The Unforgivable Sin: Mark 3:20-35

Well, this morning we continue our series in the Gospel of Mark.

We've been working our way through the Gospel of Mark over the past several weeks.

And Mark's aim in writing, of course, being that we would see the real Jesus and his works and to know him as he really is.

The same Jesus who is now in heaven and who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and is working out his purposes.

This morning, though, we arrive at a passage that has some very sobering words.

The reason why they're sobering is because they contain a response by Jesus that sets our ears on fire.

This is one of those passages that we're not always sure how to deal with.

Jesus says here that it's possible to commit an eternal sin, sometimes called the unforgivable sin.

And it sounds strange to us, on one hand, that we would hear Jesus say that sin is not forgivable, right?

We say to ourselves, yes, but doesn't God offer forgiveness to sinners?

How do we make sense of this?

And for that reason, some people really agonize over these words.

Am I guilty of committing this sin?

The thoughts begin to ramp up.

Is that what I've done?

Am I now resigned for the rest of eternity to this terrible state of being beyond forgiveness?

Is this something that I could commit by accident or by an impulsive unguarded slip of the tongue on a bad day?

I mean, these are some of the questions that begin to ramp up.

I remember particularly as a youth really struggling with this, reading over these words and thinking over them and experiencing some of this inner turmoil over what I read.

These questions that I just put forward were ones that I didn't necessarily have a clear answer to.

And so I wasn't aware of having committed it.

But for a time it did torture my conscience.

And I'm by no means the only one.

History and pastoral experience reminds us that this is a common concern by many a person.

And in some ways, we ought to expect that.

These are very sobering and weighty words.

And so it's important that we be clear this morning what is and what isn't being said here.

And it will be my hope this morning that we will come to a clear understanding of what Jesus is warning against, so that we would be clear about that, but that in doing so that we would be more fully drawn into true belief and an assurance of his life and love.

So let's read this passage now this morning and then look to the context, because context is important because it gives us a reference to how these words are being used.

And so here now the reading of God's holy word.

Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.

And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, He is out of his mind.

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, He is possessed by Belzebo, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.

And he called them to him, and he said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand.

But it is coming to an end.

But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man.

Then indeed he may plunder his house.

Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven, the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter.

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.

For they were saying he has an unclean spirit.

And his mother and brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him and called him.

And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you.

And he answered them, Who are my mother and my brothers?

And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, Hear my mother and my brothers.

For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.

Amen.

Let us pray.

Holy Spirit, we ask and pray now that you would give us clarity.

Lord, we know that the devil loves to obscure the truth.

But we ask and we pray that you would give us clarity and softness of heart as we receive all that you would have us to receive once again this morning.

We ask and we pray these things now in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So the context.

We see here in Jesus' ministry that Jesus is continuing to carry out his ministry in the amongst of many, the crowds.

And this is the value, in fact, of reading and working through a gospel like this as we get to see the progression.

We get to see of all that has been unfolding, even to this point.

Because at this point, we've come to see how Jesus has been demonstrating his humanity and his divinity in the presence of many.

His way has been paved by John the Baptist, speaking to his arrival.

The heavens were torn open.

At his baptism, the Spirit descended upon him like a dove.

They heard this voice from heaven, the Father, declaring and announcing that this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.

I've seen him healing sicknesses and casting out evil spirits, setting them free from oppression and restoring them to sanity.

People are seeing his power over nature.

And even have spoken of him, some of these evil spirits, as the Holy One of God.

He's been preaching and teaching about the kingdom of God, who's someone who has authority.

And he was distinguished in that regard from the others' teachers there.

He was able to testify to something that he knew and that stood out.

He's released guilty consciences, granting forgiveness, and restored dignity to those experiencing shame.

And yet, in all of this, there's still some of this confusion about his true identity as the Messiah, the anointed one.

They're still unsure about his divine nature.

Some would say, well, no, I think he's a good man.

Others would say I think he's a prophet.

Others would say, I think he's a teacher and a miracle worker.

But all of this still falls short of who Jesus really is: God in the flesh.

And so we see the people drawing closer to him, even his family beginning to speak in a way that obscures that identity.

We need to think about how strange Jesus must have been, even to his own family.

I mean, just think about that.

Someone who from birth never sinned.

Right?

Someone who never slandered his brothers or other siblings, someone who never lashed out in anger at them, or in greed wanted to withhold things from them, who honored his parents without fault.

I mean, think of that contrast.

And yet they hadn't come to see and accept his true identity.

And I say yet, because we later go on to read that they do.

So even in light of that, they come to this conclusion.

Jesus is, you're out of your mind.

And it's an accusation with some serious implications because when Jesus came into the world, we're told that he did set aside certain prerogatives of his own power.

Whatever he did was the Father's will.

And yet it was done through the power of the Holy Spirit working within him.

And so this shows their ignorance of who he really is and who really is at work here.

Later, they come thinking that he needs to be rescued from himself.

And Jesus goes on to distance himself from them, and he says, and he tries to make the point there, you think that I need rescuing, but it's I who came to rescue you.

Being family by blood won't carry any weight in the kingdom.

You need to be born of God.

I've come to rescue many mothers and brothers and sisters.

And so he's clear in the face of that accusation who he is and what he came to do.

But in between these exchanges, we also have the scribes who appear on the scene.

And now I've made it their concerned effort to come down from Jerusalem and to start to meddle again.

They'd already consulted with the Herodians that they wanted to put Jesus to death, and so they have a grudge against him.

And yet, even here, their conclusion is more fatal than the first one.

And the reason for that is because not only are they accusing Jesus of being in touch with demonic power and exerting a sinister influence from the outside, but here they are claiming that Belzeball and that is Satan is working from the inside of the soul of Jesus.

Now, why don't they just conclude that he's insane?

Well, because insanity doesn't speak to the supernatural.

Clearly, what Jesus was doing was supernatural.

And so Jesus says in no uncertain terms, he says, you're very close to committing a sin that cannot be forgiven.

Now, why does he say that?

Because to attribute that which is demonic to the personal work of the Holy Spirit is like looking into the abyss and calling it the way of salvation.

Or to look in the face of perfect love and to shun it as death.

It's a deception that is diametrically opposed to the truth and what the Spirit had come to do.

That's a house, Jesus says, that cannot stand.

But Jesus is warning them that these accusations have them on the brink.

And in that sense, we see how merciful and gracious Jesus is even in the midst of this.

Jesus, even in the face of these uh outlandish charges, seeks to address the scribes and provide more light.

And so he says, in effect, let me tell you how absurd this is, and walk you back from this cliff.

The idea that you're espousing is that I'm wielding Satan's power to do all that has been done.

If that were true, then Satan would have to be casting out Satan.

He'd be sending his troops to wreak havoc in people's lives only then to begin picking off his own.

It would be like a general of an army destroying his own men in the face of an enemy.

Why in the world would anyone want to do that?

If they want to win a war.

That's suicide.

It doesn't matter what realm you're talking about.

It could be a kingdom, a house.

If it's divided like that, it's going to topple.

If Satan is against himself, he won't stand.

He would literally be destroying his own work while supplying the power necessary to do it.

It's an absurdity.

Second, to address the charge of being possessed by Satan.

If you think about a man who wants to steal possessions from other people, what do they do?

They're not going to go into the house of another man of any strength and leisurely just go about trying to steal his stuff.

No, what they're going to do is they're going to bind up the man, then take his stuff.

Satan is the strong man who shows his strength by enslaving souls to sin.

By enslaving souls with, by trying to possess them.

And disease and death.

And the demons help him in all of this.

That's the realm of darkness.

Only someone stronger than he can enter his realm, bind him, and then take his goods.

What goods, we might ask.

How can Satan have goods?

He's a spirit.

Spirits don't have property.

His property are the people that are under his possession and influence.

And so Jesus here is saying, I'm the one who has come and bound the strong man.

I'm the one who has come and because he's bound, you see people being freed.

You see people being freed from oppression.

You see people being liberated.

You see people being energized and given strength and power in their bodies.

You see people experiencing life.

Set free from his power and brought into the realm of the kingdom of light.

All of this speaks to the evidence, like the scribes, that they and we are the ones who need rescuing.

And Jesus has come to do that.

Jesus alone being the one who, because he was God man, could do it.

And so given this context, I think it's helpful to set that stage and set that scene to understand that so that we may then ask the question, well, how are we to understand this teaching on this unforgivable sin?

How do we understand these words that Jesus offers?

What is not being taught?

What is being taught, and how are we to live in light of this teaching?

First, what is not being taught?

Jesus is not saying that blasphemy in general is unforgivable.

If we ask, what about blasphemy against Jesus?

Or God the Father or angels or scripture or the church, Jesus says even these things are forgivable.

It's remarkable how forgiving He is.

We know that because of verse 28.

Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man and whatever blasphemies they utter.

There are many people today who use the name of God and particularly Jesus' name with such low esteem that they see fit to use his name as they would in a sentence of swearing, a cursing.

That is to blaspheme Jesus' name.

That is to belittle his name.

There are those who have spoken about Jesus as being crazy or someone less than divine.

These things Jesus says are forgivable.

So as evil as that is, Jesus is not saying that this can't be forgiven.

We have an example in this, the Apostle Paul.

You might remember the Apostle Paul confessed to having blasphemed Jesus.

He said, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent, but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.

And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love there in Christ Jesus.

Paul repented and was forgiven.

And so we have evidence of Jesus' words here.

In one sense, we could say that even we are all blasphemers because seeing Jesus for who he really is, we have come to understand that we all have belittled his name.

None of us were born esteeming his name, and yet we've been forgiven.

And so blasphemy in general is not what's been spoken of.

There's also a view that says, what does this apply to a really bad sin?

Often it's a sin in the eye of the beholder.

Sin of adultery, murder, or even denying Christ's name in the moment of pressure.

But that's also not what's being meant here because Jesus is clear in what he says that all sins will be forgiven, the children of man.

Meaning that he didn't just die for every sin except these few sins that we might feel a sense of conviction over.

That would mean that God still has some wrath remaining for those who commit that particular sin.

But God, Jesus is clear that he has paid, made atonement for all sin.

And has made full atonement.

And so we know that he's not meaning that.

And we have evidence in the likes of King David.

David's a good one to be able to pick on because he did commit adultery and murder.

And yet he was granted forgiveness.

Although we notice his his confession and his plea at this time.

He says, Take not your Holy Spirit from me, knowing how vital the Holy Spirit is, still showing that he esteemed the Holy Spirit's work within him.

And in this world.

Likewise, we have Peter, we do who denied Jesus and was forgiven.

Remember that Jesus said, Satan, Peter, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat.

And yet I've prayed for you, Peter.

That your faith will not be so shaken that you fall away.

And we go on to read that Peter does deny Jesus three times, but then Jesus responds to him and he seeks forgiveness.

Jesus extends it to him and he goes and he comforts his brothers, just as Jesus said.

And so this is this is not referring to a particular sin in that sense.

Another view has been discussed at a false assertion about, is this a false assertion about the spirit or attributing spirit empowered miracles to Satan?

And while those assertions are certainly at play in this text, it doesn't speak to the heart of what's really going on here.

A distinction can be made, therefore, between grieving the Holy Spirit and blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

We can grieve the Holy Spirit.

Just like we can grieve someone else close to us.

But that isn't to be equated with the sin committed here.

If I were to hurt my wife Stacy in some way, I'd like to know the way in which I have hurt her, grieved her, how my love falls short.

We can do that often, can't we?

And a soft heart would want to respond to that and to turn away from that so as to not to continue to offend in that way.

That shows a softness of heart.

And so we do at times grieve the Holy Spirit in that sense, but this blaspheming the Holy Spirit is another thing altogether.

The thing I think is important for us to see is that this sin is a specific form of blasphemy and specifically directed toward the person of the Holy Spirit.

So, what then is being taught?

Well, first, what is it to blaspheme?

Blasphemy is something that we do with our mouths, it's a form of speech.

Don Carson, theologian, says in each of these three passages referencing the sin, there is self-conscious perception of where the truth lies and the light shines, and a willful turning away from it.

Okay, so I think that's helpful because uh it speaks to any fears that someone might have that has us wondering is this sin an accidental or unguided slip of the tongue?

The answer is no.

This is a willful turning away.

And again, this is where I think context is helpful.

The scribes, you remember, had so much light.

They were so familiar with the law and the prophets, they were seeing all these things in their midst.

They had many conversations with Jesus.

And in the face of this revelation, they come down from Jerusalem, they willfully resist Jesus, and behind his back they accuse him of these things.

That's purposeful intention.

So someone may ask, well, is this then a sin that someone can commit today?

And I'd first want to say to that, that this is not a common circumstance.

This is very unusual.

Most people and their unbelief don't go quite that far as to belittle the Holy Spirit in this way.

But yes, it is possible.

If someone were to look at the person, the work of Jesus, if someone were to recognize the mission of Jesus by the Holy Spirit, if they were to have a full understanding of the gospel, and their final conclusion was that's the work of the devil, that's fundamentally evil, and turn their back and not be tortured by that, then that person has committed a sin that has so belittled the Holy Spirit that they never come to a place of repentance.

That's why this sin is singled out.

Because who then is left to work on that soul to bring them back?

They've had full light.

What else is there?

That's an eternal sin.

One commentator says only the man who sets himself against forgiveness is excluded from it.

And so we ought to hear those words and understand the severity of them, and we're reminded even then that these warnings that Jesus gives us are a grace to us.

It's the loving parent that warns their children about crossing the road and the harm that may come if they fail to heed his warning.

And so, how then we deliver in light of this?

How do we respond to these things?

The first thing I'd say to anyone who is overwhelmed with fear over having committed this sin, the fact that you're troubled is one form of evidence that you haven't committed it.

Why is that?

Well, because you're showing a sensitivity that would not be there in such a person.

But I think there are two ways to respond in light of this.

The first, respond with a soft heart to the light and grace given to you today.

However young and however old, don't turn away.

But respond to the light given to you today.

Today is the day to respond.

Today is the day to turn from sin and to turn to Jesus as a life-giving grace.

You know, when we hear of tragedies like the one that took place this past week, I think one thing it reminds us of is that there's no guarantee for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Today matters.

Only God knows what tomorrow will bring.

Only God knows the number of days he's ordained for you and me.

So we must respond today with a soft heart to the light and the grace that he gives us.

That would be the first thing.

The second way of responding would be to esteem Jesus and the Holy Spirit who dwelt in him in fullness.

Jesus taught his disciples, hallowed be thy name.

He taught them to esteem the name of God, to lift it up, to hold it up in reverence, in awe, to make much of it, to prize it.

And that includes the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit who hovered over the face and over the chaos of the earth.

And what happened?

Order and beauty came to being.

Fruitfulness sprang all around.

The Spirit who hovered over that chaos, brought it to life and to beauty, who by his power does that same work within our hearts, who brings the disorder in our hearts and takes us to the cross and shows us the wounds of Jesus.

The nails that bound him, the cross, the thorns that caused him to bleed.

The sword that pierced him.

And as we look upon his death, who shows us the beauty and immense depths of his love.

The same spirit that working within us convicts and works in our disordered hearts, taking away the dark clouds of unbelief, who takes away desires run amok that hurt and hate.

Who brightens our souls with the light of his truth and brings us nearer to Jesus.

Who brings us near to love itself.

Grace, compassion, faithfulness, beauty, so that all of these graces may blossom within us.

Oh, may we esteem the great name of God, who brings life and light to be at work within us, and may we press on.

I think the words of the hymn writer have been on my heart and mind as I contemplate and meditate on holy ambition.

And may this also be our prayer.

May the mind of Christ, my Savior, live in me from day to day, by his love and power controlling all I do and say.

May the word of God dwell richly in my heart from hour to hour, so that all may see I triumph, but only through his power.

May the peace of God my Father rule my life and everything, that I may be calm to be able to comfort the sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me as the waters fill the sea.

Him exalting, self-abasing, this is victory.

May I run the race before me, strong and brave to face the foe, looking only unto Jesus as I onward go.

Do you desire after more of Jesus and the Holy Spirit's life-giving influence?

His mind living in you from day to day, his word dwelling richly within you, hour to hour, his peace ruling your life and everything, his love filling you, his strength empowering you.

Our friends, we can be sure that if this is your desire, this is of the Holy Spirit, for by him and through him fullness is sure to abound.

And so we pray.

Oh gracious Father, we come and we give you much praise and thanks.

These words do serber us.

And yet, Lord, we thank you for the way in which you remind us of where life and light truly is found.

Lord, may we be people who increasingly esteem your name.

May we be people who increasingly lift it up and exalt your name.

And Holy Spirit, we pray that you would do that work within us that exalts that name within us, so that we may indeed flourish.

We may indeed be a fruitful people.

And in doing so, we would glorify and bring much praise to your name.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray these things.

Amen.