THE BOOK OF MATTHEW – Chapter 12, Verses 30-50, The Unpardonable Sin, Words, Signs, Relationships

 

THE BOOK OF MATTHEW – Chapter 12, Verses 30 – 50

The Unpardonable Sin, Words, Signs, Relationships

Matthew 12:30, The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters. Verse 31, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Verse 32. 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 age or in the age to come.

(Commentary Break): Please note that although Jesus’ intended audience is Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, these remarks draw a stark line between the ‘saved’ and the ‘unsaved’. Jesus makes a distinction here between those who believe in and have confessed Jesus as their Lord and are His disciples.

1. 1. 1. (i.e., the one who ‘gathers’, i.e., (from the Greek word), ‘sunagó’, that is the one who ‘joins with and come together’ with Jesus), and
      2. those who do not believe in Him but ‘scatters’, i.e., (from the Greek word), ‘skorpizó’, that is one who ‘dissipates and wastes’ this most valuable and precious gift from God.

Verse 31 begins with the connecting and defining word ‘therefore’, indicating that what comes next is based on what was said before: Therefore, every sin and Blasphemy (blasphemia), that which is abusive, scurrilous, and evil; that which exchanges what God says is good for that which is evil. Exchanging the truth of God for a lie, will be forgiven, even if it is spoken against the Son of Man, i.e., Jesus. But if blasphemy is spoken against the Holy Spirit, cannot be forgiven.

Please Note: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, at the time of the speaking of these words, had to do with accusing Jesus Christ of being demon-possessed instead of Spirit-filled. The Pharisees were in a unique moment in history: they had the Law and the Prophets, they had the Holy Spirit stirring their hearts, they had the Son of God Himself standing right in front of them, and they saw with their own eyes the miracles He did. Never before in the history of the world (and never since) had so much divine light been granted to men; if anyone should have recognized Jesus for who He was, it was the Pharisees. Yet they chose defiance. They purposely attributed the work of the Spirit to the devil, even though they knew the truth and had the proof. Jesus declared their willful blindness to be unpardonable. Their blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was their final rejection of God’s grace. They had set their course, and God was going to let them sail into perdition unhindered.

This exact kind of blasphemy cannot be replicated today.

After Christ’s resurrection and ascension to the Father, the unpardonable sin, (blasphemy), is the state of continued unbelief. The Spirit currently convicts the unsaved world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). To resist that conviction and willfully remain unrepentant is to “blaspheme” the Spirit. There is no pardon, either in this age or in the age to come, for a person who rejects the Spirit’s promptings to trust in Jesus Christ and then dies in unbelief. The love of God is evident: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And the choice is clear: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36). But, as long as you are alive, it is never too late to confess and repent of your sins and turn to Jesus for complete forgiveness and to receive His free gift of salvation (see GotQuestion.Org). (End Commentary Break).

Words Reveal Character

Verse 33. “Either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; because the tree is known by its fruit. Verse 34. You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. Verse 35. The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. Verse 36. But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. Verse 37. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

(Commentary Break): Jesus begins with a metaphor of a tree and its fruit, then reveals the subject of His metaphor is the Pharisees – and Jesus leaves little to the imagination. He calls them vipers and evil; bad trees that produce bad fruit. Jesus reminds us that it is ‘the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart’ which is revealing wisdom, both then and now.

Besides rebuking the Pharisees, Jesus warns of the dangers of their errant words, which is true for everyone at any time.

As I discussed in a recent article, the state of your heart and mind is revealed by the words you speak and, in a real sense, it is those words which condemn you or justify you. (End Commentary Break).

The Desire for Signs

Verse 38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” Verse 39. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign; and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet; Verse 40. for just as JONAH WAS IN THE STOMACH OF THE SEA MONSTER FOR THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Verse 41. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Verse 42. The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

(Commentary Break): Jesus is rebuking the unbelieving Pharisees, then, and the unbelieving world now. He is saying, in essence, ‘I don’t need to prove anything to you. There is enough evidence and proof already available, if you chose to see it. You claim to believe what happened with Jonah and you claim to understand about the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, yet you deny all that is written about Me. You offspring of vipers! You believe only those things you desire but you neglect the greater things!’

Likewise, it is not our responsibility to use extra-Biblical means to convince others about Christ. Everything necessary is recorded. We believe by faith and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We don’t have to and should not try to prove anything more. (End Commentary Break).

Verse 43.“Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Verse 44. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Verse 45. Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

(Commentary Break): These are ominous and prophetic words. It foretells and forecasts the condition of those who reject Christ, Jew and Gentile alike. NOTE: The final words of verse forty-five say ‘that is the way it will be also with this evil generation’ (meaning this race, family or generation, and the characteristic unbelieving behavior of this generation), which, when used with another time word (such as ‘and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first’)  perfectly indicates an infinity of time. I.e., So it will be forever!

The succeeding generation will be plagued with and identified and controlled by unclean spirits, getting progressively worse with time! We can see examples of this already in our world today with the rise and acceptance of child sacrifice (abortions), Satan worship, murders, rapes, acceptance of homosexuality, transgenderism, hate, violence, rampant thievery, the spread and acceptance of drug use, and more. It would appear that paganism and satanism is on the rise and Christianity is on the wane. But Jesus warns of their fate. (End Commentary Break).

Changed Relationships

Verse 46. While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Verse 47. Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.” Verse 48. But Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” Verse 49. And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! Verse 50. For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

(Commentary Break): There is no clearer example of what the family of God represents. If you think blood relatives should be close, then you should now know that the Blood of Christ relatives are also your family and should be help close as well.

It is obvious that there are cliques and groups in the church that ever-so-politely exclude others. Those who treats some a more important than others, leaving some out of their social gatherings, their activities and their lives, while including others. The Apostle Paul corrects the church on these matters: “But we ask you, brothers and sisters, to recognize those who diligently labor among you and are in leadership over you in the Lord, and give you instruction, and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people.”

The Apostle Peter also encouraged the family of God, saying, “Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently loveoneanother from the heart.” (End Commentary Break).

This is how we know if we are His disciples, by our love and respect for one another!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

NEXT: THE BOOK OF MATTHEW – Chapter 13, Jesus Teaches Parables

PREVIOUS:  THE BOOK OF MATTHEW – Chapter 12, Verses 1 – 29, The Sabbath & The Lord of the Sabbath, The Pharisees Rebuked.

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