What Does It Mean To Blaspheme Against The Holy Spirit?

Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Mark 3:28-29 KJV

Above are the scriptures most people read, and then come to the conclusion that to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit means when you call the name of the Holy Spirit without reverence. Some think to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit means to publicly or privately voice out the words, “Holy Spirit, you are wicked,” “Holy Spirit, you are bad,” or “Holy Spirit, you are this or that” out of emotional distress or pain, but that’s not it at all.

To understand what this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, let us examine Jesus’ words on this in context.

Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, whatsoever blasphemous words that comes out of their mouth and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Mark 3:28-29 KJV

From the above verses, you should understand that something had happened in the previous verses that made Jesus say all that. Let’s find out what happened in the previous verses that made Jesus speak about blaspheming against the Holy Spirit because the previous verses hold the key to understanding what Jesus meant by blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. From the previous verses, we see:

[20]And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

[21]And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

[22]And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

[24]And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Mark 3:20-22,24 KJV

[6]And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

[7]But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
Mark 3:6-7 KJV

Now notice from the previous verses above that the Pharisees and Scribes hated Jesus; they wanted to kill him because people have come to start believing that he was the Christ upon seeing the miracles that he performed, but they were convinced he was of the devil.

The Pharisees and Scribes didn’t want the people to turn away from their teachings and then turn to Jesus. Jesus always had a way of pulling multitudes of people to himself, and the Pharisees and Scribes were jealous, angry, and full of hate about it. They sought a means to discredit him in the eyes of the public; they sought a means to tarnish his image in the eyes of the public so that the multitude that gathered would find fault in him and then disbelief in him. At this point, Jesus was already casting out demons from those possessed by demons. So the scribes spoke out before the multitude in a surge of rage, saying, “This man Jesus is casting out devils using the power of the prince of demons (Belzebub).” They said that trying to lure the multitude away from Jesus; this was the agenda of the Pharisees and Scribes as they employed such tactics; then Jesus spoke out and explained himself.

[23]And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

[24]And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. (How can Satan work against his own mission and plans in people’s life. How can Satan fight against his own kingdom).

[25]And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. (If Satan and all his cohorts begins to fight each other how can they make progress in the demonic realm).

[26]And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

[27]No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
Mark 3:23-27 KJV

Meaning Jesus is the one with superior authority, stronger than the spirit that did the demonic possession, and Jesus was saying that both opposing forces cannot mix; light and darkness cannot mix. That’s what Jesus was trying to say in summary when they said he was casting the devil by the power of the prince of demons. It was at this junction that Jesus then began to say below:

[28]Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

[29]But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Mark 3:28-29 KJV

From the above verses, the Greek word used for the word “Blashpeme” is the word “blasphēmeō,” and this word blasphēmeō, when rightly translated, means to defame by speaking ill words about another or a person. That is evil speaking done to defame a person’s fame, value, or image. The same word means the same thing when you say “to tarnish someone’s image.” So Jesus said any other form of defameable words coming out of the mouths of men will be and can be forgiven, but defaming, blaspheming, or trying to tarnish the image of the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven.

Now, question: Which image were the Pharisees and Scribes trying to tarnish in context before the people? It was definitely not the Holy Spirit’s image, but rather Jesus’ image. So Jesus indirectly tells them, “If you speak against me, trying to get people not to believe in me, you are speaking against the Holy Spirit.” Meaning that to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to say Jesus is not who he claims to be. Saying Jesus Christ is not the messiah is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and this was what the Pharisees and Scribes were doing. Trying to discredit the fact that Jesus Christ was the saviour, the messiah.

To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is not when you open your mouth and say, “Holy Spirit, I don’t trust, I don’t like you,” but rather to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is when you open your mouth to say Jesus is not the Christ because and that he is of the devil and not of God. To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to speak against Jesus and all that the Father sent him to do for humanity. To speak against the Holy Spirit is to make light of the finished works of Christ by demonstrating a form of resentment and unbelief.

Jesus explains this further here by saying the Holy Spirit is the spirit of the Father, and if you dishonor his son, you dishonor the Father.

[23]That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

[24]Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
John 5:23-24 KJV

Meaning that how you honour the Son of the Father, Jesus, is to believe in him and that he is who the scriptures say he is. To dishonour the son is to dishonour the Holy Spirit. To dishonour the Son is to have disbelief in him, that is, to not believe in Him for your salvation. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is to say Jesus is not who he claims to be from the scriptures and that he is of the devil or not of God. The Holy Spirit does not live to glorify himself but to glorify Jesus. Jesus tells us this below:

[13]Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

[14]He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
John 16:13-14 KJV

So glorifying Jesus is how you glorify the Holy Spirit. Not glorifying Jesus is how you dishonour the Holy Spirit.

[29]But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

[30]Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
Mark 3:29-30 KJV

They blasphemed against the Holy Spirit because they tried to defame Jesus; they tried to discredit Jesus so that people don’t believe in him; that’s the blasphemy there. In other words, to blaspheme in context here refers to unbelief in Jesus. The sin of blasphemy is the sin of unbelief in Jesus, and that sin of unbelief is what leads people to hell.

[7]Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

[8]And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

[9]Of sin, because they believe not in me;
John 16:7-9 KJV

Not believing in Jesus and trying to discredit the fact that Jesus is the messiah is a sin, and the sin that leads people to hell; that’s what the scriptures call blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and people who commit such sins will go to hell unless they move from unbelief to believing.

[28]He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

[29]Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Hebrews 10:28-29 KJV

So to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to count the blood of Jesus as worthless, nothing, and something that it cannot save. I hope you get this now? If yes, I am glad.

Credit: Jonah Kingsley