BLASPHEMY; The unpardonable sin?
Referring to Matthew 12:31 Jesus says, “And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” Consider the background of this verse. In chapter 11 certain Jewish cities rejected Jesus. Also, John the Baptist raised serious doubts about Jesus because his expectations were not fulfilled. Matthew 12:31,32 refers to the most serious rejection of Jesus-the rejection of the Pharisees. 1. One of the rejection episodes is in the Beelzebub story (Matthew 12:22-37). It begins when Jesus heals a blind mute. The frightening thing for the Jewish leaders is that the people are so enthused by the miracle that they begin to wonder out loud if Jesus might not be “the Son of David”-that is, the Messiah (vs. 23). The frustrated Pharisees cannot deny the reality of the miracle, but they can deny that it came from God. Their solution is that Jesus is in league with the “prince of demons” (vs. 24). Jesus immediately takes the offensive b
