Then they brought to Jesus a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus healed him so that he could speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and said, “Could this one be the Son of David?”
But the Pharisees, the experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem, said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul. He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!” (Because, they said, he had an unclean spirit). Now when Jesus realized what they were thinking, he called them and spoke to them in parables.
“How can Satan cast out Satan? Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed[1], and no town or house divided against itself will stand. So if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.
“Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God (the finger of God- Luke), then the kingdom of God has unexpectedly overtaken you.
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe and no one is able to enter his house and steal his property. But when a stronger man attacks, ties him up and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s armor on which the man relied. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house and divide up his plunder.
As he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!”
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever keeps on speaking against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age about to come.
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your account/words you will be acquitted, and by your account/words you will be condemned.”
* * * * * *
I found today’s passage to be one of the most challenging I have covered in this series.
1. It mentions what is often called the Unforgiveable Sin: blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. It turns out that there is a wide range of opinions on what to do with this.
Having an Unforgivable Sin seems counterintuitive to the overwhelming testimony of Scripture that God forgives all sins, so many theologians add *unless they repent in their commentary.
Others claim it was a sin that could only be committed by eyewitnesses to Jesus, while God was embodied in front of them.
Others define it simply as the rejection of the testimony of the Holy Spirit to the divinity of Jesus at any time.
2. Jesus seems to say, “You can blaspheme me, and that will be forgiven, but not the Holy Spirit.” The implication is that there is only one member of the Trinity against whom one can commit the Unpardonable Sin – which seems…odd to me, considering our Trinitarian theology. Those three persons have one essence. God doesn't exist in parts. The Trinity isn’t separable.[2] Jesus says things like, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father (John 14:9.” It’s a package deal. So whatever reading we have here can’t undermine the Trinity.
3. In the Jewish community, exorcisms were done, but the more I read, the more I suspect that the Pharisee’s sons were not accomplishing what they thought they were (more on this later). Maybe that’s one of the reasons Jesus elsewhere tells the Pharisees they are making disciples of hades (Matthew 23:15).
4. Is “will not be forgiven” the same as “will be damned?” Does it mean something like, “The consequences cannot be avoided while you are sinning,” or more like, “They can never recover from it?” What did Jesus’ original audience think when they heard this? Is there something from the Old Testament or Jewish culture that can help us understand what Jesus audience heard him teach here.
5. What is ‘this age and the age to come’? There is clearly something profoundly serious being communicated here about the nature of the sin, but it’s a surprisingly tricky phrase to translate for a variety of reasons that we will cover.
With those questions in mind, I offer a commentary/translation that is packed full of all kinds of Scriptural and cultural insight and context from 1st century Judaism. There are soooo many footnotes and endnotes to this - including opinions that differ from mine, because I want to be clear I am offering my understanding of this passage, and I could be misunderstanding it. There is no Message+ today, so perhaps our discussion this week can be in the company of church voices throughout history.
There is lots of commentary to ‘flesh out’ the what Jesus is saying about blasphemy and its penalty because it lands pretty hard but…I won’t revisit it. Read the notes. After we (hopefully) clarify the passage, I have one main point to make today about the clash between two kingdoms competing for our souls.
* * * * * *
Then they brought to Jesus a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus healed him so that he could speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and said, “Could this one be the Son of David?”
The Pharisees, the experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem, said, “He is possessed by demons from Beelzebul.[3] He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!” Now when Jesus realized what they were thinking, he called them over and spoke to them in parables.
“I have a question for you. Do you think Satan casts out Satan? If Satan casts out Satan, he would be divided against himself, destroying his own Kingdom. Is that what you are claiming? Some of your sons – your disciples - claim to cast out demons, right?
Eleazar claimed to use a signet ring and a root to draw out a demon through the nostrils of a possessed man; Tobias claimed to cast out a demon by forcing it to smell a fish’s liver and heart. Your disciples follow them in the Solomon’s tradition, with incantations and relics and fish guts. [4]
So, are they and all the others you have trained in this tradition also casting demons out by the power of God or Beelzebul? Ah, I see some of your disciples are here with us today. I will let them judge your opinions on the matter.”
As the Pharisees and their disciples began a heated conversation, Jesus turned to the crowd. “You know this passage from the Torah about the plagues in Egypt: ‘When the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not…the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”
The Testament of Levi (18:12)[5] says of the awaited Messiah, “And Beliar [Satan] shall be bound by him. And he shall grant to his children the authority to trample on wicked spirits.”
This I have done. I cast out demons not with rings or roots or fish guts, but by the spirit of God, with the finger of God Himself.[6] The King over Beelzebul and all his demons is here. The kingdom of God has arrived,[7] and even the powers hiding behind the gates of Hades will not prevail.[8]
When a Strong Man like Beelzebul, fully armed with his demons, guards his own spiritual palace behind the gates of Hades, his possessions – literally, the people he possesses - are safe from being stolen, and no one is able to enter his house and steal his property.
But when a stronger man attacks, ties him up and conquers him, he takes away the demonic armor on which the Strong Man relied. Then he can thoroughly plunder his palace and re-home the people Beelzebul once possessed.[9]
I have plundered the Strong Man’s Kingdom. I am taking those he has possessed away from him. And when I set someone free, and my Spirit remains on them, they remain free. However, if someone attempts to do this with any other power, what looks like deliverance is not.
When an unclean spirit goes out of a person and can’t find another home, it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ When it returns, it finds the house ready for habitation. So it fills this home with spirits more evil than itself. When this happens, that person is worse off than they were before.
That’s not just true for people. It’s what is happening right now, in this generation of Israel.[10] The Pharisees are like whitewashed tombs, looking righteously beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”[11] The Pharisees think they are cleaning out the evil among you; instead, all the devils are moving back in.”[12]
As he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out to him, “Your mother is the most fortunate of women to have you as her son. Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!”
But he replied, “Blessed rather are those who not only claim to be teacher of the Law, but who hear the word of God and obey it! Whoever does not join with me and gather others into this Kingdom with me scatters them into other kingdoms.”
He turned to the Pharisees. “This is why you must speak carefully. You dare not scatter the children of God into other kingdoms by misleading them. You know what the Law says about insulting or showing contempt to God.[13]
‘Because he has despised the Lord’s message and has broken his commandment, that person must be completely cut off from among his people.[14] His iniquity will be on him.’ (Numbers 15:30-3)
Like a little yeast spreads through the whole loaf of bread, so contempt for God spreads through a community.[15] The Kingdom of God cannot be divided against itself; those who show contempt for the presence, the power, and the path of God must be sent away.
You Pharisees have seen, through me, the Spirit of God at work over and over again; you have persisted in settled hostility, denying and insulting the Spirit’s obvious work.
And so I tell you, according to the Torah, those who those who bring the leaven of heard-hearted mockery against the Spirit of God [16] and poison the spiritual life of the whole community of the Kingdom will be disfellowshipped from God’s Kingdom community[17] both now, in this age[18] of the Torah, and in the coming age[19]of the Messiah.” [20]
“When a tree is good, its fruit will be good; when a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. The quality of a tree is recognized by the quality of its fruit.[21] It’s the same with people.” David reminded us that the righteous are like trees that bring forth good fruit. The book of Proverbs calls Lady Wisdom and the righteous, ‘trees of life.’[22]
Here Jesus turned to the Pharisees. “You are like poisonous snakes, poisoning all that you touch. How can you who evil say anything good? You speak blasphemy, and what you speak is a reflection of what fills your heart. Speak carefully: everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for even the most empty and careless words they have spoken. It is by the testimony of your own words that we will see what kind of tree you are.”
* * * * *
I think the key focus of this passage is more on the clash of Kingdoms than it is about the response of the Pharisees (though that is important too). I say this because the theme of conquering Satan’s Kingdom has been ongoing:
the 70 disciples returned from a mission in which they cast out demons while telling people the Kingdom was coming.
Jesus responded, “I was watching Satan fall from Heaven.”
Then, when he demonstrates how to pray, he includes, “Deliver us from the Evil One.”
Then, Jesus Himself ‘binds the Strong Man’
There are two Kingdoms competing for your allegiance. This is not some mystical battle. This is every day, in every way.
One kingdom is characterized by chaos, degradation, fear, manipulation, evil, injustice, hatred, exploitation, abuse, greed, mockery, lies, selfishness, meanness, unforgiveness, revenge, pride, and self-destruction. It’s path leads to destruction, and the payout is death.
The other Kingdom is characterized by order, growth, hope, persuasiveness, goodness, justice, love, stewardship, gentleness, generosity, encouragement, truth, community, kindness, forgiveness, and human flourishing for all. It’s path leads to righteousness, and it’s payout is Life.
The two opposing spirits we see in today’s events give us a clear snapshot.
The spirits of the Evil One - - the demonic spirits – at times actually possess in order to control us to our destruction. In contrast, the Spirit of God indwells in order to help us flourish as the image bearers God made us to be.
Those who make disciples of Hades – the blasphemers as described in this story – are also in the control of the Kingdom of Satan, though it’s more subtle. This isn’t those on a genuine spiritual journeys to “work out their salvation with fear and trembling.”[23] There is generous space for those who are questioning, deconstructing bad theology and reconstructing good theology as a foundation for their faith. This is about (in today’s terms?):
the manipulative charlatan who uses the Kingdom of Heaven as a cover for sin
the mocking accuser who makes everyone around them cynical about the power of God even when it’s obviously at work
the person so hardened in their prideful arrogance that they refuse to acknowledge that God is working through others.
It’s spiritual wolves in the clothing of sheep
Someone living in allegiance to the ways of the Kingdom of Satan may actually do more damage than someone possessed by the minions of the Kingdom. It’s easy to look at possession and say, “No thanks.” It’s a lot harder to look at what appears to be successful, polished spiritual leaders and see through the deception and chaos that is their fruit.
* * * * *
It’s possible to think too much about the spiritual war being wages for our souls. It’s also possible to think too little about it. It is important for us to be aware and engaged without living in fear.
Is there a Strong Man? Yes. Remember this. Then, remember that we worship the one who binds him and plunders His kingdom.
Are there demons? Yes. Remember this. Then remember that we worship the one who casts them out and fills up that space with the Holy Spirit that brought us the freedom.
Last week, we were reminded of how Jesus told us to pray: “Deliver us from the Evil One.” May that be our consistent prayer, followed by meditation on the kingdom, the power and the glory of our King
______________________________________________________________________________________
Here’s some commentary that I am including to give you an idea of the kind of discussion swirling around today’s passage.
· “St. John Chrysostom teaches that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it. Jesus makes this declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness “evil,” and are beyond repentance by their own choice.” (Orthodox Study Bible)
· “The immediate meaning of that refers to something only those who saw Jesus in person could do: to see a miracle from Christ and attribute it to Satan. In the most literal sense, that's a sin which no one today can commit.” (bibleref.com)
· “The only ‘unpardonable sin’ occurs when a person consciously and willfully rejects the operation of the Spirit bearing witness to the reality of Jesus as the Savior and rejects the convicting power of the Spirit in his or her life. (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)
· “It is a contrast between slandering "the Son of man" in His veiled condition and unfinished work—which might be done "ignorantly, in unbelief" (1Ti 1:13).. To blaspheme Christ in the former condition—when even the apostles stumbled at many things—left them still open to conviction on fuller light: but to blaspheme Him in the latter condition would be to hate the light the clearer it became, and resolutely to shut it out; which, of course, precludes salvation.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)
· “By rejecting the Spirit’s revelation about the person and work of Jesus, one cuts himself off from the very source of salvation.” (NKJV Evangelical Study Bible)
· “As for the Jewish leadership, Jesus says that they have taken a route that ends in this irreversible state. All that they can produce is bad fruit, such as attributing Jesus’ deeds to Beelzebub. Their words are so poisonous that he calls them a brood of vipers. Their poison will kill those touched by it, unless proper treatment is given. Such leaders are doing a great disservice to the kingdom of heaven, and will be judged for it.” Africa Bible Commentary
· “To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is a sin for which there is no forgiveness in this age or in the millennial age to come. When Jesus said in this age, He was speaking of the days of His public ministry on earth. There is reasonable doubt whether the unpardonable sin can be committed today, because He is not bodily present performing miracles.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
· “The Hebrew word olam (age) means ‘in the far distance’. When looking off in the far distance it is difficult to make out any details and what is beyond that horizon cannot be seen. This word is frequently translated as ‘eternity’ or ‘forever,’ but in the English language it is misunderstood to mean a continual span of time that never ends. In the Hebrew mind it is simply what is at or beyond the horizon, a very distant time. A common phrase in the Hebrew is "l'olam va'ed" and is usually translated as "forever and ever" but in the Hebrew it means "to the distant horizon and again" meaning "a very distant time and even further" and is used to express the idea of a very ancient or future time.” http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/27_eternity.html
· “The Hebrew word olam… in contexts where it is traditionally translated ‘forever,’ means, in itself, no more than ‘for an indefinitely long period.’ … In the New Testament, aion is used as the equivalent of olam.” (Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible)
· There exists considerable ambiguity about the meaning of the phrase olam haba (the age to come). Did it refer to the final state of man or to the one intermediate between the life of this world and the disposition of his soul in…the eternal abode after the last judgment… or Gehenna, the miserable dwelling place of the wicked.” (Jewish Virtual Library)
· “The word aion originally meant ‘vital force,’ ‘life;’ then ‘age,’ ‘lifetime.’ It is, however also used generally of a (limited or unlimited) long space of time …” (The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible)
· In a discussion on Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange, one writer noted, “The word ‘age’ is the Greek word, "aion" which is directly transliterated into the English "eon," a period of time with a beginning and an ending. We are in the "current evil eon" (Galatians 1:3-5); that is ‘this age’ in our critical phrase. ‘The eon to come’ is Christ's Millennial Kingdom. The final eon which follows is the eon of the New Heaven and Earth. In this eon and in the next, this sin will not be forgiven.”
FOOTNOTES
[1] Perhaps a reference to the division of the Jewish nation under the reign of Jereboam?
[2] In 1 John, the disciple John will say that those who deny that Jesus is the Christ are the antichrist (2:22-23) Yikes. That doesn’t seem less serious, and yet they can be forgiven. Hmmmm.
[3] Beelzebub, or Baal, whom Jesus associates with Satan, was the prince of “the dung heap” or lord of “the flies”—a god worshipped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2–16).
[4] “Exorcisms were well known among the Jews. Josephus recorded Solomon developing the art of incantations for healing and exorcism. He wrote about Eleazar, a Jewish exorcist of his day as read in my commentary. Tobias is found in the book of Tobit (Tobit 8:1–3).” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)
[5] A popular extra-biblical Jewish writing.
[6] Exodus 8:19 chronicles the miracles Moses did that the court magicians could not repeat. It makes we wonder if the “children” Jesus references here are actually casting out demons or if they were frauds like the magicians.
[7] Many Jews believed that the Spirit, which had been quenched after the OT prophets, would be poured out again in the end time. Jesus presents his activity by the Spirit as evidence that the end-time kingdom had come. (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[8] Jesus said this another time (Matthew 16:18), but he’s making the same point.
[9] The binding of Satan was a symbol of the messianic age in Jewish apocalyptic literature. (ESV Reformation Study Bible) Testament of Levi 18:12 quote found in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament.
[10] “Jesus implies that… he was driving out demons; “this wicked generation” was welcoming them back in!” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[11] Matthew 23:27-28
[12] That last sentence is how The Message concludes the paragraph.
[13] “What Is Blasphemy? - Biblical Meaning, Definition and Examples.” https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-terms/what-is-blasphemy-meaning-definition.html
[14] A popular book called The Book of Jubilees said of this kind of sin, “And there is therefore for them no forgiveness or pardon so that they might be pardoned and forgiven from all of the sins of this eternal error.” (15:34)
[15] Paul’s insight in Galatians 5:9.
[16] “It is not thought that this was a blasphemy which under no circumstances could be forgiven if right repentance followed it.” (Augustine) “Many at least of those who said these words believed afterward, and all was forgiven them. What is it then Christ was implying? That this sin is above all things inexcusable.” (Chrysostom)
[17] I think an example of this in the early church is when Paul told the church in Corinth what to do with a man living in blatant, destructive sin: “hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 5:5)
[18] An age - in the Old Testament Hebrew, olam; in the New Testament Greek, aion - could be a person’s lifespan, an indefinite period of time, or a future without an end in sight.
[19] A list found at hebrew4christians.com chronicles the 5 ages that the Jewish people of Jesus’ day believed covered history: :[19] the Age of Tohu (desolation) from Adam to Abraham; the Age of Torah (instruction) between then and the coming of the messiah; the Age of the Messiah; the Age of Souls as we await resurrection; and the Age of Resurrection.
[20] “I am fully satisfied the meaning of the words is this: neither in this dispensation, (the Jewish,) nor in that which is to come (the Christian). Olam Ha-ba, the age to come, is a constant phrase for the times of the Messiah in the Jewish writers. ” (Adam Clarke)
[21] If the ‘sons’ of the Pharisees are their fruit, this makes me think their ‘sons’ were not actually casting out demons like they thought they were.
[22] Proverbs 3:18; 11:30
[23] Philippians 2:12