Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit

Mark 3:22-35

“And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.” (Mark 3:22)

Jesus teaching had challenged several of the things the scribes and Pharisees were teaching as fact,and the vast numbers flocking to hear him instead of coming to hear them was bothering them.  They began to look for some accusation they could make that would discredit him, somewhat like what we saw with the presidential election campaign just past, with accusations being made without concern for whether they were true.    They accused Jesus of casting out demons by satanic power.

“And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.  No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.” (Mark 3:23-27)

Jesus responded to their claims, starting with a series of illustrations.  As he pointed out, a nation involved in a civil war is vulnerable to attacks by other countries, and a family that is fighting among themselves is likely to lose their business to outsiders.   In the same way, if Satan were fighting against himself, he would weaken his ability to seize control.  The only way to rob a strong man is to some way prevent him from using his strength effectively, by tying him up or forcing him to focus on more than one enemy.   The only way to defeat Satan is to overcome his power in some way. 

“Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.” (Mark 3:28-30)

By claiming Jesus’s power came from Satan, the scribes were blaspheming the Holy Spirit, claiming what he was doing was satanic.   It is important to understand that either to credit satanic actions to the Holy
Spirit, or to credit the Holy Spirit’s actions to Satan is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that will not be forgiven.  We need to make sure the gifts of the Holy Spirit really came from him, and the things we think are satanic really are.  It is easy to judge wrongly.  I john 4:1-8 gives instructions on how to test whether the spirits are from God or not. 

“There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.  And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.

And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?  And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!  For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)

Several groups have held that Mary never had other children.  The scripture is clear, that she had several.  The people in the region knew who they were.   Others have put a lot of focus on Mary as having special spiritual importance.  Jesus stresses that everyone who serves God is just as much his family as Mary and his physical siblings.  All Mary did was obey God, and that is all anyone else has to do.