the opinion that Jesus was casting out demons, rather than healing a medical problem. They accused Jesus of being the Satan, casting out demons. They said that a person can only cast out demons by Satan. Jesus said to them, "if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself". And then He asked, "How then will his (Satan's) kingdom stand?" Matthew 12:26. Then Jesus turned their own words against them.

Verse 27 "And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges."

There's a little lesson here I don't want to overlook. Always be extremely careful about questioning the motives of another person. When we question the motives for the actions of a person, it causes our motives, for those same actions, to come into question. No one but God can truly know the heart of each person.

In verse 28-30 Jesus makes it clear by what power He is casting out the demons.

"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, unless first he binds the strong one, and then he will plunder his house. The one who is not with Me is against Me, and the one who does not gather with Me scatters."

It is by the Spirit of God that Jesus was casting out the demons and when the Pharisees said it was the devil, they blasphemed the Spirit of God, which is also called the Holy Spirit. Jesus said this sin is unpardonable. When people refuse to believe in the divine nature of Jesus, they are refusing to believe His works were of the Holy Spirit. That is also blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. However, even though the text says it will not be forgiven in this world or in the world to come there is no need for concern if at one time you did not believe, but now do believe in the Power of Jesus. Take a look at Paul. He was out killing Christians. He didn't believe in Jesus. But when Jesus stopped Paul with a bright light and introduced Himself to Paul, Paul then became converted and was saved.

The thing that makes the unpardonable sins so unpardonable is the person's stubbornness to believe in Jesus and in the power He showed through the Spirit of God. If a person doesn't believe Jesus died for their sins, they are unable to accept the gift of grace. By not accepting the gift of grace the person cannot be pardoned. When that person humbly falls on their knees, believing in Jesus, believing that through the death of Jesus on the cross they are saved, that person is pardoned, brought back into God's family, and all of Heaven rejoices.

Have a Happy Sabbath!