neuter in the Greek is not a problem, for, as Professor A. T. Robertson declares, it still

refers to Christ and His superiority.

Realizing the plotting of the Pharisees the Lord Jesus withdrew from the place

(Matthew 12: 15). Many still followed Him and He healed all their sick, thus fulfilling

Isa. 42: 1-4. He was the great Servant, Who was the special object of divine love and

the anointing of the Spirit. He was the One who would finally bring justice to the

nations. His tenderness is stressed. He will not extinguish any spark of real longing in

human hearts. He will not break the crushed reed nor extinguish the flickering wick that

is smoking and going out.  These are vivid images which describe His tender and

sympathetic work and witness.

A demon-possessed man was brought to Him and much to the astonishment of the

bystanders He healed him straight-away. "Could this be the Son of David?" they ask

(Matt. 12: 22, 23). The way the question is expressed in Greek, expects the answer "No",

but doubtless they were afraid of the Pharisees.  They were amazed and full of

excitement. Directly the religious leaders noted this they decided that they must do

something strenuous to counteract any possibility of the people recognizing the Lord as

Messiah, the son of David. They could not deny the fact of the miracles, for the blind

and dumb men both saw and spoke (verse 22), so in desperation they suggest that Christ

worked His miracles through the power of Satan, and in doing this they committed the

one sin that cannot be forgiven, as the context teaches.

The Pharisees' terrible assessment of the Lord's miracles being done through Satan's

power, so that He was just the tool of the evil one, is now exposed by Christ. If this

accusation was true, then Satan was working against himself and the Lord asks "how

shall then his kingdom stand?" (Matt. 12: 26). On the other hand, "if I drive out demons

by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (12: 28, N.I.V.), for

this practical evidence of His control over the spirit world corroborated His Messiahship.

Why is the sin against the Holy Spirit as committed by the religious leaders, regarded

as being so terrible? If Christ was Satan's tool, then the whole redemptive plan of God

for the universe collapses and comes to nothing.

We occasionally meet those who are so burdened with their failures that they imagine

they have committed the unforgivable sin. But let us remember this is confined to one

sin only; all other sin can be forgiven by God (verses 31, 32). This sin is believing that

Satan is really God, and Christ was using the evil one's power to perform the miracles

that He wrought. In all our experience we have never met a person with such a belief,

although it is possible that such persons do exist.