In verse 31 the Lord said to the Pharisees, “Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven.” The blasphemy of the Spirit differs from insulting the Spirit (Heb. 10:29). To insult the Spirit is to disobey Him willfully. Many believers do this. If they confess this sin, they will be forgiven and cleansed by the Lord’s blood (1 John 1:7, 9). But to blaspheme the Spirit is to slander Him, as the Pharisees did in verse 24. It was by the Spirit that the Lord cast out a demon. But the Pharisees, seeing it, said that the Lord cast out demons by Beelzebub, ruler of the demons. This was blasphemy against the Spirit. By such blasphemy, the Pharisees’ rejection of the heavenly King reached its climax.
The Lord seemed to be saying to the Pharisees, “Your blasphemy is not forgivable. I cast out the demon by the Spirit of God, but you say that I cast it out by Satan, the king of the demons. You go too far in saying this. You have uttered a blasphemy that is unforgivable. You have not merely insulted the Spirit or disobeyed the Spirit, but you have blasphemed the Spirit. He is the Spirit of God, even God Himself. I cast out the demon by God Himself as the Spirit; yet you say that this God is Satan, the king of the demons and the king of the dirty flies of the dunghill. In saying this you have committed an unforgivable sin.”
In verse 32 the Lord continued, “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming one.” In the economy of the Triune God, the Father conceived the plan of redemption (Eph. 1:5, 9), the Son accomplished redemption according to the Father’s plan (1 Pet. 2:24; Gal. 1:4), and the Spirit reaches sinners to apply the redemption accomplished by the Son (1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:2). If the sinner blasphemes the Son as Saul of Tarsus did, the Spirit still has the ground to work upon him and cause him to repent and believe in the Son that he may be forgiven (see 1 Tim. 1:13-16). But if the sinner blasphemes the Spirit, the Spirit will have no ground to work upon him, and there will be none left to cause him to repent and believe. Hence, it is impossible for such a person to be forgiven. This is not only logical, according to reason, but governmental according to God’s administrative principle, as revealed here by the Lord’s word.
In God’s governmental administration, His forgiveness is dispensational. For His administration, He has planned different ages. The period from the first coming of Christ to eternity is divided dispensationally into three ages: this age, the present one, from Christ’s first coming to His second coming; the coming age, the millennium, the one thousand years for restoration and heavenly reigning, from Christ’s second coming to the end of the old heaven and old earth; and eternity, the eternal age of the new heaven and new earth. God’s forgiveness in this age is for sinners’ eternal salvation. This forgiveness is given both to sinners and believers. God’s forgiveness in the coming age is related to the believers’ dispensational reward. If a believer, after being saved, commits any sin, but will not make a clearance through confession and the cleansing of the Lord’s blood (1 John 1:7, 9) before he dies or the Lord comes back, this sin will not be forgiven in this age, but will remain to be judged at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). He will not be rewarded with the kingdom to participate in the glory and joy with Christ in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, but will be disciplined to make a clearance of this sin and will be forgiven in the coming age (Matt. 18:23-35). This kind of forgiveness will maintain his eternal salvation, but it will not qualify him to participate in the glory and joy of the coming kingdom.
In verse 33 the Lord said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for by the fruit the tree is known.” A tree is known by its fruit. That the Pharisees were evil was exposed by their evil deeds.
Verses 34 and 35 say, “Brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of the good treasure brings forth good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” The Pharisees were filled in their hearts with the abundance of evil. Hence, their mouth uttered the evil out of their heart.
Verse 36 says, “And I say to you that every idle word which men shall speak, they shall render account concerning it in the day of judgment.” The Greek word rendered “idle” is argos, composed of two words: a meaning not, and ergon meaning work. An idle word is a non-working word, an inoperative word, having no positive function, useless, unprofitable, unfruitful, and barren. In the day of judgment, those who speak such words will render account concerning every one of them. Since this is the case, how much more must man account for every wicked word!
The Lord seemed to be telling the opposers, “Be careful with your speaking. Every idle word, every unimportant word, will be judged. There will be a day of judgment, and whatever you say will be judged at that time.” This is a very serious matter.
In verse 37 the Lord concludes, “For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be convicted.” What a warning this is! We must learn to control and restrict our speaking.
The opposing Pharisees were not only defeated, but also subdued. They did not have a case. Whenever the Lord Jesus gives an answer, there is no more argument.