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(68) Blasphemy against the Spirit (Luke 12:8-12, 9th May 2010)
At the heart of Jesus' message is forgiveness for all our sins. Yet here he speaks of an unforgivable sin: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. What does he mean? Well, his words connect into the previous verses where he warned his disciples not to be naïve about his enemies and then went on to describe how to cope with the difficulties they'll face; this remains his theme in our verses (and those following). His starting point is to tell his disciples to remember heaven. In v8-9 he pictures a future heavenly courtroom where he will be reigning (see Daniel 7), surrounded by the angels; whilst his disciples continue to serve him on the earth. However, he will still be passionately interested in them and heaven will react to their earthly conduct: if they acknowledge Christ, heaven will rejoice; if they disown him, heaven will disown them. But what counts as “disowning him”? Jesus deals with that in v10. He explains that speaking against him by itself does not preclude repentance and forgiveness: some of his enemies will later turn to him and some of his friends who fail will be restored (Peter in ch22). But who, then, is the one who disowns Jesus? The second half of v10 clarifies: it is the person who has come to know much about Christ but remains committed to rejecting him; such a person will be lost (Judas, Acts 1). But Jesus refers to this as “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” rather than a crime against himself. Why? The answer lies in the broader story of Israel. At this time, the Israelites are listening to Jesus; but soon many will speak against him, chanting “crucify!” (23:21). However, God will not pour out his wrath upon Israel, but instead send preachers full of the Holy Spirit to them (11:49), preaching repentance and forgiveness (Acts 2:36-38). And only if the Israelites ignore them, thus despising (blaspheming) the Spirit's testimony about Christ, will there will be no more mercy. Their determined refusal to know Christ will result in God's judgement without forgiveness – this is what v10 is pointing to. But how will Jesus' disciples experience this time of the Spirit's testifying? Well, they will be brought before important people to speak for Christ (v11) and in those places the Spirit will give them words to use (v12). Israel will therefore have no excuse for ignoring their message, for it will be the message of God Himself. However, this is not only for Israel, for today the Spirit speaks in many places through gospel preaching, and we must all respond before our opportunity for forgiveness passes and we are found, on the day of final judgement, to have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. But alongside this application, the passage also encourages Christians to speak for Christ. When we do, heaven rejoices; when we fail, then we must seek forgiveness and pray for the Spirit's help to be loyal to the Lord.
(1) Read the opening chapters of Acts. See how seriously the Holy Spirit is taken and treated. Does your own Christian life reflect these attitudes? Or are you careless about the Holy Spirit? If so, then repent and seek change in the Lord.
(2) When do you feel unforgiven by God? Why is that? Are you dishonouring the Lord in not believing in his forgiveness to those who repent? Think through such times in your life: how can you better respond in the future?
(3) Are there any people today who might need to be warned that they are close to “blaspheming against the Spirit”? Is it ever right for us to tell someone we believe that are getting close to this mark? How would you say it?
(4) Think of the joy in heaven when Christ is honoured. Let that thought run through your life each day, so that you seek to honour him for his sake.
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