Unforgiveable Sin

Introduction

Have you ever been misunderstood?

Have you ever been misrepresented?

Has anyone ever taken your words and motives and twisted them around and used them against you?

If you live long enough in this world you are going to face that kind of personal attack.

It has happened to me many times.

There just will be someone who disagrees with you and will take your words out of context or twist them to use against you.

Don’t feel bad when it happens, because it even happened to Jesus

That what happens in Mark 3: 20-30 today’s passage in our walk through Mark.

Where we are getting a Glimpse of Jesus and who He really is.

So let’s read that passage and see what happens.

Mark 3:20–30 CSB

20 Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.” 22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. 28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

His Misunderstanding Family Attacks His Sanity Verses 3:20-21

They had their reasons

Jesus has just returned from an all-night prayer meeting in the mountains, Luke 6:12, and from choosing the twelve men who would serve as His disciples, v. 13–18.

He and His men have returned to town and have entered into a house, v. 19, probably Peter’s.

They are hoping to get some much needed rest.

Like last time when they got there.

Their plans are shattered by a multitude of people who come to Jesus and His men for help.

They are so busy ministering to the crowds that they do not even have time to eat a meal.

When His family heard about what He is doing, their first thought is that Jesus has gone crazy.

The phrase, “He's out of His mind” means exactly that!

Why would they think Jesus was crazy?

Look at the evidence:

He claims to be God—Mark 2:5

He calls men to follow Him around the country to preach the Word—Mark 3:13–18

He refuses to rest and take care of Himself—Mark 3:20

He refuses to work as a carpenter, choosing rather to wander around the country and preach.

He doesn’t work for a living, but trusts God to supply His needs.

He draws such vast crowds that there is a danger of His being trampled and crushed by the crowds—Mark 3:9. The danger was so real that Jesus had a boat standing by in case He needed to escape the press of the crowds.

All the intellectual and learned men in Israel believe that He is crazy too—Mark 3:22.

His relatives misunderstood Jesus and His ministry and because they couldn’t understand Him, they thought He was off His rocker.

Their plan to help Him

They simply wanted to have an intervention

They would grab him, use force, arrest Him and tack Him away.

I’m sure they wanted to help Him, but they just hadn’t fully figured out who He was like they would later.

The Misunderstanding Religious Elite Attacked His Spirituality Verses 22-30

A delegation of scribes from Jerusalem are there listening to Him teach and observing His miracles.

The scribes and Pharisees could not deny the reality of Jesus’ miracles and supernatural power—he had indeed been driving out demons.

But they refused to believe that his power was from God because then they would have had to accept him as the Messiah.

Their pride would not let them do that.

So in an attempt to destroy Jesus’ popularity among the people, the scribes accused him of having power from Satan.

Look at verse 22 it says,“He is possessed by Beelzebul,”

They were attributing the miracles that He did to the power of Satan.

The term Beelzebul literally means “Lord of the Flies or Lord of Filth”

Most of the people in the area at that time understood that term to mean Satan and Jesus knew it too.

Why would they say something like that?

If they acknowledge that Jesus is working His miracles in the power of God, then they will be obligated to follow Him too.

If they acknowledge that Jesus is working His miracles in the power of God, they will have to admit that their old system of believe is dead and is being replaced.

If they acknowledge Jesus and what He is doing, they are out of business and they know it! They will have to change and that is not about to happen.

So, they attack Jesus and accuse Him of being in league with the devil. If this charge sticks, they can undermine His ministry with the people and draw away His crowds.

Jesus’ Response Verses 23-27

Jesus is able to totally destroy their arguments and He uses three parable or illustrations to get His point across.

First he tells them a kingdom in division is a kingdom that cannot stand.

When there is civil war and strife within a kingdom, the stability of that kingdom is compromised and that kingdom is more likely to fall.

Our nation’s history points out the danger of nation that is divided in the 1800’s and now.

For a kingdom to be strong it must be united.

Satan is out to win the battle between himself and the Lord.

He is not going to do anything to weaken himself in that fight.

For him to cast out his own demons would be counterproductive.

Next He points our that a house that is divided is a house that cannot stand.

We’ve all know of houses where a marriage that faces a constant barrage of fighting is a marriage that cannot stand.

A home is not a home unless it is filled with love, unity and peace.

Sad thing about this is the consequences that are felt years later by the children of the home.

Again, Satan is out to win! He is not in the business of fighting with himself. It doesn’t make sense!

Lastly, Jesus says that you cannot rob a well defended home unless you first tie up the defender of that home.

The illustration is clear, Satan defends his kingdom, but Jesus had the power to invade Satan’s kingdom and deliver whomsoever he desires from the devil’s grip.

Jesus has power over the devil!

The bottom line here is “If the work of Jesus is diametrically opposed to Satan, then how can Jesus be empowered by Satan?”

As the Son of God, Jesus does something for humanity before doing something to it.

He must liberate humanity from the power of evil (1 John 3:8) before restoring it to the image of God.

Notice, Mark’s first miracle story was an exorcism (1:21–28).

The healing of the paralytic in 2:1–12 illustrates a similar principle: Jesus first forgives, then heals.

The mission of Jesus is not fulfilled in compromise or coexistence, but in invading and conquering Beelzebul, “the head of the house”, “ties up” Satan and “plundering” or to “carry off” his “possession.”

A Solemn Warning Verses 28-30

He begins verse 28 with the phrase “Truly I tell you”

This phrase in the NT is limited to the sayings of Jesus.

Truly = Amen

His practice of prefacing his words with an “Amen” to strengthen the solemn affirmation which follows introduced a completely new manner of speaking.

“Amen” denotes that his words are reliable and true because he is totally committed to do and speak the will of God.

This means that the phrase Amen is not only a highly significant characteristic of Jesus’ speech, but a Christological affirmation: Jesus is the true witness of God.

This important statement is simply Jesus saying that all sins and all blasphemies will be forgiven.

This is a great promise, one that we as Christians can rest firmly upon.

He affirms that all sins of men are open to forgiveness, with one fearful exception.

So, what is the unforgivable sin?

According to Mark, it is ascribing to Satan and his demons the works of the Holy Spirit manifested in the ministry of Jesus.

It is not a single act but a habitual action and attitude.

It is the conscious rejection of the “good power of God.”

It represents a perversion of the mind in which God and Satan are willfully confused, a free choice of evil rather than good.

How can this sin be unforgivable if God is always willing to forgive?

Because it has gone beyond the possibility of recovery on the sinner’s part and because God respects the freedom of persons.

It is unrepentable, because the person, having refused so stubbornly to repent, finally becomes unable to repent; evidence is in, and such a one will still reject the truth while knowing it to be true.

That means from the definition it is clear that anyone who believes he or she has committed “the unforgivable sin” could not have done so; a troubled conscience and that kind of sin could never coexist.

The fact that a person feels remorse proves that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has not yet been committed.

John Piper uses this illustration to get the point across.

They are like the buzzard who spots a carcass on a piece of ice floating in the river.

He lands and begins to eat.

He knows it is dangerous because the falls are just ahead.

But he looks at his wings and says to himself, “I can fly to safety in an instant.”

And he goes on eating.

Just before the ice goes over the falls he spreads his wings to fly but his claws are frozen in the ice and there is no escape—neither in this age nor the age to come.

The Spirit of holiness has forsaken the arrogant sinner forever.

The Offer of Grace

Jesus said in verse 28 that “people will be forgiven for all sins and what ever blasphemies they utter.”

That is the offer of grace.

Jesus came to redeem us from the power of the evil one and the sin in our lives.

We just need to believer and repent.

When there is confession and repentance, no sin is beyond God’s forgiveness.

Acts 13:39, “Everyone who believes is justified through him...”—Those who trust in Christ are freed from guilt and declared righteous.

Isaiah 1:18, “ Come, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow—No matter how bad or deep your sinfulness, God can make you clean.

1 John 1:9—If you confess, God will forgive.

Colossians 1:14, “In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. —Jesus’ death covered all your sins.

Let’s Pray