The Point of No Return
Mat 12:22-32
Mat 12:22-32 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. (23) And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" (24) Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." (25) But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. (26) If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? (27) And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. (28) But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. (29) Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. (30) He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. (31) "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. (32) Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
The unpardonable sin. That word is scary, isn’t it? Unpardonable! It’s not something that you normally hear in connection with God, is it? Not today. Our world, our society, our 21st century Christianity doesn’t speak much about “un” anything when it comes to Christianity, for nothing is “un” with God, right? God forgives anything and everything. Many have come to believe that since nothing is impossible with God, and He forgives even the worst of sins, then it just stands to reason that everything is forgivable, and so they go along in their lives thinking that just because they “apologized” to God at some point in their lives, and asked to be forgiven, then they’re good for all eternity. They believe can live however they want, do whatever they wish, hanging onto that past “apology” as if it’s a “Get Out of Hell Free Pass.” They treat God as if He’s a wishy-washy chump they can manipulate with some imagined technicality. Apologize once and you can do whatever you want and it’s all good. There is no need to live a life that demonstrates any sort of change in behavior or thought.
But friends, God is no chump. He’s not wishy-washy in the least. He has given us very specific instructions in how to behave, how to live, and what to believe, and those instructions are found in His Word, the Holy Bible. They are not suggestions, they are commands that we are to live by, and throughout the Bible there are examples of people who failed to live in obedience to God, and their outcome was not good. Nadab and Abihu were consumed with fire, Korah and his followers were swallowed up by the earth, Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt, Sisera had a tent peg hammered through his temple, Absolom was hung from a tree by his hair and killed by sword and spear, Jezebel was tossed out a window and eaten by dogs, and Herod was eaten up with worms.
Folks, when a person decides to live contrary to God’s Word, there will be consequences. Take for example these Pharisees that Jesus was dealing with in our text today. They had been in opposition to His ministry practically from the beginning. They started out asking Him some basic questions to see where He was coming from theologically and philosophically, but as time progressed, their opposition only increased. Jesus wasn’t going to play ball the way they wanted, so their animosity grew. Instead of simply questioning Him, they began to openly oppose Him. Because they could never trap Him in His words, and they always failed miserably when debating Him, so they turned to slander and lies. Twice, Matthew records that they were publicly connecting Him with Satan.
In Matthew, chapter 9, He healed the woman who had been suffering from an issue of blood for 12 years, He raised a synagogue official’s daughter from the dead. He healed 2 blind men and then He freed a mute, demon-possessed man from his demonic tormentors. The crowds who witnessed all of this were amazed and commented that Mat 9:33 …"It was never seen like this in Israel!" But the Pharisees began to spread the rumor around that Mat 9:34 …He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."
At that time, Jesus seems to have just ignored them, but when we get to chapter 12, things change. To the Pharisees, not only did Jesus appear to be unconcerned about strictly following the Sabbath rules that they followed, but He even had the gall to say that He was the Lord of the Sabbath when He said, Mat 12:8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." So then, when He cured another demon-possessed man who was both blind and mute, the crowds began to openly wonder Mat 12:23 …"Could this be the Son of David?"
Now, they phrase that question in this manner because the Pharisees were present. They didn’t want to appear to be supporting Him openly and bring the wrath of the Pharisees down upon their heads, but the idea that Jesus might be the promised Messiah was on many people’s minds. But to the Pharisees, this was like the last straw. They could take it no more. So, they openly and verbally slander Him by saying Mat 12:24 …"This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." And friends, it was at this point that Jesus made a change in how He presented God’s truth to the people.
You see, up until this very arrogant and blasphemous slander against Jesus, His main method of teaching was the use of direct comments and illustrations that were designed to make His point. But after this confrontation, the Lord’s major method of teaching became parables. The Pharisees had resisted and denied His claims from the beginning, but this slander illustrated the depth of their unbelief and the magnitude of their hardened hearts. They were spreading slanderous lies that He was a liar, a fraud, and that He was in league with Satan himself. Any power He had came from the pits of hell and not the throne room of God.
So, from this point on, Jesus taught in parables so that the truth of the kingdom would be revealed to those who belong to it, while at the same time those truths would be hidden from those who did not belong to the kingdom. In the next chapter, when asked why He taught only in parables, Jesus said Mat 13:11 …"Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. The parables were a judgment against the religious leaders of the day Mat 13:13 …because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
There are consequences to unbelief, and if a person continues in that state even after having the truth revealed to him, there will come a time when even that truth will be taken away from them. Mat 13:12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
Oh friend, there are a lot of scary things in the Bible, but to have the truth of God taken away from you has got to be one of the scariest truths. That means there is no possibility for repentance anymore. No possibility for salvation, and this is exactly what Jesus was saying when He warned the Pharisees that they were treading in deep water when He said Mat 12:31-32 Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. (32) Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
The unpardonable sin. Unpardonable. Unforgiveable. The very fact that Jesus gave them this warning shows that He loved even these Pharisees who were slandering Him. They would eventually be the driving force behind sending Him to the cross, but He warned them that they were dangerously close to sealing their own doom. Their words reflected hearts that had turned away from the leading and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. They bordered on utter and final rejection of all of God’s efforts to call them to repentance. If they weren’t there already, they were very close to the point of no return.
Jesus might have walked away from the similar comment they made back in chapter 9 because there are times when arguing doesn’t serve the kingdom of God, but when confrontation would serve the kingdom of God, then Jesus wasn’t shy at all. He confronted them, He warned them, and then He showed them how invalid their accusation was. It was illogical, inconsistent, insurrectionary, and inane.
It was (1) illogical because Mat 12:25 …Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. You know, the devil is a lot of things, but he isn’t stupid. He knows, just like everyone else knows, that fighting against your own interests is a losing endeavor. He cannot stand if he is at war with himself. You fight your enemy, not yourself. That would be like shooting yourself in the foot, which only cowards and fools do.
Their argument was illogical, but it was also (2) inconsistent. It was inconsistent because some of the Pharisees own number practiced exorcism themselves. Jesus said Mat 12:27 …if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
Now, their “sons” could refer to other members of the Pharisaic group, or it could actually mean that some of their own family members were casting out demons. Do you remember the Seven Sons of Sceva in Acts 19? They were Jewish exorcists who tried to use the name of Jesus when they didn’t belong to Jesus. So, when they told a demon to come out of the person Act 19:13 …by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. The demon responded with Act 19:15 …"Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" And then the demon-possessed person proceeded to beat up those 7 brothers.
If Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, then their sons were doing the same thing. But if they weren’t, then neither was Jesus. So, their own family would be their judges.
The Pharisees were illogical, inconsistent, and they were (3) insurrectionary! In other words, they were fighting against God. Jesus said Mat 12:28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. More than once, in one way or another, Jesus told those who were listening that if they didn’t believe His words, then Joh 10:38 …believe the works because the works, or the miracles He was doing were from God and Joh 10:25 …The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.
To say that the source of the Lord’s miracles was the devil was like slapping the face of the Father! It showed that the Pharisees were in direct opposition to what the Father was doing among them. It was insurrection and high treason! All of the miracles the Lord Jesus did were completely opposite to anything the devil would do. The devil brings disease and sickness, but Jesus healed the sick and cured their diseases. The devil would cause filth, but Jesus brought cleansing. The devil would direct storms to bring about destruction, but Jesus calms the storm. The devil brings us sin and condemnation, but Jesus offers us forgiveness and acceptance. The devil brings us death, but Jesus gives us life!
The Pharisees were illogical, inconsistent, insurrectionary, finally they were (4) inane, or stupid, because Mat 12:29 …how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
Everything that Jesus has done demonstrated that He was someone who had power and authority over Satan and was not in subjection to him. You simply cannot rob someone without first incapacitating them in some way, otherwise they will do everything they can to stop you. When Jesus cured the demonized man, He was entering the strong man’s house, putting that demon in chains, and then He began cleaning house. Satan is powerful and his demon friends are strong as well, but the Lord Jesus Christ is stronger than all the hosts of hell combined.
And friends, there is no other name under heaven whereby men can be saved! You either believe in Him and receive His promise of eternal salvation, or you are a friend of the enemy of God and man. When it comes to Jesus Christ there is no such thing as neutrality. You are either with Him or against Him. You belong to God, or you belong to Satan. There is no middle ground because Christ Himself said Mat 12:30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
Now you may be a fine citizen. You may be nice and polite and give to the poor and feed the hungry, but if you don’t stand with Jesus, then you will fall with the devil. You are for Him, or you are for the enemy. Bob Dylan was singing God’s truth when he sang, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody. You’re gonna have to serve somebody. Well it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody!” And that is the truth that the Lord stated here. So, which is it going to be? Which is it for you?
You know, many times I have said that it doesn’t matter what you have done, God will forgive if you come to Him in repentance and faith—and that is true. There is nothing in this world that you can do which is unforgivable. Even someone as wicked and evil as Hitler could have been saved, though I suspect that he is an example of Romans, chapter 1 where God gave him over to his sin. But if he had not yet reached the point of no return, then even he could have been saved by God’s grace if he would have turned to Him.
Anything in this world can be forgiven, but there is one thing in the spiritual realm—or the realm of the heart that will never be forgiven, and that is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes who railroaded Jesus and got Him sentenced to die could have been saved had they come to their senses and repented. Pilate who passed judgment on Jesus to pacify the Jews could have been saved had he repented. The soldiers who whipped Him, beat Him, and then nailed Him to the cross could have been forgiven had they repented. No matter how severe the sin, it can be forgiven because Jesus prayed for them and for you, Luk 23:34 …"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." So, the degree of sin does not take a person out of the realm of possibility of being forgiven.
Nor does the volume of sin end the possibility of being forgiven. The old man or woman who has lived their entire life fighting against God and being in the grips of the devil can be forgiven and made brand new toward the end of their earthly life just as easily as a child who has not lived nearly as long nor sinned as much.
Nor does a particular kind of sin knock someone out of the running for forgiveness. David was an adulterer who manipulated circumstances and intentionally caused a woman’s husband to die so that he could continue in that adulterous relationship. He was forgiven when he repented and is still known as a man who was after God’s own heart. The sinful woman in Galilee (Luk 7) crashed a dinner party and anointed the Lord with perfume, washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair was forgiven of her many sins.
Paul who persecuted Christians was forgiven. Even the many we read of in the first letter to the Corinthians, the 1Co 6:9-11 …fornicators, …idolaters, …adulterers, …homosexuals, …sodomites, (10) …thieves, …covetous, …drunkards, …revilers, …extortioners can be forgiven and will inherit the kingdom of God. And get this… (11) And such were some of you.
Such were some of you! None of these things are blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, so, all of them can be forgiven. But what is it that cannot be forgiven? Defiant irreverence—speaking against what the Holy Spirit has done or is doing. This is exactly what the Pharisees did. They saw the mighty works of God among them. They were jealous. So, they told everyone that the mighty works of God were works of the devil.
I mean, think about what they had done! The Holy Spirit had done everything He could to make these people stop and think—to make them begin to question what they did or why they thought along certain lines. But time and time again, they hardened their hearts. They willfully and deliberately turned from Jesus and plotted His murder. They poo pooed the work of God and claimed it was the Devil’s doing.
Continually going down this sinful path is unforgivable because that path is not one that leads to pardon, but to damnation, it leads to hell. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the result of the gradual progression of sin. It first begins with grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30), which then leads to resisting the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51), which if this continues will result in quenching the Holy Spirit (1Th 5:19), and then ultimately results in a seared conscience (1Tim 4:2).
Friends, sin, no matter how great or small, is always a serious business and should be taken seriously because its desire is to take over your life and lead you into hell. And if you want to know what the solution to sin is Psa 95:7,8 ...Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts…
Do not harden your heart! Listen to the Holy Spirit when He speaks, and if He is speaking to you today, then right now is the time to act. Don’t put it off and risk a seared conscience. Turn to Him today—turn to Him right now! 2Co 6:2 …Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Invitation…
