Mark 3:28-30

Passage

Jesus teaches that all sins can be forgiven among humanity – even the most serious of insults.  However, those who insult the Holy Spirit shall never have forgiveness.  Such people will be guilty for an eternal sin.  Jesus was accusing them of blaspheming because while Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit they were saying the He had an evil spirit.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus starts with a really neat point.  There is nothing that we do to one another that cannot be forgiven.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that everything we do will be forgiven.  But it does mean that everything we do can be forgiven.  If we are repentant, God can forgive anything we do to one another and ourselves.

How neat is it to realize that nothing we do to one another is too big to be forgiven?  Why is this an important realization?

Second Thought:

Jesus does tell us that there is an unforgiveable sin.  When we bring a grave insult to the Holy Spirit we will not be forgiven.  People often call this blaspheming, for that is the Greek word used here in this passage.  Blaspheming means bringing a grave insult to, speaking abusively towards, or making a mockery of someone or something.  Thus, what Jesus is teaching us is that we are not to insult God, speak abusively of God, of mock God.  When we do those things, forgiveness is not assured.  Forgiveness is not assured, of course, because it is hard to be genuinely repentant and participating in such behavior.

How does it feel to know just how seriously God takes our offenses against Him?  What impact does this teaching have on the way we live and how we talk about God?

Third Thought:

Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Yet the Jewish religious leaders did not see it.  They did not recognize the Holy Spirit.  Their minds were closed to what God was doing in Jesus Christ.  So they determined that He must have an evil spirit within Him.  Literally, they took what was of God – literally was God, even – and called it evil.  This is a pretty serious mistake.

How easy is it to miss what God is doing in our lives?  Just because we miss God’s work, does that mean we’re guilty of blaspheming?  How can we live so that we are not guilty of blaspheming against God when we do miss what He is trying to do in our lives?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 3:31-35