Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Mark chapter 3 verses 28 through 30:
28 ‘Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’— 30for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’
This is probably one of the most misunderstood, mistranslated, and simply altogether missed passages in the Scripture.
The “eternal sin” is often mistranslated “unforgivable sin” — as if there were a sin that is unpardonable. No, the sin is “eternal”. It is a sin that lasts for ages (the Greek word is “eons”). From age to age the sin is passed down, and it is not forgiven because it is not known. The literal translation says it is a sin that cannot be let go of. From age to age each generation is guilty and blind to this same sin and from age to age each generation continues to hold on to it.
And what is the sin? What is this “blaspheme against the Holy Spirit”? It is calling evil that which is good. It is setting up opposition against the work of God in the very name of God. It is doing what they did to Jesus in this same scene in the Gospels; it is calling the liberating work of God the work of Satan. It is calling the casting out of demonic oppression the work of the devil.
This is an eternal sin. From age to age, the so-called righteous are guilty of this same sin. It is the sin that is always with us — even now. The irony is incredible. The so-called righteous unknowingly set themselves up against the works of God while at the same time claiming to defend God! So, as Jesus says, we kill the prophets of our own time while at the same time building monuments of atonement to the prophets whom our fathers killed.
You’d think one day we’d wake up to this blasphemous madness. But it’s an eternal sin, one each generation is guilty of — including our very own.
May those who have eyes to see let them see.
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