Matthew 12:22-32
Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.” He knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
This is a fairly complex exchange to describe, more or less, that the tension between the Pharisees and Jesus is mounting significantly.
The scene repeats and intensifies almost blow for blow an earlier scene from Matthew 9:32-34. Jesus again casts a demon from someone who is mute (and now blind), the crowds are again amazed (and this time wonder if he is “the Son of David,” likely a messianic title), and the Pharisees again charge that he does this only because he is in league with the demons (this time naming Beelzebul, prince of the demons).
All of this repetition and intensification provides Jesus with the opportunity to rebut the charges against him, on both logical and spiritual grounds. Jesus first suggests that the Pharisees’ charge makes no logical sense, as – in the phrase made famous by Lincoln – “a house divided cannot stand.” That is, if he is using the power of demons to defeat demons then the whole world of demonic power must be crumbling as it has turned against itself. Moreover, Jesus asks, what of the exorcisms the Pharisees perform? Are they also demonstrations of demonic power? Jesus counter-charges that his opponents are employing a double-standard and he’ll have none of it.
Of greater import, however, is Jesus’ spiritual defense, as he asserts again that he is not only from God but also that he is doing God’s work and therefore those who oppose him are opposing God. One is either for him or against him. There is no in-between, no fence-sitting, no neutral ground when it comes to one’s attitude toward Jesus.
This section culminates in Jesus’ ambiguous pronouncement about sinning against the Holy Spirit. Not that he’s ambiguous about the disastrous result of such sins but rather about the nature and content of that sin. In other words, what exactly is the sin against the Holy Spirit? I would suspect that to not believe in Jesus is just that sin…except that he says that many will sin against the Son of Man and will be forgiven. Ultimately, I just don’t know. Which makes me think that perhaps its best to fall back on the wisdom shared with me once a long time ago by an elder in the faith: if you’re at all worried about sinning against the Holy Spirit, you probably haven’t committed it!
Prayer: Dear God, we will meet all kinds of people with all kinds of beliefs and commitments in this life. Let us treat each with the love and respect we have known in you and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Recent Comments