City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier.

The Word

“⁸ ‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, ⁹ but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ¹¹ And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.’”

-Luke 12:8-12 ESV

Reflection

Jesus is speaking to His disciples and the crowd, which included the Pharisees. Verses 8-9 make sense, acknowledge Jesus before others, and He will acknowledge that person before angels of God, but if this person denies Jesus before others, He will deny him before angels of God. But verse 10 needs some digging. Speaking a word against Jesus can be forgiven, but blaspheming against Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven. What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? And why is it considered unforgivable? Of the Holy Trinity, why is it forgivable to blaspheme God and Jesus, but not the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is first mentioned in Genesis 1:2, who was with God in the Creation. In Psalm 51:11, King David begs God not to deprive him of the Holy Spirit because of his sin (2 Samuel 11-12:13). In Matthew 1:18 Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. When John baptizes Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes down as a dove (Matthew 3:16-17). Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He promised to send the Holy Spirit to guide the believers (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, enabling the disciples to minister in different tongues and make disciples of all nations (Acts 2). The Holy Spirit guides believers and does miracles for the Kingdom of Heaven. 

The Pharisees were so intent on keeping their power that even after witnessing the work of God, they set their hearts against Him and they claimed Jesus had a demon in Him just to maintain their status. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is when a person sees the work of God and calls it the work of the devil (Theology Project, 2020). They saw Jesus’ miracles, and they still accused Jesus of being demon-possessed (Luke 11:14-16, Matthew 12:22-24). If a person knows Jesus is the Messiah but says He is in league with the devil, that is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, who testifies to the identity of Christ (Ligonier Ministries, 2022).

Because the Holy Spirit testifies to the identity of Christ and guides believers, the Holy Spirit will guide your tongue when representing God towards non-believers. When Jesus instructs don’t worry about what to say, He doesn’t mean not to prepare, but to trust in God.

Application

The Holy Spirit will guide your tongue when representing God towards non-believers. Further, an attitude of openness and obedience to the Holy Spirit results in eternal life.

A huge part of being led by the Holy Spirit is listening to the Holy Spirit. In what ways can you personally stay open, willing, and obedient to the Holy Spirit? Is there anything He is speaking to your heart right now?

Prayer

Father God, thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to reveal Christ’s identity and guide me. I am truly grateful to know You and do life with You every day. Quiet my heart that I might hear what Your Spirit is saying and follow His voice all the days of my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.