NOTES for Mat 12:32

What then is "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" (v. 31)? First of all, let us remember that on the cross Christ prays for those crucifying Him: "Father! Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." This means that only conscious sin can be unforgivable. Now let us look at the situation in which Jesus' words are spoken. The Pharisees declare that Jesus, performing miracles, acts by the power of the prince of demons. That is, good works, performed by the power of God, or otherwise by the Holy Spirit, are attributed to Satan, not to God, and in this all ideas of good and evil, truth and falsehood, life and death are turned upside down. These people have already decided everything for themselves and are completely closed to repentance. What goodness, what mercy can such people expect from God? And not expecting it, they do not receive it. Thus blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a conscious refusal of God's goodness and a rejection of His mercy and forgiveness.