Blasphemey of the Holy Spirit (Part 1)

Perhaps one of the most intriguing teachings in the life of Jesus is what He said about “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.” To what exactly does this refer? Why can no one receive forgiveness for this sin? Is it possible for a person to blaspheme the Holy Spirit today? In the next few bulletins we will examine these and other questions in studying this interesting incident in Jesus’ life.

The Setting

Matthew records the setting as follows: “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. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the Son of David?” (Mt. 12:22-23, NKJ). The text does not reveal who brought the demon-possessed man, but the text seems to indicate that the man was “blind and mute” because of the demon. Jesus completely healed this man. Usually, demons are said to be “cast out” (cf. Mt. 8:31-32), but here “healing” is mentioned, perhaps to link this event with the healing Jesus had done earlier (Mt. 12:15 cf. Mt. 17:18). The unusual brevity of this account allows the reaction of the Pharisees to stand out. It is important to note that “all the multitudes” who knew and witnessed the healing were amazed, thus making the Pharisees’ response even more blasphemous!  

The Sin

Matthew documents the sin: “Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons” (Mt. 12:24). The sin thus consisted in attributing the undeniable miracle to the power of Satan. The rejecting insult “Beelzebub” has an uncertain derivation (the term is also found in Mt. 12:24, 27; Mk. 3:22; Lk. 11:15, 18-19). Leon Morris suggests the following.1 The god of Ekron was called “Baal-zebub” (2 Kgs. 1:2-3, 6, 16), which means “lord of the flies,” and seems to have been a Hebrew pun on the name of a Philistine god. The Jews may have further corrupted this into “Baal-zebul” (meaning “lord of dung”), which would be a way of further insulting the heathen deity. The name “Baal-zebul” also occurs in the Ras Shamra tablets as the name of a Canaanite deity, and it appears to mean “lord of the dwelling” or “lord of the high place.” It seems the Hebrews took the name of a heathen deity that they could interpret contemptuously as “lord of the flies” or “lord of the dung” and applied it to evil beings. In Jesus’ day, “Beelzebub” was recognized as the prince of demons and was identified with Satan. Thus, “the real head of the house, Jesus, who leads the household of God [Heb. 3:1-6], is being willfully confused with the head of the house of demons. The charge is shockingly vile—the Messiah himself rejected as Satan!”2 No wonder this sin was unpardonable!

Jesus' First Response: A Divided Kingdom Cannot Stand

The Master’s initial reply showed the ridiculousness of the accusation. “But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?” (Mt. 12:25-26). Since Jesus “knew their thoughts” (cf. Mt. 9:4), He knew exactly how to respond! First, Jesus confirmed that any kingdom that developed and continued internal strife would sooner or later destroy itself. If Jesus healed the demon-possessed man by the power of Satan, then Satan would be casting out his own demons. If Satan cast out his own demons, then he would be casting out himself because his demons do his bidding (cf. Mt. 24:41; Rev. 12:4, 7; 16:14).

Second, Jesus reasoned, “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges” (Mt. 12:27). “Your sons [children, KJV]” may refer to “your people” (the Jews) or to “your followers” (the Pharisees’ disciples). In either case, it seems to be referring either to Jewish people who actually did cast out demons (cf. Jesus’ disciples, Mt. 10:1) or to Jewish people who were deceived into thinking they cast out demons (cf. Mt. 7:22). Jesus’ point was not to show who actually could or could not cast out demons. Rather, He was pointing out a glaring inconsistency of the Pharisees: others who cast out demons (or at least claimed to) were not accused of doing it by the power of Satan, yet when Jesus undeniably cast out a demon, the Pharisees jumped all over Him with the Beelzebub accusation!

Third, Jesus countered, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Mt. 12:28). In other words, if Jesus truly showed power over Satan (which He did), then His kingdom has come in His presence. “Has come [is come, KJV]” is the aorist tense of a word that means to come upon, attain, achieve (Lk. 11:20). The point is that instead of healing the man by the power of Satan, Jesus actually did it by the power of God, which shows He is greater! The term “kingdom of God” primarily means the rule, or reign, of God, which is ultimately manifested on this side of eternity through the church of Christ, but there was a sense that with the presence of Jesus, the future event was represented as present (cf. Jn. 4:23; 5:25).

End Notes

1Much of this section is adapted from Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992). 259-260.

2D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” Matthew, Mark, Luke, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 8. Frank Gaebeline, ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984) 253.