We begin today’s interpretation with verses 31 and 32:
Therefore I say to you: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven men. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Saint John Chrysostom explains what blasphemy means and why blasphemy directed against the Lord Jesus Christ differs from blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: “What do these words mean? Christ says: ‘You have spoken many things against Me, saying that I am a deceiver and an enemy of God. I forgive you this and do not demand punishment if you repent; however, blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven, even to those who repent.’ How so? For even this guilt was forgiven to those who repented. Many of those who had blasphemed the Spirit later believed, and everything was forgiven them. What then do these words mean? That the sin against the Holy Spirit is, for the most part, not forgiven. Why? Because they did not know who Christ was; but concerning the Spirit they had already acquired sufficient knowledge. Whatever the prophets spoke, they spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and in the Old Testament all had a very clear understanding of Him. Therefore the meaning of Christ’s words is the following: you may be scandalized by Me because of the flesh which I have assumed; but can you say that you do not know the Spirit? For this reason your blasphemy will not be forgiven, and you will be punished both here and there. Many were punished already in this life—for example, the fornicator among the Corinthians who partook unworthily of Communion—but you will be punished both here and there. Thus I forgive you everything that you said about Me before the Cross, even the fact that you wish to crucify Me. Even your unbelief will not be counted against you. Those who believed before the Cross did not yet have perfect faith; therefore Jesus everywhere forbade that anything about Him be proclaimed before His Passion, and even upon the Cross He prayed that the Jews’ sin might be forgiven. But what you have spoken against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. That Jesus refers to the blasphemy which the Jews uttered against Him at the Cross is evident from the following words: Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Why? Because you know the Holy Spirit and yet are not ashamed to reject the evident truth. If you say that you do not know Me, you certainly know that casting out demons and performing healings is the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore you are not opposing only Me but also the Holy Spirit. For this reason your punishment, both here and there, is inevitable. Some are punished both here and there; others only here; some only there; and some neither here nor there. Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, for example, are punished both here and there. They were punished here when they were subjected to terrible misfortunes after the capture of Jerusalem, and there they will suffer the harshest punishment, like the inhabitants of Sodom and many others. Only there—like the rich man who suffered torment in flames without even a drop of water. Only here—like the fornicator of Corinth. Neither here nor there—like the apostles, the prophets, and the blessed Job; for their sufferings were not punishments but struggles and spiritual contests.”
Saint Athanasius of Alexandria interprets these verses in a very profound way: “Here it is appropriate to cite the word of the Apostle: the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6). If we understand many things in the divine Scripture only in a literal sense, we will fall into impious blasphemy. Such is also this saying of the Lord. If we interpret this expression strictly according to the letter, we shall not only reach an impious understanding but also claim that the Lord contradicts Himself. For if whoever speaks a word against the Son will be forgiven, why then did the Son Himself say: Whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before the angels of God (Lk. 12:9)? And again, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men; why then will people give account for every idle word they speak on the Day of Judgment (Mt. 12:36)? Why will the one who says ‘You fool!’ be liable to the fire of hell (Mt. 5:22)? Why does Paul say: Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor those who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10)? If all this is so, tell me: why then will every sin and blasphemy be forgiven men? And again, if the latter statement were taken absolutely, on what basis would the unfortunate Origen be condemned, who taught that eternal punishments would come to an end and that God would forgive every sin both to humans and to demons? If blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven, why does the Church condemn Novatian, who rejected the repentance of those who had fallen into sin? It becomes even more obscure and incomprehensible if whoever speaks against the Son is forgiven while whoever speaks against the Spirit is not forgiven, as though the Son were somehow less than the Spirit and the Father. Why then do we reject the detestable Arians who diminished and humiliated the Son before the Spirit? Why does the Son say: I and the Father are one (Jn. 10:30), and that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father (Jn. 5:23), yet here He says: Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven? Will blasphemy against the Son, tell me, be forgiven to the Arians, the Simonians, the Sabellians, the Photinians, and all enemies who blaspheme the Incarnation of the Son? Let such a foolish thought be far from us! … The Jews who had always offended God fell into a double blasphemy with regards to Christ. Some were scandalized by His body—because He was the Son of Man—they considered Him merely a prophet and not God, calling Him a glutton and a wine-drinker (Mt. 11:19). To them the Lord granted forgiveness, because the preaching had only just begun and the world could hardly believe that God had become man. Therefore Christ says: Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, that is, against His body, will be forgiven. Indeed, I would dare to say that even the blessed disciples themselves did not have a perfect understanding of the divinity of Jesus until the Holy Spirit descended upon them on the Day of Pentecost. Therefore even after the Resurrection, when they saw Him, they worshiped Him—yet some doubted (Mt. 28:17)—but they were not condemned for this. However, those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit—that is, who blaspheme the divinity of Christ and say that He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons (Lk. 11:15)—such people will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come. It should be noted that Christ did not say: ‘it will not be forgiven to the one who blasphemes and repents,’ but to the one who blasphemes—that is, the one who persists in blasphemy. For worthy repentance resolves all sins. Others, examining the statement that the one who blasphemes the Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come, say that there are four ways through which the remission of sins takes place. Two occur in this life and two in the age to come. Since our memory cannot recall all the sins of our entire life so that a person may repent of them here, the merciful Lord, as they say, has prepared two ways of repentance in the age to come. If someone performs good deeds indiscriminately or moved by mercy and compassion towards his neighbour, or from other philanthropic motives, these will be considered at the judgment in the age to come; if it is shown that such deeds outweigh the sins, forgiveness will be granted. This is the first way. The second is this: if someone, overcome by sins, hears the Lord’s words, Judge not, that you be not judged, and fearing this refrains from condemning anyone for his life, then as a keeper of the commandment he will not be condemned, for the All-Truthful One will not forget His commandment.”
The other two ways of forgiveness take place here in this life. When a person, being in sins, according to the providence of God is subjected to misfortunes, illnesses, and hardships—for through these God purifies him in a way unknown to us. If the one who is being tested gives thanks, then because of his gratitude he receives a reward. If he does not give thanks, then he is condemned for the sins for which he suffers punishment and will also answer for his ingratitude. … Blasphemy against the Spirit is also unbelief, and there is no other path to the forgiveness of sins except that a person become faithful; the sin of impiety and unbelief will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come.
Venerable Symeon the New Theologian explains these words in a manner that is highly relevant for the contemporary reader. And here is why: “When someone sees that a Christian brother performs miracles or possesses some gift of the Holy Spirit—such as contrition of heart, tears, humility, understanding of divine things, or something similar, which the Holy Spirit grants to those who love God—and he says that this is delusion of the devil, such a person blasphemes the Holy Spirit… Heresy occurs when someone departs from a dogma of the Orthodox faith; however, the one who claims that today there are no people who love God and who are made worthy to receive the Holy Spirit and to be baptized by Him—that is, renewed by the grace of the Holy Spirit and made sons of God—such a person rejects the entire Incarnation of the Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ and clearly denies the restoration of the image of God.” We say that this interpretation is relevant today because there are far too many people who see apocalypse everywhere and await the end of the world, while no longer paying attention to growth in God, to the opportunity and possibility that the Lord has granted us through life in the Church and participation in the Holy Mysteries.
Blessed Theophylact of Ohrid in his interpretation explains in detail the meaning of blasphemy against the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man, and against the Holy Spirit. Here are his words: “Here it is said that a person may find some sort of justification for every other sin committed in human weakness, such as fornication, theft, and the like, and it is easier for him to obtain forgiveness from God. But when someone sees miracles performed by the Holy Spirit and blasphemes them, saying that they come from demons, what justification can he find? It is clear that such a person knows well that all this comes from the Holy Spirit and yet deliberately speaks evil. How can such a person be forgiven? When the Jews saw the Lord eating and drinking and associating with tax collectors and sinners, and doing all things as the Son of Man, they condemned Him as a glutton and a drunkard; this can be forgiven, and repentance would not even be demanded of them, because (in their weakness) they were understandably scandalized. But when they saw Him working miracles and nevertheless slandered Him and blasphemed the Holy Spirit, saying that He did this with the help of the devil, how can such a sin be forgiven unless they repent? Therefore know that the one who blasphemes the Son of Man, seeing Him living as a man and calling Him a friend of sinners, a glutton and a drunkard because of what He did, will not answer for his sin even if he does not repent. He will be forgiven, because he did not recognize Christ as God hidden in the flesh. But the one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit or the spiritual works of Christ and calls them demonic, if he does not repent, will not be forgiven, for he has no justified reason to slander Him, as did the one who saw Him among tax collectors and sinners. He will not be forgiven either in this world or in the next, and in both places he will be punished.”
The following, thirty-third verse reads:
Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.
Saint John Chrysostom demonstrates the sound logic used by the Lord Jesus and by which He revealed the absurdity of the Pharisees’ accusations: “Observe how the Saviour by His words removes every objection. Jesus did not say: agree that the tree is good because the fruit is good; rather, in order to close their mouths with greater force and to show both His condescension and their shamelessness, He says: if you wish to deny My works, let it be so; only let there be no inconsistency or contradiction in your accusations. In this way their shamelessness could be shown even more clearly, so that Jesus could say to them: you attempt in vain to act cunningly, when contradiction exists in your own words. For the tree is judged by its fruit and the fruit by the tree; yet you do the opposite. It is true that the fruit grows from the tree; but the tree must be recognized by the fruit. Therefore you should either prove that My works are evil if you wish to accuse Me, or if you praise My works then you must also free Me, who performs them, from your accusations. But you do the opposite. Finding nothing to condemn in My works, which are the fruit, you condemn the tree—that is, you call Me possessed. This is the height of madness.”
Blessed Augustine of Hippo in his interpretation of this passage explains the necessity of consistency in the spiritual life and writes the following: “Jesus said this against those who considered themselves capable, though they were evil, of good words or good deeds. This, says the Lord Jesus, was impossible. For a person must first be changed in order for his works to be changed. If a person remains in what is evil, he cannot act well; and if he remains in what is good, he cannot act badly.” From these words we may conclude why the Lord and His saints demand repentance from us above all else—namely a change of mind and life—for only through repentance can we begin to perform good deeds.
Adapted for the contemporary reader on the basis of patristic interpretations by: Stanoje Stanković.
