10. The Pharisees’ Judgment on Jesus
(Mk 3:21-22) And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils.
11. Jesus’ Rebuke to the Pharisees
(Mt 12:31-32) “Why I say to you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
(Mt 23:13-15) “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
The above are two different parts of contents. Let’s now look at the first part: The Pharisees’ Judgment on Jesus.
In the scriptures, the Pharisees’ evaluation of Jesus and the things Jesus did was: (Mk 3:21-22) …they said, He is beside himself. … He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils. The scribes and Pharisees’ judgment on the Lord Jesus was not their echo of what others said or their baseless imagination, but was the conclusion they drew about the Lord Jesus after they saw and heard the things the Lord Jesus did. Although their conclusion was under the cover of upholding justice, which seemed to be reasonable and substantiated, nevertheless their aggressive arrogance in judging the Lord Jesus could not be contained even by themselves. Their frenzied manner of hating the Lord Jesus betrayed their ambition, betrayed their evil satanic face, and betrayed their malicious nature of resisting God. And it was just driven by their ambition, jealousy, and ugly and malicious nature of hating the truth and hating God that they spoke out these words of judgment on the Lord Jesus. They did not investigate the origin of the things the Lord Jesus did or the substance of the words and the things the Lord Jesus said and did, but with their evil intention consciously attacked and vilified the Lord Jesus’ deeds in a blind, impetuous, and desperate way, even to the point of willfully vilifying the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, that is, the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit. This is what the words “He is beside himself; Beelzebub and the prince of the devils” spoken from their mouths meant. In other words, they spoke of the Spirit of God as Beelzebub and the prince of the devils and condemned the work of the flesh God’s Spirit was clothed with as being beside himself. They not only blasphemed the Spirit of God as Beelzebub and the prince of the devils, but also condemned God’s work and condemned and blasphemed the Lord Jesus Christ. The substance of their resisting and blaspheming God was completely the same as the substance of satan’s and devils’ resisting and blaspheming God. They did not just represent the corrupt mankind but were even more the embodiment of satan. They were satan’s outlet among mankind and were also satan’s accomplices and satan’s servants. The substance of their blaspheming and vilifying the Lord Jesus Christ was that they contended with God for position, competed against God, and constantly tested God. Their substance of resisting God, their hostile attitude toward God, what they said in their mouths, and what they thought in their hearts all directly blasphemed and infuriated God’s Spirit. Therefore, God made a reasonable conclusion about what they said and did and condemned their doings as the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, which shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come, just as the following verses say, “…the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men” and “…whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” Today, let’s talk about the real meaning of this word spoken from God’s mouth, “it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come,” that is, disclose the mystery of how God fulfilled this word “it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
All the contents we talk about are related to God’s disposition and related to God’s attitude toward people, matters, and things. Of course, the two portions of scripture above are no exception. Do you see anything in these two portions of scripture? Some people say that they see God’s anger. Some say that they see the aspect of God’s disposition that does not tolerate man’s offense and see that if one does things of blaspheming God, God will not forgive him. In these two portions of scripture, although people see and feel God’s anger and God’s intolerance of man’s offense, they still do not truly know God’s attitude. In these two sections are implied God’s real attitude toward those who blaspheme and infuriate him and the way of his dealing with them. This attitude and this way of dealing are the real meaning of this word in the scripture “whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” When a person blasphemes God, that is, when he infuriates God, God will give a conclusion. This conclusion is the result given by God. The scripture records like this: “Why I say to you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men.” (Mt 12:31), and “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Mt 23:13). However, as for the scribes and the Pharisees and those who said that the Lord Jesus was beside himself, is there a record in the Bible about what their outcome was like after the Lord Jesus said those words? Is there a record about what punishment they received? Surely there is none. “There is none” said here does not mean that it is not recorded, but that actually they did not receive the outcome people could see with their physical eyes. “There is none” here tells a thing. It tells God’s attitude and principle by which he handles certain things. Toward those who blasphemed him, those who resisted him, even some people who slandered him, and those who intentionally attacked, slandered, and reviled him, he did not turn a blind eye or a deaf ear but had a definite attitude. He hated those people, also condemned them in his heart, and even declared their outcome publicly, so that man could know he had a definite attitude toward those who blasphemed him and know how he would decide their outcome. However, after God said those words, man could seldom see the fact of how God dealt with those people and could hardly know the principle by which God gave them the outcome or the conclusion. In other words, usually man could not see God’s concrete attitude and way of dealing with those people. This has to do with the principle of God’s doing things. In treating some people’s evil deeds, God uses actual happenings, that is, God directly punishes them or gives them deserved retribution by actual happenings, without declaring their guilt or deciding their outcome. Such actual happenings punish their flesh and can all be seen by human physical eyes. In treating some people’s evil deeds, God only curses them with words, his anger coming upon them at the same time. However, the punishment they receive may not be seen by human physical eyes, but in nature such an outcome is even severer than the visible outcome of being punished or struck down. This is because under the situation that God is determined to not save such people, no longer have mercy on them, no longer tolerate them, and no longer give them any chance, God’s attitude toward them is laying them aside. What does “laying aside” mean? This phrase itself means putting aside first, ignoring, and paying no attention. For “laying one aside” God has two explanations: The first explanation is that God gives his life and his everything to satan to deal with and God is no longer responsible for him and no longer manages him, and that whether he becomes insane, mad, or idiotic, whether he lives or dies, or whether he suffers punishment in hell, it has nothing to do with God. This means that such a created being totally has nothing to do with the Creator. The second explanation is that God is determined to personally do something on such a person. He may use him to do service, may use him as a setoff, or may deal with him or treat him in a special way as he treated Paul. This is the principle and attitude in God’s heart by which he is determined to deal with this kind of people. So when a person resists God, slanders God, or blasphemes God, if he provokes God’s disposition and touches God’s bottom line, the consequence is unimaginable. The worst consequence is that God hands the person’s life and his everything over to satan once for all and will never ever forgive him. This means that this person becomes the food in satan’s mouth and the plaything in satan’s hands, and from that time on he no longer has anything to do with God. Can you imagine what the miserable state was like when Job was tempted by satan at that time? Job still suffered very greatly under the condition that God did not allow it to take his life. How much more unimaginable will satan’s torture be to a person who has been completely handed over to satan, a person who has been completely controlled by satan, a person who has completely lost God’s care and mercy and lost the Creator’s governing, and a person who has been deprived of the right to worship the Creator, who has been deprived of the right to be a created being under the sovereignty of God, and who completely has nothing to do with the Creator? Satan’s affliction of Job could be seen by human physical eyes. However, if God hands a person’s life over to satan, the consequence is beyond anyone’s imagination. For example, some people are reincarnated as oxen, some as donkeys, some, however, are occupied and possessed by unclean demons and evil spirits, and so on. These are the outcomes and the ends of some people who have been handed over to satan by God. Outwardly, those who mocked, slandered, condemned, and blasphemed the Lord Jesus at that time did not bear any consequence. But in fact God has an attitude in handling anything. As for the outcomes of various kinds of people, God does not always tell them to man with clear words. Sometimes, God does not say anything directly but does things directly. Saying nothing does not mean that there is no result. Maybe this result is even worse. Outwardly, God does not say anything to certain people to make clear his attitude, but actually in his heart he has long not wanted to pay heed to them or see them again. Because of their doings and because of the substance of their nature, God only wants them to disappear from his sight, and he directly hands them over to satan, handing their spirit, soul, and body all over to satan, and lets satan do anything to them at will. It can be seen to what extent God has hated and loathed such people. When a person so infuriates God that God wants to see him no more and completely gives him up, even to the point that God does not want to deal with him personally, but hands him over to satan and lets satan do anything to him at will, letting satan control, devour, and treat him at will, then this person is completely finished, and he is forever disqualified from being a man and no longer has the qualification of being a created being. Isn’t this the most severe punishment?
The above content is the complete interpretation of the word “it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come,” and is also the simple explanation of these verses. You understand, right?
(Mk 3:21-22) And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils.
11. Jesus’ Rebuke to the Pharisees
(Mt 12:31-32) “Why I say to you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
(Mt 23:13-15) “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
The above are two different parts of contents. Let’s now look at the first part: The Pharisees’ Judgment on Jesus.
In the scriptures, the Pharisees’ evaluation of Jesus and the things Jesus did was: (Mk 3:21-22) …they said, He is beside himself. … He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils. The scribes and Pharisees’ judgment on the Lord Jesus was not their echo of what others said or their baseless imagination, but was the conclusion they drew about the Lord Jesus after they saw and heard the things the Lord Jesus did. Although their conclusion was under the cover of upholding justice, which seemed to be reasonable and substantiated, nevertheless their aggressive arrogance in judging the Lord Jesus could not be contained even by themselves. Their frenzied manner of hating the Lord Jesus betrayed their ambition, betrayed their evil satanic face, and betrayed their malicious nature of resisting God. And it was just driven by their ambition, jealousy, and ugly and malicious nature of hating the truth and hating God that they spoke out these words of judgment on the Lord Jesus. They did not investigate the origin of the things the Lord Jesus did or the substance of the words and the things the Lord Jesus said and did, but with their evil intention consciously attacked and vilified the Lord Jesus’ deeds in a blind, impetuous, and desperate way, even to the point of willfully vilifying the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, that is, the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit. This is what the words “He is beside himself; Beelzebub and the prince of the devils” spoken from their mouths meant. In other words, they spoke of the Spirit of God as Beelzebub and the prince of the devils and condemned the work of the flesh God’s Spirit was clothed with as being beside himself. They not only blasphemed the Spirit of God as Beelzebub and the prince of the devils, but also condemned God’s work and condemned and blasphemed the Lord Jesus Christ. The substance of their resisting and blaspheming God was completely the same as the substance of satan’s and devils’ resisting and blaspheming God. They did not just represent the corrupt mankind but were even more the embodiment of satan. They were satan’s outlet among mankind and were also satan’s accomplices and satan’s servants. The substance of their blaspheming and vilifying the Lord Jesus Christ was that they contended with God for position, competed against God, and constantly tested God. Their substance of resisting God, their hostile attitude toward God, what they said in their mouths, and what they thought in their hearts all directly blasphemed and infuriated God’s Spirit. Therefore, God made a reasonable conclusion about what they said and did and condemned their doings as the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, which shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come, just as the following verses say, “…the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men” and “…whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” Today, let’s talk about the real meaning of this word spoken from God’s mouth, “it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come,” that is, disclose the mystery of how God fulfilled this word “it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
All the contents we talk about are related to God’s disposition and related to God’s attitude toward people, matters, and things. Of course, the two portions of scripture above are no exception. Do you see anything in these two portions of scripture? Some people say that they see God’s anger. Some say that they see the aspect of God’s disposition that does not tolerate man’s offense and see that if one does things of blaspheming God, God will not forgive him. In these two portions of scripture, although people see and feel God’s anger and God’s intolerance of man’s offense, they still do not truly know God’s attitude. In these two sections are implied God’s real attitude toward those who blaspheme and infuriate him and the way of his dealing with them. This attitude and this way of dealing are the real meaning of this word in the scripture “whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” When a person blasphemes God, that is, when he infuriates God, God will give a conclusion. This conclusion is the result given by God. The scripture records like this: “Why I say to you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men.” (Mt 12:31), and “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Mt 23:13). However, as for the scribes and the Pharisees and those who said that the Lord Jesus was beside himself, is there a record in the Bible about what their outcome was like after the Lord Jesus said those words? Is there a record about what punishment they received? Surely there is none. “There is none” said here does not mean that it is not recorded, but that actually they did not receive the outcome people could see with their physical eyes. “There is none” here tells a thing. It tells God’s attitude and principle by which he handles certain things. Toward those who blasphemed him, those who resisted him, even some people who slandered him, and those who intentionally attacked, slandered, and reviled him, he did not turn a blind eye or a deaf ear but had a definite attitude. He hated those people, also condemned them in his heart, and even declared their outcome publicly, so that man could know he had a definite attitude toward those who blasphemed him and know how he would decide their outcome. However, after God said those words, man could seldom see the fact of how God dealt with those people and could hardly know the principle by which God gave them the outcome or the conclusion. In other words, usually man could not see God’s concrete attitude and way of dealing with those people. This has to do with the principle of God’s doing things. In treating some people’s evil deeds, God uses actual happenings, that is, God directly punishes them or gives them deserved retribution by actual happenings, without declaring their guilt or deciding their outcome. Such actual happenings punish their flesh and can all be seen by human physical eyes. In treating some people’s evil deeds, God only curses them with words, his anger coming upon them at the same time. However, the punishment they receive may not be seen by human physical eyes, but in nature such an outcome is even severer than the visible outcome of being punished or struck down. This is because under the situation that God is determined to not save such people, no longer have mercy on them, no longer tolerate them, and no longer give them any chance, God’s attitude toward them is laying them aside. What does “laying aside” mean? This phrase itself means putting aside first, ignoring, and paying no attention. For “laying one aside” God has two explanations: The first explanation is that God gives his life and his everything to satan to deal with and God is no longer responsible for him and no longer manages him, and that whether he becomes insane, mad, or idiotic, whether he lives or dies, or whether he suffers punishment in hell, it has nothing to do with God. This means that such a created being totally has nothing to do with the Creator. The second explanation is that God is determined to personally do something on such a person. He may use him to do service, may use him as a setoff, or may deal with him or treat him in a special way as he treated Paul. This is the principle and attitude in God’s heart by which he is determined to deal with this kind of people. So when a person resists God, slanders God, or blasphemes God, if he provokes God’s disposition and touches God’s bottom line, the consequence is unimaginable. The worst consequence is that God hands the person’s life and his everything over to satan once for all and will never ever forgive him. This means that this person becomes the food in satan’s mouth and the plaything in satan’s hands, and from that time on he no longer has anything to do with God. Can you imagine what the miserable state was like when Job was tempted by satan at that time? Job still suffered very greatly under the condition that God did not allow it to take his life. How much more unimaginable will satan’s torture be to a person who has been completely handed over to satan, a person who has been completely controlled by satan, a person who has completely lost God’s care and mercy and lost the Creator’s governing, and a person who has been deprived of the right to worship the Creator, who has been deprived of the right to be a created being under the sovereignty of God, and who completely has nothing to do with the Creator? Satan’s affliction of Job could be seen by human physical eyes. However, if God hands a person’s life over to satan, the consequence is beyond anyone’s imagination. For example, some people are reincarnated as oxen, some as donkeys, some, however, are occupied and possessed by unclean demons and evil spirits, and so on. These are the outcomes and the ends of some people who have been handed over to satan by God. Outwardly, those who mocked, slandered, condemned, and blasphemed the Lord Jesus at that time did not bear any consequence. But in fact God has an attitude in handling anything. As for the outcomes of various kinds of people, God does not always tell them to man with clear words. Sometimes, God does not say anything directly but does things directly. Saying nothing does not mean that there is no result. Maybe this result is even worse. Outwardly, God does not say anything to certain people to make clear his attitude, but actually in his heart he has long not wanted to pay heed to them or see them again. Because of their doings and because of the substance of their nature, God only wants them to disappear from his sight, and he directly hands them over to satan, handing their spirit, soul, and body all over to satan, and lets satan do anything to them at will. It can be seen to what extent God has hated and loathed such people. When a person so infuriates God that God wants to see him no more and completely gives him up, even to the point that God does not want to deal with him personally, but hands him over to satan and lets satan do anything to him at will, letting satan control, devour, and treat him at will, then this person is completely finished, and he is forever disqualified from being a man and no longer has the qualification of being a created being. Isn’t this the most severe punishment?
The above content is the complete interpretation of the word “it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come,” and is also the simple explanation of these verses. You understand, right?