Mark 3:22-29 | Session 13 | Mark Rightly Divided**
Mark 3:22-30 | The Unpardonable Sin
Verse 22 -
In First Century Jewish thought, the theology of Satan was developing. It is often said that Jews do not believe in the embodiment of evil in the person of Lucifer, the Angel of Light who rebelled and became what Christians know as "Satan" or "the Devil.”
The figure known as "Satan," which means "adversary" in Hebrew, appears in the Hebrew Scriptures under that title or name, depending on interpretation, on three occasions.
Job 1 and 2: Perhaps the most prominent appearance, Satan acts as a kind of celestial prosecutor. He challenges Job's piety, suggesting that Job is righteous only because he's been blessed. God then allows Satan to test Job's faith through various afflictions. Here, Satan is not inherently evil but serves a role in the divine court.
1 Chronicles 21:1: Satan incites David to take a census, which brings about a punishment from God.
Zechariah 3:1-2: Satan stands to accuse the high priest Joshua, but the Lord rebukes him.
These are the only times "Satan" is explicitly mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures. Although there are other instances where a character is most often interpreted by Christians as Satan (such as in Gen. 3 and Is. 14), this is based on interpretation rather than explicit declaration.
From this, it is often said that the Jewish belief in Satan was that he was not an embodiment of evil in opposition to God, but rather a figure that challenges or tests individuals within the framework of God's order. In verse 22, that thinking is brought into question, because the “scribes which came down from Jerusalem” certainly seem to be talking about the ruler of wickedness in the same manner in which Christians would speak of him today.
They refer to “the prince of the devils” as the source of Jesus’ exorcism powers. They also say that “He hath Beelzebub.” Whether this is one accusation or two is open to interpretation. Beelzebub was the name of the Philistine deity and would be translated as "Lord of the Flies.” It would be a logical conclusion that Beelzebub had become the name of the ruler of all demons, and that such a figure is known among Christians as “Satan” or “the Devil.”
Throughout all this, it should not be missed that the scribes attest to the fact that Jesus cast out demons. Their accusation is not that He is unable to do so, but rather that they question the source of His power. This is a fundamentally important factor that, I believe, will be seen throughout His entire ministry. Though the religious and political leadership will be wholly against Him, they will never deny His supernatural power.
For those interested in logical fallacies, this is a bit of an ad hominem attack, and such attacks ought to always be considered with suspicion. Ad hominem is a type of logical fallacy where an argument is attacked by criticizing the person making the argument rather than addressing the substance of the argument itself. It appears that the Scribes have a sheer inability to deny Jesus casts out demons, so they will attack the Man and the power behind Him. Such an attack, in this case, is true religious blasphemy, and Jesus will address that in verse 28.
Verse 23 -
This verse seems to be insight for the reader given by Mark as the narrator. If Jesus spoke in parables, then He likely did not also say, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” Parables were given to conceal, not to make plain. Why would Jesus conceal that which He had spoken plainly? However, Mark wanted the reader to know plainly what Jesus was saying with the parables, which follow in verses 24-27, and thus gives the key to interpretations.What do these parables say? They say, "How can Satan cast out Satan?”
This would render the red-letter edition in-error at this point, and serves as a reminder that we should always question the assumptions and be careful not to embed erroneous thinking so deeply in our theology that it is hard to later remove.
Verses 24 - 26 -
The first three parables make it clear that neither a kingdom, a house, nor Satan can attack itself and survive.
Verses 24 and 25 have become almost “man on the street” parables and are used in numerous contexts in western society.
Jesus uses two very similar parables, perhaps to build a rhetorical tool sometimes called the "Yes Ladder" or the repetitive affirmation approach. The idea is that when we repeatedly commit to a certain principle, when confronted with a more difficult one, we will want to be consistent. The same principle is displayed in both verses and is readily acceptable by virtually everyone.
However, verse 26 addresses the second logical fallacy in the Scribes' argument (the first being the ad hominem attack). It questions why Satan would "rise up against himself, and be divided," as there would be no logical reasoning for such actions.
It's likely that Jesus understood that His presentation wouldn't convince the Scribes. Instead, His aim was to convince others of the fallacy of the attack.
Verse 27 -
This parable may look different from the first three, but it drives the point home. Jesus is saying that He is entering the house of the strong man, a reference to Satan. He implies that He has come to bind the strong man and to spoil his house. The implication that must be drawn is that Jesus is subtly but clearly declaring Himself to be the Messiah who will crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15).
By using parables, Jesus maintained a degree of "plausible deniability" legally. He did not make an outright confession of being the Messiah, but there is really no other conclusion that could be reached.
Verse 28 -
This verse makes a startling claim. In its straightforward grammar, the verse declares that all sins and blasphemies "shall be forgiven." Though the grammar of the verse allows it, I would caution against making this a universal theological truth because even the next verse gives an exception. Does this mean that all sins and blasphemies will be forgiven under the standards of forgiveness revealed? Does this mean that those standards are going to change in the future? It is difficult to tell, and such a study would go beyond the scope of this commentary. At a minimum, it says that there is no "unforgivable sin," except the one that is about to be pronounced as the sentence continues.
Verse 29 -
This definitive statement has often been called the "unforgivable sin" and is considered blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Those who commit this sin will never be forgiven but will be "in danger of eternal damnation." The phrase "in danger of" should be understood in its 17th-century context, where the adjective "danger" means to be under the "power of a lord or master, jurisdiction, dominion" (Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. "danger, n. & adj.", accessed July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/8947871334. Therefore, it is not a mere possibility that eternal damnation will be yours, but rather a certainty that you will be under the power of eternal damnation.
What is the unforgivable sin? It is to reject the ultimate testimony of the Holy Ghost. Such testimony was given during the days of the Holy Ghost, which were Pentecost and shortly thereafter. During these days, the Holy Ghost provided undeniable evidence that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. To reject this message was to incur eternal damnation.
Today, the witness of the Gospel is given through the Word of God and the witness of men. The signs and wonders of the Spirit, which were signs for Israel, are no longer present. Therefore, one cannot commit the sin of “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost” as presented here. However, the outcome remains the same since people are separated from God and in need of a Savior. Without the Savior, eternal damnation is the result.
