Running from the Unpardonable Sin

More than one conscientious Bible reader has come to this passage and paused: “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” (Mark 3:28-29). While all Biblical warnings should be taken seriously, these words carry incredible weight: “never has forgiveness… eternal condemnation.” Some variance in Greek manuscripts sometimes sees translations saying “sin” instead of “condemnation,” but the outcome is the same. If one has committed an eternal sin, he is subject to eternal condemnation. Jesus words were even echoed on another occasion, potentially applying what the Scribes did to others: “to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven” (Luke 12:10; cf. Matthew 12:31-32).  Christians are used to singing about the “wonderful grace of Jesus” that is “greater than all my sin,” and proclaiming, “His grace reaches me.” These words in Mark 3 though seem to add a limitation to God’s grace and create a place that His grace cannot reach. Do they?

I think it’s important to interpret Jesus’ words while considering both their immediate and remote context. Though I would normally suggest the opposite as a procedure in Bible study, for Christians who might be reading this verse in genuine fear that they have already committed an unforgiveable sin, I would suggest beginning by reflecting on the remote context first. Any number of verses might be considered, but Peter’s words stand out, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). There’s a two-fold universal claim here: 1) God is not willing that any should perish; 2) God desires that all should come to repentance. To those who might be reading this text in fear, please realize, this verse and many, many other verses establish in stone the desire of God to forgive. What God desires, He is able to achieve in Jesus, who is “able to save to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25).

To return to the immediate context, certain scribes have just said that Jesus’ ability to cast out demons is a sign that he himself is demon possessed (Mark 3:22). Mark tells us that what Jesus says is in response to this fact (Mark 3:30). In light of this, two things occur to me: 1) There are clearly some things about the scribes behavior that are not repeatable today. We are not in the presence of Jesus and cannot see Him cast out demons, so we of course do not have the opportunity to see such a thing and attribute it to the power of a demon. 2) It’s possible that there’s simply a matter-of-factness about Jesus’ words. The scribes already had their hearts set against Jesus; if the very thing that God intended as evidence to move them out of unbelief (cf. Hebrews 2:1-4) was totally misinterpreted and maligned, what more could God do to win them?

When you fly an airplane away from an airport, there is a point that is reached which is sometimes referred to as the “point of no return.” At this point, the fuel in the airplane is no longer sufficient to return to the airport at which the flight originated. Is it possible that the scribes Jesus described had reached this point in their own spiritual journey? I would argue that it is. And is it possible for us to reach a similar point in ours? While I would argue that we can’t do what the scribes did and thus can’t commit the unpardonable sin that is described, we can so harden our hearts “through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13) that our sin becomes eternal and subject to eternal condemnation. I would never presume to know if someone had reached this “point of no return,” but I would argue that God does. Fear is probably a good sign that we have not reached that point, but faith is the only way to ensure that we never do.

It is interesting to me that Mark sandwiches this event between two other accounts. Before it, Mark lists the men who were appointed by Jesus to share in His power, men who would later become apostles (Mark 3:13-20). These men left behind everything to follow Jesus. They are joined by a multitude which pressed towards Jesus with such determination that Jesus and His apostles “could not so much as eat bread” (Mark 3:20). Whether it is the soon-to-be apostles or the others recorded in this account, the text reveals people who know who Jesus is and how important it is to be with Him.

After the unpardonable sin text comes a very different picture: “Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him” (Mark 3:31). They aren’t outside denouncing Jesus as One who is demon possessed (although at least some of them are possibly the people described in Mark 3:21 who say, “He is out of His mind”). However, they also aren’t inside the house with Him or seeking to be. No, they are satisfied with who they are and with what they have; Jesus should be with them, not the other way around. They don’t seem to be interested at least at this point in following Jesus, for Jesus’ words imply that they are not behaving like His family or doing “the will of God” (Mark 3:33-35).

As I think about these three accounts, I have to conclude that while I can’t really do what the scribes did by denying the source of Jesus’ power, I can certainly be where they are: in eternal sin and subject to eternal condemnation. Logically, I can pass the point of no return. If I’m going to avoid their fate, there really isn’t any safety in “standing outside” of what Jesus and His church are doing. Jesus’ mother and brothers were closer to the scribes when they did so than they were to Jesus. No, the surest way to avoid anything like the unpardonable sin is to run away from it. I do so by desiring to be in the house with Jesus, not by calling Him out to me, and by putting myself wherever I can be as close to Him as possible.

-Patrick Swayne  
patrick@tftw.org