Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 12:31-50)

(Jesus’ final months of earthly ministry)

April 20, 2021

Question to be answered in this study

1. What is the sin of blasphemy?
2. Who commits the sin of blasphemy?
3. Is speaking slandering words against the Holy Spirit the unpardonable sin?
4. Is there a point of no return or no hope as far as salvation is concerned?
5. Can a person lose their salvation?
6. What is the difference in daily sins and those sins that affect our position in Christ or cause separation or lostness?
7. What is considered the half way point thematically in the gospel of Matthew?
8. Why did Jesus condemn the whole nation of Israel on the declaration of its leaders who accused Jesus of being Satan’s helper
9. What did Jesus mean when He stretched out His hand to the disciples and said behold my mother and brethren?

Introduction

Jesus sums up His dealing with the Pharisees and moves into a new theme, the presentation of the gospel; this is now done without performing miracles to prove He is the Messiah. He continues to perform miricles and heal the sick but only for their sake:

Matthew 12:31-32, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

Since Jesus has been dealing with the Pharisees throughout the gospel of Matthew, are they, in context, the ones who committed the sin of blasphemy? Is the unpardonable sin unbelief in general? Was it speaking profane things against the Holy Spirit? Some teenagers mock the Holy Spirit in videos on YouTube and then say, “I have committed the unpardonable sin and therefore cannot be forgiven.” They do not understand what this sin is.

Here is a general definition of blasphemy: blasphemy is diminishing or slandering God’s work, words, or character, which could be something as familiar as taking God’s name in vain; however, what Jesus is suggesting is a different application from the normal. He is talking about rejecting the Holy Spirit’s invitation for salvation. Have you ever come to the point in your life that you decided on something and then burnt the bridges behind you to never change your mind? That was the position of these Pharisees. Their minds were set concerning Jesus. Even though the Holy Spirit had made the position of Jesus as straightforward as possible, they refused to believe primarily to protect their place of authority over the people. They committed the unpardonable sin.

Notice in verse 31: Jesus says, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” There is a point of no return; when a person passes a deadline where the Holy Spirit no longer deals with them, and their soul is doomed. They have committed the unpardonable sin of rejecting the invitation of the Holy Spirit to be a citizen of heaven through faith in Christ. Genesis 6:3 (KJV) says something about God’s program in dealing with man. “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man….”  

Here is another case in point where some have crossed God’s deadline: Hebrews 6:4-8 (KJV), “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.”

It is first necessary to understand that Paul is referring to two different groups of people. The first group of people mentioned is the false professors, and the second group is the true believers. The first group is those who had heard and tasted the truth presented to them by the Holy Spirit and had seen the benefits of a believer from God’s Word but ultimately turned away. They had rejected the invitation of the Holy Spirit and gone their own way. There could be several reasons for their rejection: One reason is, they may have been ostracized by their family and friends for showing an interest in Christianity. So, they decided it was too much to give up and therefore decided to return to Judaism. God knew the hearts of these, and He knew they had made their final decision; so, He gave them up. They had passed the point of no return. Then there were the true believers who the author of Acts says he was persuaded better things of them.

Those who commit the sin of blasphemy no longer have an interest in spiritual things. To talk to them about spiritual things is a waste of time. In Romans 11:7-11 (KJV), Paul addresses the condition of the Pharisees and Israel’s rejection of the kingdom: “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.”

On the other hand, here is Paul’s message to those who genuinely believe: Colossians 2:13 (KJV), “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.” Paul is talking about past, present, and future sins. Once saved, you can’t lose your salvation. Why then is it necessary to confess our sins daily according to the model prayer? Our daily sins have nothing to do with our position in Christ, only with our relationship with Him. We can break our relationship with Jesus by a lifestyle of sin or by not confessing our sins. The Bible is clear on our position in Jesus: In Col. 2:14 (KJV), we read, “…having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Furthermore, Paul says in Rom. 8:1 (KJV), “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Matthew now explains the difference between those who believe and the unbelievers:

Matthew 12:33-35, ither make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.”

Using a metaphor, Jesus begins by saying there is two kinds of people, those who are good and those who are bad, and you know the difference by the fruit they bear. It is the matter of the heart. A born-again person has a change of heart from which comes a good treasure or good words and deeds, and from the heart of the unregenerate comes forth evil things or evil words and deeds. Of course, this is speaking in the general sense; we know that all unbelievers are not bad people who do evil things; yet they are lost sinners.

Now, Jesus declares the end of the Kingdom offer, and He now condemns this generation of Israel for having lost the Kingdom:

Matthew 12:36-37, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

Jesus declared that the words they uttered identifies them as a partner with Satan. Ironically, next, the Pharisees demand Jesus grants them yet another sign after they had already witnessed the miracles that had never been done in the history of Israel:

Matthew 12:38-42, “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”

At this point, we have reached the halfway point thematically and chronologically in the Gospel of Matthew, although chapter 14 is the middle systematically. It has taken us about a year to get here. There is a marked change between chapters 12 and 13 as we will see as we enter chapter 13.

Jesus responds to the request of the Pharisees by speaking against the entire generation of Israel, not just these Pharisaical leaders. Why did Jesus condemn the whole nation on the declaration of its leaders who accused Jesus of being Satan’s helper? Because they believed the leaders over Jesus. As a response to the Pharisees’ request for a sign, Jesus says, “…an evil and adulterous generation craves or seeks for a sign.” It was not wrong to seek after a sign; it was the attitude of the Pharisees who had already declared that Jesus was working under the power of Satan, denying He was the Son of God, the promised Messiah.

Jesus says the only sign He will offer this generation from this point onward is the sign of Jonah, which was a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the gospel. The Lord has been performing sign after sign after sign to prove Himself to Israel. Jesus’ miracles were referred to as Messianic miracles because no one else could ever perform these kinds of miracles. He taught with authority, healed multitudes, multiplied fish and loaves, walked on water, etc. The signs had been many and before multitudes.

From this point forward, Jesus no longer performs miracles to prove Himself the Messiah. It was no longer necessary to perform signs to convince Israel He was the Messiah, for Israel had rejected Him and His kingdom.

Once again Jesus uses a metaphor to describe a person who returns to a past condition and is once again enslaved by demons:

Matthew 12:43-45, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.”

Only true salvation frees a man from the slavery of sin and demon control; It is like if you take a pig from the wallow and clean him up and put a pretty bow on him, but he is not contented, and the first chance he gets he will return to the wallow from whence he came. His nature was not changed.

Jesus now talks about the Christian relationship:

Matthew 12:46-50, “While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 48But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

In these verses, Jesus is proclaiming the Christian state in which we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. By the way, that is the way it will be in heaven, one substantial loving family. Next study we move into Chapter 13 and we will notice right off that Jesus is entering a new approach, the propagation of the gospel, and He is no longer confronting the Pharisees: