18.01 | Unforgiveable?
Matthew 12:22-50
“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Matthew 12:31-32
Unforgivable.
It’s not a word we readily associate with Jesus.
We’re used to the amazing grace kind of spirituality, extending forgiveness to those whose mistakes are the biggest and welcome to criminals on a cross. The message and life of Jesus seems to, in every other instance we can think of, be about gratuitous forgiveness of the seemingly most unforgivable activities.
These words, then, seem kind of against the grain.
Many of us then go into the next layer of anxiety around this.
Have I, intentionally or inadvertently, committed this unforgivable sin? Did it slip out in some moment of frustration, or did I speak it in ignorance? Would every other way I’ve tried to live for God be cast aside and ignored because I’d slipped into the unforgivable sin?
There is good news.
Such questions deeply misunderstand what Jesus is actually saying.
The story begins today with a blind and mute man, oppressed by a demon, being brought to Jesus. Jesus heals and delivers him, radically transforming his story: from slavery and silence and sightlessness, to freedom and sound and beauty. He suddenly can see the faces of friends, family members, neighbours; in a moment he can speak, finally able to express the hidden thoughts of his heart. He is liberated from the presence of the demonic, whispering dark words and hateful thoughts to his very soul. He has been set beautifully free.
You’d have thought that was that, a matter of great joy.
However, the Pharisees don’t see it this way. Where the people see something wonderful; the Pharisees see something threatening. Where the people see something to celebrate; the Pharisees see something to criticise. Where the people see life; the Pharisees see death. Where the people see Holy Spirit; the Pharisees see evil spirit.
Where the people see heaven; the Pharisees see hell.
Jesus’ concern is always with the heart. And in the way of Jesus, the heart is not just about feelings or thoughts. It also has to do with how we see. The heart receives the data we send it and it interprets that data according to its values.
The healing of this man exposes the one condition beyond the reach of the grace of God. It is the condition of the person who is so closed to the goodness of God, that they view that goodness itself as an act of evil. The Pharisees are so blind of heart that they are as spiritually dead as can be.
Why?
Because at the most basic level they reject the exact solution to their problem. How can you be rescued if you call your rescuer an enemy? How can you be healed if you consider your tonic to be poison? How can you be free if you see your prison as your place of liberty?
Why would you ever want heaven if you believe it to be hell?
The great stories of old—Jonah preaching to God’s enemies, the Queen of Sheba travelling the earth to seek the wisdom of Solomon—were of those whose lives looked anything but religious, but who recognised the flavour of heaven when they tasted it.
The Bible has a word for this seeing of the heart.
Faith.
Faith sees differently.
It casts off the cataracts of dead religion. It sees every small trace and cascade of heaven breaking into our world, and meets it with joy. It looks at any story of pain and wounding, and can visualise the potential of goodness, life, and love of Jesus breaking in.
Do you hear this story and rejoice? Do you receive it as something of beauty rather than something threatening?
Then you are learning to see with the heart.
And you are learning what it is to participate in the family of Jesus.
Reflect:
Check how we see.
Are there ways that we are limiting the generosity of Jesus within the confines of tidy religion? How may He be asking us to interrupt those we meet with surprising measures of kindness and the truth of His love?
Pray:
Father,
Teach me to see.
Teach me to see with the beauty and simplicity of Jesus Himself;
Teach me to laugh and rejoice with all that is beautiful and good;
Teach me to weep and grieve with all that is wounded and wicked;
Renew my very heart so that I can be a person who sees clearly.
And as you dispatch from me all things of hell,
Would you fill me with the things of heaven:
Your Spirit. Your power. Your love.
Your way of seeing.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
Genesis 38-39 | Psalm 11