Day Fourteen: The Unpardonable Sin (Mark 3:22-30)
Devotional: It’s probably not a nice thing to say to someone, but there’s a saying you might of heard before… “You can’t fix stupid”. It’s an expression used when someone says or does something really dumb. It seemed to be a regular occurrence with the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Despite miracle after miracle, they refused to acknowledge who He was.
Take today’s passage for instance. The religious leaders accuse Jesus of casting out demons because He was demon-possessed. Let that one soak in for a moment. Does that make any sense at all? Yep, sometimes “You can’t fix stupid”. Well, Jesus could, but the leaders weren’t willing. Jesus breaks it down for them, “How can Satan cast out Satan?”. And then he uses the examples of a kingdom and house divided against itself.
These teachings are pretty clear and simple to understand. But then we get to vs. 28-30. Not quite so clear and simple to understand. There have been debates for years on the meaning of these verses. Is Jesus teaching that there is such a thing as an “unpardonable sin”? And how does that match with Scriptures teaching that the death of Jesus can cover all of our sins.
Colossians 2:13-15 says… "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."
These verses tell us that every single sin is forgiven at the cross and the power over sin possible because Jesus disarmed Satan’s authority in our lives. Great news, right? Then what’s the deal with what Jesus said in Mark 3. It seems a contradiction. Sin that’s unforgivable? Specifically, Jesus says it’s when someone “blasphemes against the Holy Spirit”.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit certainly is a grievous sin. But a person can’t be forgiven even if they repent? And why is it the Holy Spirit only, not the Heavenly Father or Jesus? Keeping it in context helps give us some answers. The religious leaders were accusing Jesus’ healings and miracles the work of Satan instead of the work of the Spirit. To do so was blasphemous of the Holy Spirit. And this is important... in doing so, it was a denial of the divinity of Jesus.
They were denying that Jesus is God by refusing to believe His works were done though the Holy Spirit under the authority of the Father. So in reality, they were denying the Trinity. God can forgive ALL sin. But as long as a person denies who God is, specifically, that Jesus is Lord, sins will remain unforgiven. There’s not many paths to God, many ways to be forgiven, there’s only one. It’s through the Person of Jesus Christ, as a result of His work, His death and resurrection. All that to say… the unpardonable sin is unbelief in who Jesus is and what He’s done.
Prayer: Who are people in your life who do not believe that Jesus is God and the only way to salvation? Take some time to pray that they would come to believe. And take some time to thank God for the forgiveness He’s provided through the work of Jesus Christ.
Devotional: It’s probably not a nice thing to say to someone, but there’s a saying you might of heard before… “You can’t fix stupid”. It’s an expression used when someone says or does something really dumb. It seemed to be a regular occurrence with the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Despite miracle after miracle, they refused to acknowledge who He was.
Take today’s passage for instance. The religious leaders accuse Jesus of casting out demons because He was demon-possessed. Let that one soak in for a moment. Does that make any sense at all? Yep, sometimes “You can’t fix stupid”. Well, Jesus could, but the leaders weren’t willing. Jesus breaks it down for them, “How can Satan cast out Satan?”. And then he uses the examples of a kingdom and house divided against itself.
These teachings are pretty clear and simple to understand. But then we get to vs. 28-30. Not quite so clear and simple to understand. There have been debates for years on the meaning of these verses. Is Jesus teaching that there is such a thing as an “unpardonable sin”? And how does that match with Scriptures teaching that the death of Jesus can cover all of our sins.
Colossians 2:13-15 says… "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."
These verses tell us that every single sin is forgiven at the cross and the power over sin possible because Jesus disarmed Satan’s authority in our lives. Great news, right? Then what’s the deal with what Jesus said in Mark 3. It seems a contradiction. Sin that’s unforgivable? Specifically, Jesus says it’s when someone “blasphemes against the Holy Spirit”.
Blaspheming the Holy Spirit certainly is a grievous sin. But a person can’t be forgiven even if they repent? And why is it the Holy Spirit only, not the Heavenly Father or Jesus? Keeping it in context helps give us some answers. The religious leaders were accusing Jesus’ healings and miracles the work of Satan instead of the work of the Spirit. To do so was blasphemous of the Holy Spirit. And this is important... in doing so, it was a denial of the divinity of Jesus.
They were denying that Jesus is God by refusing to believe His works were done though the Holy Spirit under the authority of the Father. So in reality, they were denying the Trinity. God can forgive ALL sin. But as long as a person denies who God is, specifically, that Jesus is Lord, sins will remain unforgiven. There’s not many paths to God, many ways to be forgiven, there’s only one. It’s through the Person of Jesus Christ, as a result of His work, His death and resurrection. All that to say… the unpardonable sin is unbelief in who Jesus is and what He’s done.
Prayer: Who are people in your life who do not believe that Jesus is God and the only way to salvation? Take some time to pray that they would come to believe. And take some time to thank God for the forgiveness He’s provided through the work of Jesus Christ.
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