In the sermon 'Could This Be the Son of David,' Jason Dohm discusses Jesus' healing of a demon-possessed, blind, and mute man, as recounted in Matthew 12. This miracle leads the multitudes to question whether Jesus is the Son of David, the promised Messiah. The Pharisees, however, accuse Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons. Jesus refutes their claim by explaining that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, and suggests that if he casts out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon them. The sermon further explores the concept of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, emphasizing that it involves defiantly opposing the work of God against knowledge imparted by the Spirit. Dohm underscores the importance of acknowledging Jesus as the Son of David, as this recognition determines one's eternal destiny. He also highlights the role of the Holy Spirit in testifying to Jesus Christ and warns against the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Spirit.

Matthew chapter 12 beginning in verse 22. 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. And all the multitude were amazed and said, Could this be the son of David? Now when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. 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.

If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

For 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. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 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.

Either make the tree good in its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers, how can you being evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouse speaks. A good man out of the good treasures of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasures brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned father God may you give an extra anointing of your Holy Spirit to Jason as he comes to preach today Lord that the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart may be pleasing and acceptable unto you in Christ's name.

Amen. Please be seated. A A man has been brought to a pitiable state. My guess is that as a young man, he started overriding his conscience and doing what he knew he shouldn't do. His conscience was sharp at first, but it dulled.

He seared it. And he was suppressing the truth and unrighteousness, just like Romans 1 says. And it just got easier and easier and easier to run over his conscience. To the point where he didn't even know what was right anymore. In any event, his foolish heart was darkened, also hearkening to Roman's wand.

And finally this man was given completely over to the enemy. And at some point, his vision was taken away. He couldn't see anymore. And the functioning of his tongue completely ceased. And he couldn't talk anymore.

And here was this man, most likely suffering from self-inflicted wounds, but really deep wounds. And he was in darkness, and he was in silence. And that wasn't the worst of it, because he had become a host for the enemy of souls. And he was tormented in this. Maybe he was the host for one.

Maybe he was the host For many demons. And the text doesn't say whether he was like this for just a year. Think about that. Just a year to be in this condition. To be blind, to be mute, to be tormented.

Or maybe it was a couple of years, or maybe it was a decade, or maybe it was more. We don't know. But what we know is this man's been brought to a state where you just pity him. Even if he's done it to himself, even if he's deserved everything that comes upon him, you can only think about this blind and mute man and pity him. Everything's been stripped away from this man.

He doesn't have hardly anything. But he does have some people for whatever reason who still care about him. Maybe, Maybe they remembered happier times when he could still see and when he could still talk. And they love him. And they've heard some things that make them think that there might be hope for this man.

And so they bring him to Jesus. And Jesus instantaneously, instantaneously with just a word, is able to heal him. And the darkness is lifted. He can see again. And the silence is broken.

Not that he couldn't hear. He could always hear. But he couldn't say anything himself. And he breaks the silence with his own tongue for the first time in how long. And this is just another guess.

A lot of this is just a guess. But My guess is he used his tongue to praise God. God should be glorified when something like this happens. He should be lifted up and praised from the rooftops when something like this happens. And the crowd knows it.

The multitudes, the text says, they're amazed. And in Luke 11, where we have the parallel text, it says that they marveled at what was unfolding in front of their eyes. These people are witnessing an outpouring of grace. That's what it is. A man is bound up.

He is a prisoner in his own body. He's been taken captive by the enemy. And Jesus with a word in an instant heals him. And Not only can he see, not only can he speak, but he's free. He's free for the first time in a long time.

God has poured out his grace. In chapter 11, when John the Baptist sends two disciples to ask Jesus, are you the coming one or should we wait for another? Jesus performs very similar miracles right there on the spot, right there in front of them, and says, go back and tell John what you see. The deaf hear, the mute speak, the blind see, and good news is preached to the poor. Knowing that John would be able to complete the sentence.

That nothing else was needed for these disciples but to say the signs of the kingdom coming, the signs of the Messiah being in your presence are happening one after another after another. We keep coming back to this point, but this is not a felt-board man and a felt-board Jesus. This is a three-dimensional story with a man who was really in bondage, and Jesus really made him free. This is what Jesus does. It might seem a little more dramatic because there's demons and there's blindness and there's a tongue that won't function.

You understand that this is just a picture. And on the outside of the external things, of the miracle that Jesus does over and over and over and over and over and over again when his kingdom advances because he sets someone free. This is just a picture. Just outward things. Who cares about your eyes?

Pluck out your eyes. In eternity, your eyes mean nothing. Who cares about your tongue if it works or if it doesn't work? Your soul will live forever, and Jesus sets people free. Let's pray over the text.

Father, how easy it is to get cold to these texts. You set people free. You take people who are blind, who are mute, who are bound up in the control of the enemy and you liberate. You bring sight. You put praises on lips.

We thank you, God, that we can have our faith strengthened by being in these texts that Show us that you're a God who is able to do anything and that you're full of mercy. All wrapped up into the same text. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your ability to do anything at any time. Anything that is according to your good pleasure you just do because you are God.

We praise you. We pray that you would help us with this text, in Jesus' name. Amen. Verses 22 through 30. Then one was brought to him who was demon possessed, blind, mute.

And he healed him so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the son of David? Now when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. 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.

If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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? He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad." The multitudes have seen the miracle and they are amazed. Luke says they marvel and they ask the question and it's the right question. Could this be the son of David? Could this be the promised Messiah, the promised Redeemer?

Because the things that are supposed to happen when the Son of David comes are happening. Could this be him? And this is the question that settles the eternal destiny of everyone in the story. Of all the multitudes, of all the Pharisees, of the man who was before him who had been blind and who had been mute. This is the question that settles your eternal destiny.

To understand whether this could be the promised son of David or whether it isn't. You remember just in the last chapter, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum. And they were blessed with the ministry, with the preaching, and with the works, and with the example, the life of Jesus Christ. And this was a blessing, but you'd almost have to say it was a mixed blessing, wouldn't you? Because These cities that were the beneficiaries of Jesus' ministry couldn't just take or leave Jesus without consequences.

And so Jesus actually pronounces judgment on these cities. And he says it will be more tolerable for Tyre and for Sidon and for Sodom on the Day of Judgment than it will be for these cities because they've been given much. So much is required of them. So it's wonderful that Jesus is in Galilee and he's doing miracles and he's preaching perfect sermons. That's wonderful.

But it's light to walk by. And you can't just be given these means of grace, time after time after time, like to walk by. And then just say, I'm not walking by that light. Because there's a responsibility that is given with the gift of grace that is being shown to all these people. The crowds see the miracle and they're uncertain.

They're asking this. They're not asserting that it's the son of David. They're asking, could this be the son of David? But the Pharisees aren't like that. The Pharisees have a ready answer to the question.

They're not prepared to see a fellow Israelite liberated from demon possession, given his sight back, given the functionality of his tongue back, able to speak again, and to praise God and say a good thing has happened. Praise God for the work of His Spirit among us. They're not prepared to say that. But they do recognize that a response to this question, could this be the son of David, is necessary. It's necessary that people decide the answer to that question.

And this is not lost on the Pharisees. And that's why they make a pronouncement. The teachings and the works of Jesus Christ demand a verdict. Once you know what He's done, once you know what He's said, it demands a verdict. Is He the Son of David?

Is He the promised Messiah and Redeemer? Or is he not? And the Pharisees answered this way, this fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. Some translations, the prince of the demons, The head demon. The Pharisees are faced with authentic verifiable miracles.

Did you know this guy? Yeah. Was he blind? Yes. Was he mute?

Yes. Is he blind now? No. Is he mute now? No.

You can ask his mom and dad. You can ask his neighbors. You can ask his friends. And so the works aren't in question. Can't be in question.

They're authentic works. They're verifiable works. And so do they say to Jesus, Jesus, you're teaching falsely. We've heard of what you said about the Ten Commandments. And that has some eschatical problems.

You're using that text wrong. That's not what they say. Do they say, Jesus, you don't keep the law. You're not living according to God's pattern. They tried that earlier in the chapter.

And he exposes the fact that they really didn't understand the law about the Sabbath. And so they don't come back with more exegetical challenges about the meaning of the Bible, of the Word of God. But they come from a different angle. They don't say, Jesus, these are fake miracles. He's a plant.

He's a plant. That was never a blind guy. That was never a mute guy because they can't do that. They're not able to do that. There's too many witnesses who could say, oh yes, he was a blind guy.

Yes, he was a mute man. Ten minutes ago. An hour ago. A day ago. And so they come and they suggest that Jesus has struck an unholy alliance.

That He's partnered up with Satan to do these miracles. Ironically, this is exactly, well not exactly, but this is what Satan proposed in large part in chapter 3. The third of the temptations, he takes him up on an exceedingly high mountain. He shows him the whole world and he says, I'll give you all this if you'll just worship me. And Jesus vanishes him at that point.

Jesus would never have any part in anything remotely like this. But this is what they're accusing him of. And it's not the first time that they've accused him of it. In Matthew 9 verses 32 through 34, we already covered this. As they went out, behold, they brought to him a man, mute and demon possessed.

Sounds familiar. And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. Sounds familiar. And the multitudes marveled, sounds familiar, saying, It was never seen like this in Israel. But the Pharisees said, he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.

Sounds very familiar. And maybe Jesus answered them at that time and Matthew didn't record it. But in any event, we haven't heard Jesus' response to this charge yet. In both accounts in Matthew 9 and in Matthew 12, if you read it carefully, you get the gist. And the gist is that the Pharisee's response is in response to the wonder of the crowd.

To the acclaim that has been given to Jesus. The crowd's marvel, the crowd's wonder. In Matthew 9 it says that the multitude said, it was never seen like this in Israel. And the Pharisees are unhappy about that. And their response is the response to that.

Think back to chapter 6. Jesus is teaching on three religious practices. He's teaching on the giving of charitable deeds. He's teaching on prayer. He's teaching on fasting.

And in every case he says, Don't do your charitable deeds like the hypocrites. They only want to be seen by men. Don't do your prayers like the hypocrites. They only want to be seen by men. Don't do your fasting like those hypocrites.

They only want to be seen by men. He's talking about these men. They're the hypocrites. They're the ones who wear the mask, who do the religious practices. And the reason that they do them is for the praise of men.

They want to be applauded by their neighbors. And so when Jesus comes and does authentic works of the Spirit. And the crowds are marveling, are wondering at Jesus, are saying, it's never seen, it was never seen like this in Israel. The Pharisees are green with envy. Here's what we read in 1 Samuel 18, verses 7 and 8.

So the women sang as they danced, and they said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him. And he said, they have ascribed to David 10, 000s, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom? Now what more can David have but the kingdom?

Saul should have been happy that they were ascribing thousands to him, but he was being ascribed less than David. And he wants to keep his hands on the kingdom. And this is exactly what is happening in Matthew 12. These men have essentially been handed the position of honor in Israel and they're not about to give it up, not even to the Messiah. In Matthew 9, either the response isn't recorded or Jesus is silent.

But he's not silent in Matthew 12. And this time Jesus answers the absurdity of their verdict to the question could this be the son of David. And he gives them two options, only two options. And he closes the door on any other potential options. So that's it.

Jesus narrows the playing field. A or B. One or two. It is one of these things when you see this happening. It's the work of Satan as you say, or it's the work of the Spirit of God.

It can be nothing else. When a blind man can see, when a mute man can speak, When demons are cast out of someone, it's either the work of Satan as they said it was, or it's the work of the Spirit of God. There is no third option. So Jesus examines Option A, Option 1. It says they say it's a work of the devil that's been done.

And he calls to mind a universal principle that he knows they have to acknowledge and that's this that whether it's a kingdom or a city or a house, if you're divided against yourself, you're brought to desolation. The NASB and the ESB says, is laid waste. You're laid waste. You're brought to desolation. You're ruined if you're divided against yourself.

And he's building his argument on this premise. What they've witnessed is a work of destruction of the Kingdom of Darkness. That's what they've witnessed. The presupposition is that the devil's kingdom has been harmed, has been set back by what has happened. Now Calvin, in his commentary, talks about Catholic exorcists.

And he says, In that instance, the kingdom of Satan isn't harmed. In other words, there are instances where the devil will play dead. If his kingdom is not harmed. But Jesus is saying, you saw it. A man who was bound up is free.

A blind man sees. A mute man speaks. And then he says this in verse 27, and if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges." So Jesus counters with a question. Okay, If I'm working in conjunction with the Elzebub, who are your sons, who are your disciples casting out demons in the name of?

Let them be your judges. Now, either at this point they have to say, oh, our sons don't do that. Our disciples don't do that. The blind stay blind in our ministry. The mute stay mute in our ministry.

There's no deliverance from demon possession in our ministry. That's not a very compelling answer. Or they have to say, well it's a work of God. Oh, when I do it, It's by the Elzebub, but when your disciples do it, it's a work of the Spirit of God. On what basis?

Is it my teaching? Is it my keeping of the law? Is it the other works that I do? In Acts 19, we get a view into the Jewish practice of exorcism. So Jesus wasn't the only one engaging in this type of activity.

In Acts 19, 13-17 we get the account of the seven sons of Siva. And it says that there were exorcists going around saying, we exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. And in this account in Acts 19, these seven sons, these exorcists, say this to a demon possessed man. And the demon possessed man says, Jesus I know, Paul I know, who are you? And then he beats them and takes their clothes and sends them out into the streets.

Now the implication of this is that Paul is actually doing in his ministry what these Jewish exorcists are pretending to doing in their own. Otherwise, why would they take up the name of Paul and Jesus? If their practice of exorcism is going so swimmingly, Then why are they saying this? We exercise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. Because there's an authentic manifestation here that they're trying to replicate.

And We've already encountered this in the book of Matthew, in Matthew chapter 7. Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? Have we not cast out demons in your name? Have we not done many wonders in your name? And what does Jesus say?

Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. So we know there will be a counterfeit of this. Jesus has already said it. And by the way, in Matthew 7, that is preceded by instructions about how to identify false prophets, by their fruits. So it's not just the work, it's the worker that has to be examined in this.

And Jesus is open to the examination, Knowing that his words will stand the test, his life will stand the test, his other works will stand the test. So the point isn't that exorcism can never be attempted falsely. That's not the point that Jesus is making. The point is that Jesus obviously isn't attempting it falsely, because he passes his own test. He's already set the ground for the debate.

A tree is known by its fruit. And We're coming to that again, but that's in Matthew 7. So option one was, it's as you say, it's done by Satan. And he's deconstructed that. Now option two is, It is the work of the Spirit of God.

Verse 28, but if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. If it is this second option, and what you've seen before your eyes is A work, a genuine work of the Spirit of God, it means something. It means that the Kingdom of God is upon you. And we're back to what the crowds have been saying. Could this be the son of David?

Because the son of David means something. It's a meaningful term to the audience. The son of David was one who would come and assume the throne of his father. And it would be given an everlasting kingdom. And Jesus is saying, you're witnessing the establishment of the everlasting kingdom of the Son of David.

Now Jesus begins to talk about the strong man and his goods. So if this is option two, a work of the Spirit of God, consider a strong man and his goods. And Jesus describes a strong enemy. And he says, if you've got a strong enemy, how can you get it the goods of his house? Unless you overpower him.

And that is the operative question that Jesus once considered. If there is a strong man, how do you get at his goods unless you overpower him? Now here is the parallel passage in Luke 11. And it gives us a little more than Matthew does, Luke 11, 21, and 22. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, His goods are in peace.

But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils. So Matthew has condensed as Matthew likes to do. But Luke gives a more full account of exactly what Jesus said during this time. And the strength of the enemy is more pronounced. Matthew calls him a strong man.

Luke says, yes, he's a strong man. He's a fully armed strong man and he's on guard. He's guarding his palace. So this is what you face when you have a demon possessed man. You have a strong man, he's fully armed and he's guarding his possession.

So the strength of the enemy is more pronounced in Luke and so is the humiliation of the enemy. The strong man comes upon him and overcomes him. He takes from him all his army in which he trusted. He just overpowers the strong, fully armed, on guard enemy and he strips off his armor and takes his stuff. That's how Jesus describes it in an expanded way in Luke 11.

So in this chapter, Jesus has said, I'm greater than the temple. In this chapter, Jesus has said, I'm the Lord of the Sabbath. And now Jesus says, I'm stronger than the strongman. That strongman guarding his palace, fully armed, on guard, I overpower him. I take his armor away.

I plunder all of his goods. And Then Jesus closes the section by saying this in verse 30. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. Jesus has cast this as a conflict between kingdoms in which there is not one inch of neutral ground. There's no DMZ.

There's no demilitarized zone. It's all militarized. It's just a razor thin line with no neutral territory. It is either with me or against me. It's one or the other.

And so you pick your strong man. And the implication is that these Pharisees have picked their strong man, and it's not Jesus Christ. Here's an implication from this that we cannot miss. You do not unwittingly stumble into the service of the King of Kings. No man or woman or child has ever unwittingly stumbled into the kingdom, into the service of the king.

There is a line to be crossed to be with him. And The knee must bow, the tongue must confess, and then you must take up your cross and follow. And none of this is to our praise. When this happens, this is all the gift of God. Repentance is a gift of God.

Faith is a gift of God. So boasting is excluded. I'm not saying that there's any room of boasting here. But there is a line. And you've got to get over that line to be in the kingdom of God.

And you don't stumble over it and not know it. You bow your knee. You confess with your tongue. Verse 31 and 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.

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. My opening comment on this section is that there's been over 2, 000 years of debate and uncertainty over these two verses and I'm not able to cure it in 15 minutes. I'm willing, but I'm not able. And so I want to lower expectations that I will solve all the mysteries of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and the Unforgivable Sam.

Ryle says that it's easier to know what it isn't than to know what it is. And I've found that to be very true this week. I think there are some clear things that we can know and the rest is shrouded in mystery. And I can't help that. And I can't solve that.

But we'll talk about the things that are clear and that we can know from this text and the ones that are related to it. Here's where we have to start. With one single exception, every sin will be forgiven. Obviously this isn't universalism, right? We're not saying that every sin that every person does will be forgiven.

We're saying that every type of sin, every kind of sin will be forgiven. Murder is a sin. There will be people who have murdered who will be forgiven of their murder. Adultery is a sin. There are people who have committed adultery who will be forgiven of their sin.

Lying is a sin. There are people who have lied who will be forgiven of their sin. Unbelief is a great sin. Maybe the most common of all sins, there are people who have not believed who will be forgiven of their sin because of the mercy of God. Oh, the mercy of God in these two verses.

If you look at these two verses and you start anywhere else other than every sin except this one single one will be forgiven and you don't take time to marvel. You've not done the right thing in these verses. The abundant mercy of God is on display in these two verses. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9 through 11. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will enter the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. And such were some of you. But you were washed.

But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." There's this list. There won't be any murderers in heaven, but there will be some ex-murderers. Not ax-murderers. No, there might be ax-murderers too.

Ex-murderers. There won't be any thieves in heaven, but there will be axe thieves. There won't be extortioners, but there will be axe extortioners. Because you can be washed of all these sins. You can be washed.

If God would be pleased to put His hand upon you, all kinds of sin will be forgiven in spite of the fact that one sin, one time is enough to throw you into hell, and God would be just to do it. He is holy. He is holy. We don't understand the rigor of the law because we don't understand the holiness of God. It is good and right for a person to be thrown into hell for one sin.

And yet, think of all the breaths of sins that you've ever committed. And how many times you've committed them. And yet, all of that can be washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul prays that we would know the width and length and depth of the love of God. We see it on display in Matthew 12 verses 31 and 32.

So don't skip past that and oh, oh, what's the unforgivable sin? No. Every sin will be forgiven men up to and including blasphemy against the Son of Man. We'll be forgiven. We'll be washed away.

We'll be wiped out. Verse 31, the second half, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven man. Here's just one single sin that will not be forgiven man. And then for clarity in the second half of verse 32, either in this age or in the age to come, Mark in his account of this in Mark 3.29 says never. That's what it means.

We don't need to debate about what this age and the age to come exactly how to define those. Mark just says never. Never. That's what it means. Not in time, not in eternity.

Will never be forgiven. Now here are two popular interpretations of this that I find unsatisfactory. But I'll put them out there. The first is that the unforgivable sin, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, is persistent unbelief. If you don't believe and won't believe and won't believe and won't believe and won't believe and won't believe, You'll come to the end of your life unbelieving.

And that's the sin that sends people to hell. Well, that's true. That is true. I don't think that's what this passage is teaching, but it's very true. And I think there are elements of it that we'll actually pull into what we construct that this passage actually is teaching.

But it's not sufficient to say that Jesus is saying that the unelect are unelect. That unbelievers are unbelieving and so they die in unbelief. That's not what this passage is teaching. There's another popular view of this. This could only happen in Jesus' time.

Because it was when the Son of Man was walking the earth, These are people who actually heard his preaching. These are actually people who actually saw his miracles. And so they're the only ones who can commit these sins. And as soon as Jesus died and was resurrected, the possibility of the unforgivable sin left the earth. That's not satisfactory.

I don't believe that. The reason I don't believe that is undoubtedly Hebrews was written after the resurrection. Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10 sounds a lot like Matthew 12. I don't think that will do as an explanation. So I'm going to propose two criteria for what the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, the unforgivable sin is.

And then I'm going to propose a test. And then I'm going to leave you with a bunch of mystery because it's not my job to get in and out of every nook and cranny and try to Provide nuances that the text just doesn't speak to you. So I'm gonna try to stay very constrained on things that I can back up with the text and leave the rest where it belongs, which is with me not commenting on it. Two criteria for the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. One, defiantly opposing the work of God.

And two, doing it against knowledge. The first one, defiantly opposing the work of God. And the second, criteria doing it against knowledge. The first is the easy part. This is what we see right there on the surface of this text.

The Pharisees are defiantly, not honestly, but defiantly, opposing the work of God through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. They're looking on the destruction of the kingdom of Satan. Jesus Christ is taking ground for God. He's casting out devils. The blind see, the mute speak, and they say, that's not God.

This is the devil. And they are actively, willfully, purposefully opposing the work of God. Now, this Criteria 1 is done frequently by unbelievers. It happens all the time. The active, defiant opposing of the work of God.

And it by itself is not the unforgivable sin. Every time Christopher Hitchens, when he was alive, blasphemed, that didn't necessarily make that the unforgivable sin. Many blasphemers will be in the Kingdom of God. The second criteria really narrows the field, doing it against knowledge. Not head knowledge, but knowledge that has been imparted by the Spirit of God.

So this is not, I think I might have been self-deceived when I was opposing God. And yes, of course you were self-deceived. That is the whole nature of Romans 1 and suppressing the truth and unrighteousness. That is The whole nature of the natural man is to be in self-deception, to be in darkness. That is not what I'm speaking of.

This is a willful, purposeful, overriding of knowledge that has been given to you by the Spirit of God. Listen to John 11. John 11 verses 44 through 48. And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave cloths. This is Lazarus.

He's come out of the grave. And his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, lose him and let him go. Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did believed in him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, What shall we do for this man works many signs? If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." This is John 11. This is Lazarus being raised from the dead. Many Jews believe, but when the Pharisees hear about it, about a dead man being raised. Their response is to protect their turf.

A dead man has been raised. He came out and they had to take the cloth off of his face. Because he comes out, he's been raised from the dead, and they're protecting their turf. You say, how can this be? How can this be that when a miracle like that happens, their first thought would be, they're all going to believe in Him, we're going to lose our place.

They're sons of the devil. Now Jesus is coming to that in Matthew 12. We'll get to your sons of the devil. It's coming. But that's how.

That's how this happens. It's very ironic that they would accuse Jesus of working by the Elzebub because they're sons of the devil. In John 16, verse 2, the second half of that verse, John 16, second half of verse 2, Jesus says, The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God. The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. This is not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

These are Sinful souls, deceived souls, but they're honest souls. They think that they're offering service to God even by killing the elect. And it might be defiant opposition to God, and it might be violent opposition to God, to the point that people are being martyred, but it's not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, because it's not a sin against knowledge that has been given them. They think that they're actually serving God even though they're not. Now there are two passages in Hebrews that have a bearing.

Hebrews 6, 4-8 and Hebrews 10, 26-29. We're only really going to look at Hebrews 6, but mark down the other one and look at it yourself But let's go to Hebrews 6 now Hebrews 6 verses 4 through 8 I believe that Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10 are talking about the same thing that Matthew 12 is speaking of, that Jesus is teaching on in Matthew 12. Hebrews 6 verse 4. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good work of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God.

But if it bears thorns and briars, It is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. The text begins, for it is impossible. And then there are a number of criteria. And then in verse 6 it says, to renew them again to repentance. So Matthew 12 is teaching that There's one single sin that can't be forgiven.

And Hebrews 6 is addressing a circumstance in which it's impossible to renew them again to repentance. It's impossible to bring them to repentance. This is the same thing. This is speaking of the same thing. And Hebrews 6 is such a tricky passage because you say, this is salvation.

This is a person who's been saved when you look at the thing. I just want to say, Hey, let's keep our wits about us here in this passage. And let's look at the text really carefully. And let's keep our principles of interpretation, which should govern us, at the forefront. I want to read to you John 10, John 10, 22 through 29.

You can turn there if you like, but we're going to be back in Hebrews 6 in just a second. Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded him and said to him, How long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.

And Jesus answered them, I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me, that you do not believe because you are not of my sheep as I said to you. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.

My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand." In John 10, we have two great doctrines. We have the doctrine of election, and we have the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. Often that's referred to as perseverance of the saints. That's a misnomer because it sounds like the saints are able to do something. The saints aren't able to do anything.

They're preserved by God. So I'm going to use the term the preservation of the saints. So you have the doctrine of election and the doctrine of preservation of the saints. We can go to a dozen other scriptures or more, 50 other scriptures that teach those same doctrines. So Let's agree that whatever we decide about the unforgivable sin, whatever we decide about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, we will not allow it to overthrow the clear teachings of so many other texts.

That election, that God has chosen out the people that will be His. And that He will preserve every single one of them to the end. Whatever we decide, election must stay intact. Preservation of the saints must stay intact. Secondly, I would like to consider the role of the Holy Spirit.

If you just go read John 14 through John 16, those three chapters, you see the same thing again and again and again. Which is that Jesus is in person, incarnate, and when He leaves, He'll send a teacher, a comforter, a helper that will bear witness to Him. The primary function of the Holy Spirit is to bear witness to Jesus Christ. Here's one example of many, John 15, 26. But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me." That's the job of the Holy Spirit, to testify of Jesus Christ.

And that's what the Holy Spirit does. When He was sent into the world in a unique way at Pentecost, not that You don't see the Spirit before then, but you see Him more pervasively in a unique way after Pentecost. His main job is to bear witness to Jesus Christ. That's what the Holy Spirit does. Predominantly, He testifies of Jesus Christ.

So now we go back to the criteria that we see in Hebrews 6. Once enlightened. Now, tasted the heavenly gift. Had become a partaker of the Holy Spirit, had tasted the good word of God, had tasted the powers of the age to come. And it does sound like salvation, but does the text require that?

Now here's what Matthew Henry does, which is so helpful. He says, let's see what we can apply to Judas. We have the criteria. Let's run Judas against this filter. Can it be said that Judas was once enlightened?

Yes. Can it be said that Judas was once enlightened? Yes. Can it be said that Judas tasted the heavenly gift? This is a man that was sent out to heal the sick, to cast out demons.

This is what the twelve did when they were sent out by Jesus in Matthew 10. That he had become a partaker of the Holy Spirit. That he had tasted the good word of God. That He had tasted the powers of the age to come. Judas may be our poster child for this.

Every means of grace at his fingertips for three years. Every means of grace. So much knowledge. He knew more than we'll ever know. He heard it directly from the lips of Jesus Christ.

It was imparted to him directly. And yet, he actively, defiantly opposed the work of God in his betrayal. And so can it be said that the son of perdition was ever saved? No it cannot. He was marked out for this purpose by God before he was ever born.

He was the son of perdition. In Hebrews 6 and 10, are the texts really to grapple with here. I'm only going to spend time in Hebrews 6. But in Hebrews 10, it ends with this in verse 29, that these people have insulted the Spirit of grace. In other words, the Holy Spirit has enlightened, has given grace, has imparted knowledge.

That's actually what the text in Hebrews 10 begins with, is that you've been given knowledge. And you take this knowledge and you insult it by defiantly opposing the Word of God. So those are the two criteria. First, to defiantly oppose the work of God. And secondly, to do it against knowledge.

To have the Holy Spirit impart knowledge to you. It's interesting that Jesus in our text in Matthew 12 says Jesus knew their thoughts. So you're going to have a very difficult time discerning when someone has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. But Jesus, piece of cake, He knows their hearts. He knows what's happened in the heart.

He knows that knowledge has been imparted to them. And that they're sinning against the knowledge that the Spirit of God has given to them. They're insulting the Spirit of grace. So those are the two criteria. And the test is this.

Judas or Paul, that's the test. You have two very different kind of blasphemers in Judas and in Paul. Judas defiantly opposes the work of God. He even kisses Jesus in the garden. And After all that knowledge, after all has been imparted to him, he overrides the knowledge that has been given to him and he betrays Jesus.

But here's what Paul says in 1 Timothy 1, 12 and 13. This is an incredibly important passage I believe to understanding this. 1 Timothy 1, 12 and 13. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief.

Paul was a man who actively opposed the work of God. But he was one of those, like John 16, who actually would kill a man and think he had done service to God. Paul was in a different category. And so Paul was able to obtain mercy. Judas sinned against the light that he had been given by the Holy Spirit of God, and he blasphemed against the Holy Spirit.

And Judas could never be forgiven of that. Here are a few quotes. I've been hoarding quotes here towards the end that I found really helpful in my studies this week. The first is from the Expositors Bible commentary. It says this, Jesus charges that those who perceive that his ministry is empowered by the Spirit, and then for whatever reason, whether spite or jealousy or arrogance, ascribe it to Satan, have put themselves beyond the pale.

So you have the two criteria here. They perceive that really is from the Spirit of God, but they have a vested interest somewhere else. And so they, even knowing better, they ascribe it to the work of Satan, even though they really know it is a work of the Spirit of God. John Calvin says this, Those persons sin and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, who maliciously turn to his dishonor the perfections of God, which have been revealed to him by the Spirit, in which his glory ought to be celebrated, and who with Satan their leader are avowed enemies of the glory of God. This is what we have in Matthew 12.

We have something that should be celebrated. We have a blind man, a demon possessed man, a mute man set free, given his sight, given his speech back. It ought to result in the glory of God. And yet it's turned against God. His glory is defiled by what these men have done.

John Gill says this. It is a despiteful usage of the Spirit of grace, and opposing, contradicting, and denying the operations wrought or doctrines revealed by Him, against a man's own light and conscience, out of willful and obstinate malice, on purpose to lessen the glory of God and gratify his own lusts. Such was the sin of the scribes and Pharisees, who, though they knew that the miracles of Christ were wrought by the Spirit of God, yet maliciously and obstinately imputed them to the devil with a view to obscure the glory of Christ and indulge their own wicked passions and resentments against them. Back to Matthew 12 verses 33 to 37. Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad.

For a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, They will give an account of it in the day of judgment.

For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." So recognize what's happening. The tables are completely turned here. Do you see that? The Pharisees have just accused Jesus of being a false prophet. They say these miracles are not attributable to God, they're attributable to the Elzebub.

You're a false prophet. And now Jesus applies the false prophet test to them. In Matthew 7, this is the false prophet test. Look at the fruit. That's how you know a false prophet.

So they began our section today accusing Jesus of being a false prophet. Now Jesus has flipped the table and says, Let's apply the false prophet test to you Pharisees. Just like in Matthew 7, 15-18, he says you can tell a tree by its fruit. The fruit always matches the root. Always, always, always.

If you have good fruit, there's a good root down there. If you have a good root down there, there will be good fruit. And the same with the bad. If you see bad fruit, then you know the root down there is bad. If there is a bad root down there, it will come up and you will have bad fruit.

Now Jesus actually narrows the principle to their words. In Matthew 7, the false prophet test is broad and it's all fruit. And that's encompassed in Matthew 12, but Jesus actually narrows it down to their words. And he's examining the words that they've just uttered in saying that this miracle was just a result of collusion with the Prince of Demons. And he's looking at those wicked words.

And he's applying the fruit test to their wicked words. And he says, you brood of vipers. You brood of vipers. Now when we hear brood of vipers, we've already heard it. John the Baptist was the last one saying this.

I believe it was in Matthew 3. It was in Matthew 3. And we should always think back to the garden and the curse. That there will be a seed of the woman who will bruise the head of the serpent. And so Jesus is talking about the brood, the offspring.

The offspring of the serpent. You brood of vipers. You're sons of a viper. And in 34, the second half he says this, and this whole section rotates around the second half of verse 34. Out of the abundance of the heart and the mouth speaks.

There's an overflow from the heart that makes it out of the mouth. And This is true of the Pharisees. It was not an objective evaluation of the words and ministry and life and works of Jesus Christ that led them to say what they said. It was because they had a black heart. It's because they were sons of the devil.

It wasn't a scientific evaluation that was leading to their proclamation. It was the contents of their heart. And the same is true of us. There will be overflow from your heart that makes it out of your mouth. Out of the abundance of the heart.

Out of the overflow of the heart. The mouth speaks. So Jesus says that every idle word will come into judgment. All those throw away words that you thought don't matter. Here's why they matter.

Because they show what's in there. When no one else is around, but only a few people, and in your unguarded moments, your idle words, the one with the least amount of filtering, those will come into judgment. Not because of the words themselves, but because of what they betray, because of what they put on display as a heart that has a certain amount of content. Everyone is treasuring things up in their heart. And if you have a good heart, there's good treasure, and it finds its way out of your mouth.

And if you have an evil heart, there's evil treasured up there, and it finds its way out of your mouth. And so this is not a passage on the government of the tongue per se, although that's a secondary application. But there are many passages in scripture which are guard your words texts. But that's not primary here, that's secondary here. What Jesus is saying is, what's in there will make its way out.

That's why you'll be judged by your words. And yes, we should guard our tongues and we should do our best to tame it. Although James 3 has discouraging things to say about you taming your tongue. But this is predominantly about the condition of the heart, not about guarding your language. Because if there's a heart that is regenerate, if a person has become born again, If a person is a new creation, then good things, your speech will be seasoned with grace.

There will be fruit of the Spirit. But if you've not been born again, and if you're the natural man, you won't be able to keep those things down there. That's a law of the universe that you won't be able to micromanage enough to keep those words down in sight. It's about the condition of our heart. So the multitudes have asked the question, could this be, could this be the Son of David?

And Jesus through his words, through his works is affirming again and again and again, he is the Son of David. He's come to set up an everlasting kingdom. And you are either for him or you're against him and in this war between kingdoms there is not one inch not one inch of neutral territory either you're for him or you're against him let's pray God we thank you for this text We thank you for even difficult texts. And we pray that you would help us with our understanding. God, we thank you for the mercy that's on display in this text.

We pray that these things would be so dear to us, God, as we consider how kind you are to sinners, how You do take murderers and make them ex-murderers. You take liars and make them ex-liars because of the washing of the blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, may it be so among us, God. May there be a mighty spread of the grace of God here. We ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.