2^nd Sunday after Pentecost, June 6^th, A + D 2021
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer Lutheran Churches                                                Custer and Hill City, SD                                                                                            Blasphemy, Love and Redemption

    “Pastor, I’m afraid I’ve committed the eternal and unforgiveable sin.  I think I blasphemed the Holy Spirit...”  To be precise, I haven’t heard these exact words from many Christians.  But I have been asked many times about this unforgiveable sin against the Holy Spirit of which Jesus speaks.  And these people’s tone of voice usually tipped me off that the question wasn’t theoretical, but a personal worry.  Out of the depths the Christian cries, hiding their worry under a “what if” question.  But the truth is that we cringe and worry, every time we hear Jesus say, “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”   We cringe, which is good; we should be frightened at the thought.  But we should also take a few minutes this morning to clear up our confusion and our doubts, because Jesus has come to give you joy, not to leave you worrying.    

    We need to start with some definitions, because, while the word ‘blasphemy’ sounds bad, I’m not sure we are completely clear what it means.  We live in a world where holiness is largely unknown.  Everything is seen in a materialistic, common way, and God is ignored.  Understanding blasphemy is pretty difficult if we don’t first understand that God is holy, utterly different, pure, righteous, without sin.  As well, we need to know that some things are holy to God, that is to say, chose by Him and precious, set apart for His special use.  One needs to understand that God is holy and also makes some things holy, because blasphemy is the sin of speaking sacrilegiously toward God or sacred things. 

   But one definition requires two more, since “sacrilegious” is also a dying word in today’s English, and “sacred” is probably getting a little iffy.  Sacrilege is the action that goes with blasphemy, not just speaking against God or something holy to God, but violating or misusing something that is sacred.  And sacred is very close to holy, that is, something set apart for or connected with God, something dedicated to the right worship of God, something that calls for our respect, reverence and even awe. 

    Speaking evil about the mother of God or vandalizing a church altar are examples of blasphemy and sacrilege.  So it’s easy to see that speaking evil against the Holy Spirit, which the Pharisees were doing by saying that Jesus had an evil spirit, is obviously worthy of damnation. 

   And yet with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.  Jesus does speak with exceptional harshness to the Pharisees.  But He is doing it to try to save their souls.  Which goes to show that the Lord hasn’t changed since the beginning. 

   Adam and Eve, who brought the horrors of sin and death into God’s good creation, were clearly deserving of damnation.  But, while God would rebuke them and declare the curses that would come as result of their failure, first He gave them a Word of Hope, embedded in His word to the serpent: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” 

   This is the proto-Gospel, the first declaration of God’s eternal Promise to rescue the man and the woman, and all their sin-stained descendants, through a violent confrontation.  Satan, who had possessed the serpent, would strike a blow, at terrible blow.  But in the end he would be crushed by the Seed of the Woman, the promised Savior.  This Savior would be sent from God, but would also be a man, the New and Holy Man, the Promised Messiah, sent to rescue God’s people from their sins. 

   This final battle announced by the Lord to the serpent in the Garden was drawing very near when the Pharisees confronted Jesus in our Gospel reading this morning.  The Seed of the woman had now been revealed to be Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Mary, and Son of God.  Satan, who tempted the first woman through blasphemy, that is by twisting and misusing God’s Holy Word in order to draw her into sin, now cannot help himself.  I don’t know if Satan understood that, by striking out at Jesus, he would bring about his own destruction.  But it doesn’t matter.  Satan hates this Seed of the Woman even more than he hated Adam and Eve.  He cannot resist trying to destroy Jesus, so he drives the hypocritical Pharisees to join in his blasphemy.  And so they proclaim that the Holy Spirit of God, who had descended on Jesus Christ at His Baptism in the Jordan, was actually an evil spirit sent from Satan. 

   So Jesus destroys those blaspheming Pharisees, right?  No.  Yet again we see that with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.  The Lord rebukes and warns, but He also shows the way of escape, in a mystery that we struggle to comprehend. 

   Matthew, Mark and Luke all give us a version of this declaration of Jesus about the unforgiveable sin against the Holy Spirit.  In Matthew and Luke, we get this added detail: Jesus says, Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, (Luke 12:10). 

   Think of that.  God is willing to forgive blasphemy against the Son of Man, who is Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Messiah, the Holy One of God. 

   And the Pharisees are not only speaking against Jesus, they are trying to kill Him.  They are committing both blasphemy and sacrilege.  In word and deed they are rejecting and attacking God the Father’s holiest and most precious possession, His eternal Son, the very image of the Father, reigning in glory with Him from eternity.  And yet, that blasphemy and sacrilegious execution will be forgiven. 

   In fact, while we can never play down how evil it was to crucify Jesus, it was necessary, and foreordained according to God’s own plan. Jesus is the Lamb of God, slain from before the foundation of the world.  To crush Satan’s head and rescue humanity from eternal condemnation, Jesus willingly suffered blasphemy and sacrilege from the very people He was dying to save.  So we rightly proclaim that with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. 

   But to speak against, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, is an unforgivable sin.  Why?  What is that all about? 

   Well, let’s come at the question from another, less frightening angle.  We know that saving faith in Christ comes by hearing the Word of Christ.  That is to say, the Holy Spirit, the Author and User of the Sacred Word of God, testifies, He proclaims that Jesus is God’s Son, the promised Savior.  Jesus and His blood bought salvation is really all the Holy Spirit talks about.  And by that speaking, by that proclamation, the Spirit of God creates faith in us sinners, faith which trusts and receives the forgiveness Jesus won on His Cross.  And when forgiveness has washed us clean, then death and condemnation are also gone, swept away in a flood of love and grace.  To blaspheme or speak against the Holy Spirit is to reject His message of forgiveness and grace, found only in Christ.  Without faith in the Spirit’s message, there is no forgiveness, and no salvation.    

   There are frightening degrees of unbelief, which we will touch on in a moment.  But in the end, plain garden variety unbelief and knowing rejection of Christ are both eternally condemning, because we were all conceived under condemnation.  Only by faith in Jesus can anyone be returned to the Father’s loving family.  So, if you are worried that you have committed the unforgiveable sin, scared that you have blasphemed the Holy Spirit, hear this: your worry is actually a sign that you have not.  For only the believer in Jesus worries about losing the salvation He offers. 

   Your worry is a sign that you have not blasphemed the Holy Spirit, you have not rejected His message about Christ and His salvation.  You may be struggling with sin and doubt, but you are in the fight.  Your faith is alive. 

   Which is not to say you have no reason to worry.  You have been baptized, declared holy unto God, made into a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.  Whatever sin or doubt that causes you to worry about being cut off needs to be dealt with.  The condition of the Pharisees is a warning to us.  They knew God’s Word, frontward and backward.  They knew the prophecies about the coming Christ, so they had to see that Jesus was fulfilling all of them.  They had to know He must be the Christ, the Savior, but they hardened their hearts against the Truth, and rejected Him anyway.  They are practically begging God to cast them out forever, and if they get their wish, their fate will be worst of all.  Because of their deep knowledge, they will be condemned most harshly of all, unless they are brought to repentance. 

   Which can happen, because with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.  As long as a human being lives, the Holy Spirit is seeking to break through hardened hearts and rescue them from the eternal suffering they are headed toward.  And because of the sin that lingers in us all, we cannot ignore the risk of falling away, because everyone is at risk.  Consider Mary and Jesus’ brothers, who thought He had lost His mind, and sought to stop Him from His path.  Saying that Jesus was insane is not the same as saying He has an evil spirit, but it is too close for comfort.  But they were turned from their error, because the Lord’s love and redemption are so plentiful.  Even plentiful enough to rescue the Apostle Paul, who, when he was still called Saul, committed both blasphemy and sacrilege, again and again, as he persecuted the Holy Church of God.  But Christ intervened on the road to Damascus, and brought Paul back from the brink. 

   So when your doubts and sins worry you, and you maybe even wonder if you have committed an unforgiveable sin, do take it seriously.  But do not despair.  Do not give up hope.  No matter how far you fall, do not listen to the satanic voice that says you are cut off from God.  Instead, repent of your sin, and remember, Jesus has paid for all your sins, in full.  There is steadfast love and plentiful redemption for you, in the Good News of Jesus, in His blood which washes you clean, in His forgiving love, which gives you His eternal life.  Come running to Jesus, to confess your sins and ask for His mercy, for He rejoices to give it to you, by the power of His Holy Spirit, and in the Name of His Father, forever and ever, Amen.