God has a deadline. He has a sign that says “Do not cross”. If you do, you will not be able to make it back! You can become so taken up in sin that you can no longer be forgiven. There is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that cannot be forgiven. How does this balance against the fact that the Bible tells us that God forgives all sins? See Psalm 103:2, Ephesians 1:7 & 1 John 1:9. God is a God of forgiveness but you can go so far that you meet a point of no forgiveness.

1 – The amazement (vs. 22-23)

Here is a miracle that we are told in little detail. The man was delivered from a demon. The healing was followed by astonishment. They were dumbfounded by this miracle. They could not believe what Jesus Christ has done. The man could not hear or speak and controlled by a demon. Jesus shows his authority over the demon world. This is a picture of the Millennial Kingdom to come. There will be no sickness or demon possession then. If you need a miracle then Jesus is the miracle worker. They thought this was the “Son of David”. They realised that Jesus must be the Messiah. It is amazing what Christ can do.

2 – The accusation (vs. 24)

The rejection of Jesus has started and the Pharisees are looking for ways to destroy Jesus. The Pharisees are scared when the people begin to associate Jesus with the Messiah. They accuse Jesus of doing his miracles in the power of Beelzebub. It was the vilest thing the Pharisees could say. Beelzebub is the patron god of the Philistines. He was also known as “Lord of the Flies”. He was the god of filth and stench – who brought life out of death. To the Jewish people this was revolting.

3 – The answer to the accusation (vs. 25-30)

Jesus knew their thoughts. He blasts their accusation out of the water.

• He asks how a kingdom against itself can stand. If Satan casts out his own demons then he is undermining his kingdom.
• The Pharisees had their own people who were casting out demons. Jesus asks what power they are doing it in. People who don’t want to believe the truth will accept anything else. They were looking at the kingdom of God yet did not believe.
• Jesus makes the point that it requires a stronger man to cast a strong man out. The Kingdom of God is required to cast out Satan. Jesus makes it clear that whoever is not with Him is against Him. There are only two roads.

4 – The sin of no forgiveness (vs. 31-32)

It is a sin against the Holy Spirit. It is not a moral or sexual sin. You can be forgiven for any of those sins. It is not some verbal sin. It is not some sin you have thought. You can blaspheme Jesus and be forgiven. You can’t blaspheme the Holy Spirit and be forgiven. This sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is stating that Jesus did His miracles by the power of the devil.

Jesus had performed a great miracle of creation, involving both healing and casting out a demon, but the Pharisees rejected this clear witness of the Holy Spirit. Instead they attributed His powers to Satan, thus demonstrating an attitude permanently resistant to the Spirit, and to the deity and saving Gospel of Christ.

Categories: Matthew