Pastor Scott Andrews | August 17, 2025
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Luke 11:14-20
Some of you may remember this story I’ve told in part. It was a Saturday morning when I received the call. I knew it would come, eventually, and had prepared for it. I had been through school, taken all the pastoral theology, counseling, practical application classes that were supposed to prepare you. But when the call came, I remember being more than just a little shaken. It was to be my first funeral. And not just any funeral. I was only 25 and the deceased was Jimmy, a guy I worked with. He was only 18, still in high school, and had taken his own life. He was from a Catholic family, and his mother called me in hysterics, asking if I’d do the funeral.
I say Catholic because for centuries the Catholic Church had taught suicide was one of the unforgivable sins. The great Catholic theologian, Thomas Aquinas, called it a mortal sin that could not be forgiven. Since it was self-murder, there was no way to seek forgiveness, no way to perform penance, do works of satisfaction, receive absolution, so the offender was without hope. For centuries, funerals of suicide victims could not even be held in the church.
The Catholic church has recently loosened its position on that teaching, but the vestiges remain, even in Protestant churches. His mother asked me, “Can Jimmy possibly be in heaven?” Had he committed the unpardonable sin? What would you say to Jimmy’s mom?
In fact, what would you say if an offending sinner came to you and said, “I’ve committed adultery, can God possibly forgive me?” Or, “I’ve committed some degree of apostasy – for years I lived away from the Lord, even though I knew what I was doing – I lived apart from Him, I broke His law, intentionally, knowingly – can God forgive me?” How about this – I say it very gently, “I committed murder – oh, no one knows it – but I had an abortion. I killed my baby – can God forgive me?” You see, the church at different times, in addition to suicide, has also taught that murder, adultery and apostasy were unforgivable; there is no hope for you. But is that true?
Maybe you’re like John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, who for years saw himself beyond the reach of God’s grace. He’d been a slave trader and lived a vile life. And so, for years, though he prayed and studied the Bible, he saw his fate as worse than dogs – at least when they die, that’s it for them. Not me – there’s a life after death, and in the life to come, there’s no way God could forgive me – I’ve gone too far, I’ve been too evil. Or maybe you’ve had this thought – there’s no way a Christian would sin like I have, and now it’s too late for me. Maybe, this morning, and you’re going through the motions, because you’ve wondered, for a long time, is it possible for God to forgive me? Have I committed some unpardonable sin, whatever that is? Is there any hope; am I beyond the reach of God’s grace? These are serious questions.
There’s been much flabby teaching – downright wrong teaching – when it comes to the topic. We’re going to look at the unpardonable sin today – while not specifically in our text as we continue our study of Luke, the parallel passage in Matthew addresses it – and so we’ll end with that today. But, far from being a message of gloom, I want it to be a word that encourages you by the depth and breadth of God’s amazing grace.
Our text is found in Luke 11. Now, to this point, Luke has proven conclusively Jesus is the Messiah – important for understanding this text. His words and works were indisputable. Oh, you can dismiss Him as a fraud, or a good teacher – but certainly not God in the flesh, as many tried to do, then and today.
He was the hope of Israel – He was the one for whom they had waited. He proved it by His amazing words and miraculous works. You see, during His life, He fulfilled all the OT prophecies concerning the Expected One to come; but He didn’t fit the profile the Jews had created for the Messiah. While He fit the biblical qualifications perfectly, He didn’t fit their cultural expectations. He didn’t fit the religious expectations – in fact, His words and His works had flown in the face of the religious establishment of the day – and they didn’t like it. And so, we’ve found opposition rising, led by the religious elite.
This opposition is going to continue to mount until it culminates in the cross. In fact, at this point in Luke, Jesus is on a six-month journey to Jerusalem. And as the opposition rises precipitously, Jesus says, in the story today, you just stepped over the line – you just committed the unpardonable sin – says that in Matthew. But let’s begin with Luke 11:14-20.
This accusation against Jesus is the unpardonable sin. I’m going to outline the text this way:
I. The Miracle, which sets this discussion in motion (14)
II. The Response of the Crowd (14)
III. The Response of Others, namely, scribes and Pharisees (15-16)
IV. Jesus’ Rebuttal to their Response (17-20) – and finish in Matthew 12:31-32
Let’s begin with the miracle in verse 14. Now, miracles have been standard fair during Jesus’ ministry, and frankly, there was nothing special about this miracle – it’s covered in one verse. In fact, there’s less recorded about this healing than many others. By this time, Jesus had healed hundreds, maybe thousands of people.
Remember, He healed all who came to Him. Further, there was no denying His miracles – He largely did them in public for all to see – to include the religious elite. A quick survey of Luke to this point reveals He healed a demon-possessed man in the synagogue of Capernaum; He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a persistent fever, which resulted that day in many healings and exorcisms as the people brought all who were sick or possessed – and He healed all of them. The list goes on: He healed a leper and paralytic – remember, that one irritated the religious elite since He also forgave that guy’s sins; He healed the centurion’s servant from a distance – Jesus wasn’t even there; He raised the widow’s son from the dead.
When the deputation from John the Baptist came to ask Jesus, are you the Expected One, or should we look for another – Jesus let loose a lot of miracles, curing many of diseases and demon possession – even giving sight to the blind, which only God does. He drove the legion of demons out of the maniac of Gadera; He sent the Twelve then the Seventy to do the same.
That doesn’t count other miracles like the miraculous catch of fish, the calming of the storm, the feeding of the five thousand. The truth is, this guy was more than amazing, He was the very Son of God – and He proved it.
Here, He heals a mute and blind man (Matthew tells us) who was demon-possessed. The wording in Greek seems to indicate His physical ailments were a result of his demon possession. So, Jesus took care of the problem – He exorcised the demon. No big deal – He had done it many times before. And the man both spoke and saw. Great.
Bringing us to the response of the people, and we find again the crowds were amazed. Now, back in Matthew, at this point, they asked a very important question: “This man cannot be the Son of David, can He?” That’s significant. Till now, they’ve been amazed by this miracle worker from Galilee. But the indisputable evidence is mounting, and finally, they ask the question, “Could this be the Son of David – that is, could this possibly be the One we’ve been waiting for, could this be the Messiah?” That’s what this was all about. But something about this miracle finally made the lights start to come on. Which was too much for the Pharisees.
Bringing us to our third point, very briefly, the response of the religious elite – Matthew calls them Pharisees, Mark calls them scribes, here, they’re simply others. Verse 15, but some of them said – Matthew tells us they said to the crowds in response to their amazement and their questions, they said to them, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”
Now, don’t miss it – there was no denying the miracle. The mute, blind guy was standing in front of them reading the eye chart, talking their ears off. So how did the religious respond? Praise the Lord, this is wonderful, this guy must be the Messiah. No. They’d already called Him a drunk, that didn’t seem to be working. They already called Him a glutton, that wasn’t working. They already called Him a friend of tax collectors and sinners. They already attacked Him for breaking their law – violating the traditions of the elders regarding the Sabbath – that wasn’t working. They’re backs are against the wall – they have one of two choices – give up, or reach for the biggest gun in their arsenal. You can see the rage reach a boiling point – they erupt, they explode – He’s a demon. He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons. That was the biggest “no” they could muster.
Now remember, all Jesus was saying, all He was doing, was intended to point to His divinity. “Here it is, you can know that I am who I claim to be – here’s undeniable proof.” And the Pharisees, the scribes, looked at that irrefutable evidence…and turned away. They had heard everything there was to hear, they had seen everything there was to see, and they said, we don’t believe it. It was full rejection in the face of full revelation. He’s of the devil, and that placed them beyond forgiveness. Why? Because there’s nothing more. If you choose to harden your heart after you’ve seen it all, heard it all, that’s all there is. People do it all the time today. They hear the truth of the gospel, they deny it. They deny the truth of God’s Word – dismiss it as legend or myth. They deny the deity of Jesus – He was a fraud, a religious teacher, a god-wanna-be. They’ve heard it, and deny it all. My friend, please don’t do that – examine the irrefutable evidence and believe. Because there may come a point when belief is no longer possible.
Not only did they turn away, it brought out the worst in them – it brought out slanderous accusation and blasphemy. Ultimately, murderous intent. That’s what Jesus does – He produces devoted followers or incites violent opposition. You see that in some African countries today, where churches being burned, and believers, even children are being beheaded.
Let me illustrate. Over twenty years ago, at the inauguration of President Bush, Franklin Graham got himself into big trouble – what did he do? He prayed in Jesus’ name. The media blasted him. Franklin’s response, “You mention the name of Muhammad, and people say, ‘That’s OK.’ You mention the name of Buddha, and people say, ‘That’s nice.’ You mention the name of Jesus Christ, and it’s a sword that divides a room…No name polarizes a room or a setting like the name of Jesus Christ.” Think about it – when the Pharisees said, Jesus is doing what He was doing by the power of Satan, they were acknowledging His works were supernatural. There was no denying the miracle or the man – then, or now. No neutral ground – you either accept His claims or reject Him altogether as a demon. He really can’t be in-between. As C. S. Lewis once said, He was either a maniac or the Son of God, but away with this idea He was a good man, a moral man.
The mention of this man, His works, His word, divides. In fact, that’s what Jesus says in verse 23, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.” Two extremes. He was saying, you’ve heard My words, you’ve seen My works. Make a decision – who are you with? There is no neutrality with Jesus – you’re either for Him, or against Him. There’s not some middle of the road position, being more tolerant. “You guys need to be more tolerant of other religions – you need to accept Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha – let’s join hands and be one big happy family.” Jesus said, no, you can’t do that. It’s all Me, or nothing.
Which brings us to our fourth point, Jesus’ Rebuttal in verses 17-20, and als we’ll finish in Matthew 12. The Pharisees, scribes, had given their response to the crowds, but apparently, not in front of Jesus – at least not where He could hear. Because notice, He knew their thoughts and responds. Which is interesting – in verse 16 we read others wanted to test Him, give us another sign, so Jesus says, okay, how about this – I just read your thoughts. They missed it. Anyway, His response can be divided into two parts:
A. First, He says, your Accusation is Untenable – it’s irrational and inconsistent, (17-20).
B. Second, your Blasphemy is Unpardonable (Matthew 12).
He starts by saying, what you’re saying doesn’t even make sense – it’s ludicrous, it’s untenable. Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, bound for destruction – it can’t stand. A city, a house – doesn’t matter – if there is internal strife and division, it will ultimately collapse. I won’t take the time to take you through history to show how that is true.
So too, if Satan’s empire is divided, it won’t stand. Jesus says, if I by Satan or Beelzebul – which is a derogatory term for Satan – it means, Lord of the Flies – if I by Satan cast out his own followers – and I’ve been doing that all over the place for the past three years, his kingdom won’t stand. It’s self-defeating. That doesn’t even make sense – it’s irrational.
And by the way, He says, if I’m casting out demons by the power of Satan, by what power do your sons cast them out? You see, the Jews understood the reality of demonic activity – that demons do in fact oppress and possess people. The Pharisees teaching even included ways to cast out demons. Jesus says, if you believe in demons, and if you teach your followers to cast them out, and apparently they did – how do they do it – by what power? You say it is of God – but now you say I’m doing the same thing – only much greater – by the power of Satan. Not only are you irrational, you’re inconsistent. They will serve as your judges – meaning they by their actions refute what you’re saying.
Then He drives it home. He says, but if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. The finger of God is seen through the OT as the powerful presence and work of God. It only takes a finger, but it is His work nonetheless. We read the expression in Exodus 8. When God through Moses performed the first two plagues, the magicians of Egypt performed the same with dark magic arts. But the third one – gnats over the land – they were unable to duplicate. They said to Pharoah, this is the finger of God. So Jesus says, if I perform miracles by the finger of God, it is proof that the kingdom of heaven is here.
What does that mean? That Jesus brought the kingdom, and all who believe in Him will be brought into the kingdom. Christ by His Spirit will reign in your hearts. True, the kingdom is not here in its fullness – but it is here. And they heard it all, saw it all, and denied it all.
And so, not only was their accusation untenable, it was also unpardonable – Matthew 12. And it is here Jesus speaks of a sin which will not be forgiven – either in this age, or the age to come, which was His way of saying – this sin will never be forgiven. Look at the text:
31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
32 “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, either in this age or in the age to come.
What is He talking about? There are several questions: What is the sin that will never be forgiven, the so-called unpardonable sin? Further, can it still be committed today? If so, can Christians commit the unpardonable sin? Let’s make it personal – can I, have I, committed the unpardonable sin, which means I’ve lost my eternal salvation and on my way to hell? Let’s start with that first one – what is the unpardonable sin? The context here is critically important.
Let me tell you what it’s not? It is not suicide. Nothing in the text talks about suicide or murder, or adultery, for that matter. And notice, Jesus says any sin shall be forgiven people. Any sin. Those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ have been justified – all their sins, past, present, and future are forgiven – removed as far as the east from the west, plunged into the deepest sea, remembered no more. Believers have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ, passed from death to live. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Does that mean believers no longer sin? Of course not. Is it possible for believers to commit egregious sins? Yes. But is there forgiveness? Yes. That doesn’t mean we can live however we want. Paul asks, do we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be. But sometimes, Christians sin – and sometimes they sin terribly, and yet, there is always grace, there is always forgiveness for the true follower of Jesus Christ.
So, if it’s not what we’ve maybe heard, what then, is the unpardonable sin? Here, we see Jesus calls it the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? Mark sheds a little light on it. In his parallel passage in Mark 3, we read these words where Jesus said, “‘Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’ – [then Mark goes on to identify this blasphemy of the Holy Spirit] because they were saying, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’” What Jesus does is by the power of Satan.
Mark says the unpardonable sin occurred because they said the works Jesus was doing were being done by a demonic spirit. From that, we derive this definition of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit – attributing to Satan the works of the Holy Spirit. But even that doesn’t quite get it. Remember the context. The Pharisees, scribes, had heard what Jesus had to say. They had seen what He could do. The very miracles He was performing were irrefutable evidence He was the Messiah, the Son of God. But despite the truth of His words, despite the power in His miracles, they closed their eyes, they stopped their ears, they clenched their teeth, and said, “NO! I refuse to believe. You’re of the devil.” And Jesus said, there is no hope for you.
I believe that’s what the author of Hebrews was talking about in those difficult passages in Hebrews 6 and 10. There, he speaks of those who have been enlightened, who have tasted of the heavenly gift, who have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, who have tasted of the word of God and the powers of the age to come. They’ve seen it – it’s been so close, they could taste it, partake in the benefits of eternal life – but having seen it, having tasted it, they say, no. And they harden their hearts to the degree that they will never be redeemed, not in this life, nor in the age to come. Why? The author of Hebrews says they would be crucifying Christ again.
I want to make this very clear. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an ongoing rejection of Christ’s offer of salvation, and denying who He is. The people here had seen the miraculous works of Jesus with their own eyes. Any reasonable person would have concluded that God had to be working through Jesus. The evidence was unmistakable. But they rejected it. The person who commits blasphemy against the Spirit is a person who: 1) is aware of the miraculous works of Jesus, 2) consciously rejects the conclusion those works are from God, 3) believes those works are actually from the devil, and 4) tell others that Jesus is demonic.
One said it this way, “Surely what Jesus is speaking of here is not an isolated act but a settled condition of the soul – the result of a long history of repeated and willful acts of sin through hardness of heart.” It is cosmic unbelief, calculated wholehearted rejection of Jesus and His message, culminating in a vitriolic declaration that Jesus is from the devil. (MacArthur)
Let’s quickly answer a couple final questions as we close. First, can a believer commit the unpardonable sin? The answer is unequivocally no. No Christian can commit a sin for which there will never be forgiveness. They have already been forgiven. Other Scriptures make that crystal clear. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24). You say, but what if he turns from Christ and curses Him as evil. Then I would suggest he or she never was a believer.
How about this question – can an unbeliever commit this sin and later desire to be saved? Again, the answer is a qualified no. Anyone committing this sin is forever hardened in unbelief. There never would be a time later in life when this person would have any interest in Christ or any desire for salvation or forgiveness. The flip side of the coin is also true: if any unbeliever wants to be saved, he or she can – they have not committed the unpardonable sin.
And finally – how do I know if I have committed the unpardonable sin? The answer is, if you’re worried about it, you haven’t. The one who is hardened stays hardened, doesn’t seek forgiveness, and would never believe Jesus is the Son of God. If you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God – if you have asked Him to save you from your sin – if you believe He rose from the dead, ascended to the Father, and is seated at the right hand of God, and have received it for yourself, then you cannot and will not ever commit this sin.
Now, let me say one more thing. Many of you aren’t so much concerned about yourself. You know the Savior, you know your sins are forgiven. But what about mom? What about dad? What about a friend or loved one who has violently and vehemently denied Christ? Is it too late for them? Have they committed this sin?
Listen, I don’t know – neither do you. Jesus is the only one who talked about the unpardonable sin – He’s the only one who ever told someone, you’ve gone too far. You see, the ultimate judgment of the soul belongs to God alone. Not to you, not to me. Has your friend or loved one gone too far? Who knows – that’s not for you or me or anyone else to decide. Only God knows. So the point is, you keep praying, you keep trusting, you keep sharing – and trust their eternal salvation to the only one who can do anything about it anyway.
So as we close, what can we take from this message? Much encouragement. Far from being a passage that breeds fear and concern, it should be one that brings comfort and hope. I don’t have to worry or wonder if I’ve committed the unpardonable sin. Every sin is forgivable, is within the reach of God’s grace, save this one of a total denial of who Jesus is and what He has done – a complete hardening of the heart to the gospel. And so, I say this with a degree of trepidation. Don’t deny Christ, just because it may be popular to do so. Your eternal state is at peril.
But, if you’re confessing Jesus to be your Savior, you don’t have to worry about whether you’ve done or said something unforgivable – you haven’t. And, you don’t have to worry or wonder if some loved one has committed the unpardonable sin because they’ve committed some egregious sin that people have wrongly called unpardonable – here, Jesus says, every sin is pardonable. Because Jesus’ love for us is deep; His grace, amazing; His favor, unmerited; His forgiveness, unbounded.