Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• Acts 2:1-4
• Acts 4:12
• Acts 16:30-31
• 2 Corinthians 5:17-19
• John 1:1-14
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• John 3:14-16
• John 3:36
• John 7:39
• John 14:6
• John 14:16-17
• John 20:21-22
• 1 John 2:23-25
• Luke 12:8-10
• Mark 3:28-30
• Matthew 12:30-32
• Revelation 13:4-6
• 1 Timothy 1:12-13

Key OT Scriptures

• Exodus 22:27
  Jewish Commentary
• Joel 3:1-2
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 24:14-16
  Jewish Commentary

Supportive NT Scriptures

• Acts 1:5-8
• Acts 2:16-21
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• Acts 2:38
• Acts 4:8
• Acts 4:31
• Acts 7:51
• Acts 7:55
• Acts 8:12
• Acts 8:35-39
• Acts 10:44-48
• Acts 11:15-18
• Acts 13:9
• Acts 15:7-9
• Acts 19:6
• Colossians 2:6-7
• Colossians 2:11-13
• 1 Corinthians 12:3
• 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
• 1 Corinthians 12:13
• 1 Corinthians 14:1-3
• Ephesians 1:13
• Ephesians 2:8-9
• Ephesians 3:14-17
• Ephesians 5:18
• Ephesians 6:17-18
• Galatians 2:15-16
• Galatians 3:26-28
• Hebrews 4:15
• John 1:33
• John 3:3-8
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• John 5:24-30
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• John 6:44-45
• John 10:31-33
• John 14:12-27
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• Jude 1:20
• Luke 1:32-33
• Luke 3:16
• Luke 11:13
• Luke 24:45-47
• Luke 24:49
• Mark 1:8
• Mark 2:1-7
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• Mark 2:28
• Mark 16:15-18
• Matthew 3:11
• Matthew 7:21-23
• Matthew 16:16
• Matthew 26:62-66
• Matthew 28:19
• 1 Peter 1:3-4
• 1 Peter 3:21-22
• 1 Peter 4:10-11
• Revelation 16:9-11
• Revelation 16:18-21
• Revelation 20:4
• Romans 2:23-24
• Romans 5:1-2
• Romans 5:4-5
• Romans 5:8
• Romans 6:3-8
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• Romans 6:22-23
• Romans 8:1-6
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• Romans 8:26-27
• Romans 10:8-13
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• Romans 12:6-8
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23
• 2 Timothy 1:8-10
• Titus 3:4-5

Supportive OT Scriptures

• Ezekiel 8:12
  Jewish Commentary
• Ezekiel 9:9
  Jewish Commentary
• Ezekiel 18:25
  Jewish Commentary
• Ezekiel 20:27
  Jewish Commentary
• Ezekiel 33:17
  Jewish Commentary
• Hosea 7:13-14
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 37:23
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 40:27
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 52:5
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 53:4-8
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 65:6-7
  Jewish Commentary
• Jeremiah 20:7-8
  Jewish Commentary
• Job 15:13
  Jewish Commentary
• Job 15:25-26
  Jewish Commentary
• Job 34:5-9
  Jewish Commentary
• Job 34:35-37
  Jewish Commentary
• Judges 3:9-10
  Jewish Commentary
• Malachi 3:13-14
  Jewish Commentary
• Micah 3:8
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 10:13
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 73:9-11
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 78:19
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 94:6-7
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 139:19-20
  Jewish Commentary

Bible verses copyright: PUBLIC DOMAIN except in the United Kingdom, where a Crown Copyright applies to printing the KJV. See http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent

Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

Blasphemy is communicating disrespect for something that is sacred or someone who is holy. Among believers, we often hear doctrinal statements espoused as though they have nothing or little to do with each other. For example: Blaspheming God is a forgivable sin, whereas blaspheming the Holy Spirit is an unpardonable sin ( Leviticus 24:15-16 ; Matthew 12:32 ). If we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Yeshua was raised from the dead we will be saved ( Romans 10:8-9 ). It is necessary that we receive the Holy Spirit in order to receive power and spiritual gifts from on high ( Acts 1:8 ; 1 Corinthians 14:1 ). These sayings are correct, but have we sufficiently considered how they are related to each other, and why they are correct in view of their raising perplexing questions? For example, statement #1 raises the question: "Why is blaspheming the Holy Spirit unforgivable, whereas blaspheming Yeshua or the Father forgivable?" And as to statement #2: "What is special about believing in Yeshua as compared to God the Father and the Holy Spirit? Is it not sufficient to believe in God broadly? After all, there are those in the world that have never heard of Yeshua." And a question that may arise regarding statement #3 is: "Why does God single out the Holy Spirit as the conveyer of His power and gifts? Can we not receive God's power and gifts directly from the Father and Yeshua without the Holy Spirit's intervention?" The answers to these questions become clearer when we stop thinking of biblical doctrines such as these as standing on their own, and begin to appreciate them as interrelated. As a matter of fact, despite the prominence given in some quarter to sayings #1, #2, and #3, none of them are primary. What is primary and the umbrella for all of them is what is known as the " Sh'ma " - Deuteronomy 6:4-6 as explained by Yeshua in Matthew 22:34-40 : ... but when the P'rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz'dukim, they got together, and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh'eilah to trap him: "Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?" He told him, "'You are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. And a second is similar to it, 'You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot." We cannot love God with all of our heart, soul and strength unless we know Him intimately, and we cannot know Him intimately unless God reveals Yeshua to us through the Holy Spirit ( John 6:44 ). We cannot know Him by our own knowledge and virtue - even by the Words of Scripture if the Holy Spirit does not first soften our hearts and give us understanding ( Ephesians 2:8-9 ). Then, once God and His nature are revealed to us, we have the choice of whether or not to receive Him. If we do, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us, we are given a new spirit, our hearts become softened, and we become open to more of God. If we do not, we keep our old spirit, our hearts become hardened, and God becomes more distant to us over time. But you say: "How do sayings #1, #2, and #3 fit into this? What about #1 for example? What about trusting in Yeshua to be saved?" Consider the totality of what John 3:14-18 says: Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him [some translations say "believes in Him"] may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved. Those who trust in him are not judged; those who do not trust have been judged already, in that they have not trusted in the one who is God's only and unique Son. For anyone to believe and trust in Yeshua we must be brought to that belief and trust by the Holy Spirit, i.e. by God Himself who draws us near through the Holy Spirit ( John 6:44 ). Man cannot perceive the invisible God by his natural senses so, without the Holy Spirit, there is no natural way to know Him, and therefore no reason to believe in Him since we (presumably) do not believe what the Bible says of Him either. So, the Holy Spirit is needed in order for statement #1 above to be true. And the Holy Spirit is likewise needed for statement #2 but, as valuable as receiving power and spiritual gifts are, they are not as primary as knowing God for Who He Is; that knowledge can only be brought to us by the Holy Spirit. As for statement #3, if we blaspheme and therefore reject the Holy Spirit, we cannot be brought to the place of knowing either God the son or God the Father, and we therefore cannot be saved. On the other hand, if we blaspheme the Father or Yeshua (sinful to be sure) but do not reject the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit can eventually lead us to repentance and salvation. That is why Scripture refers to blaspheming the Holy Spirit (and not the Father nor the Son) as an eternal sin. 1 Thus far, I have spoken of receiving Messiah and the Holy Spirit and of their respective ministries, but Scripture also speaks of an "immersion" or "baptism" ( Matthew 3:11 ), and a "filling" ( Ephesians 5:18 ) of the Holy Spirit as well. I believe that they are essentially the same, but perhaps the baptism is an initial filling. Apparently, the Holy Spirit is like a fluid, and we can have more of less of Him depending upon our willingness to receive Him, and our repentant condition. We can have a minimal amount of Him - just enough to bring us to the place of salvation, and we can also be filled with Him, the result being that He can give us spiritual power and spiritual gifts ( 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 ). Oppositely, we can lose a portion of the Holy Spirit (drip-by-drip) as a result of sin, and can be re-filled with the Holy Spirit if and when we repent ( Ephesians 5:18 ). This Mitzvah and its accompanying Scriptures clearly show that the triune persons of God work together, and that the Holy Spirit, along with Messiah, is key to our relationship with God and to our salvation. 1. I do not believe that Scripture teaches that a momentary blasphemous remark against the Holy Spirit leads to eternal unforgiveness. I believe that Stern translates Matthew 12:32 correctly in saying: " ... but whoever keeps on speaking against the Ruach HaKodesh will never be forgiven ... "

Classical commentators

This Mitzvah is not addressed by any of the classical commentators.

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

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Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

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Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

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