Matthew 12:31 King James Version (KJV)
“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.”

Far be it from me to write a controversial article about religion. Ha! Ha! That is the old-fashioned way of saying LOL! This is the beginning of a new series of articles which will be called: “Out of the Skillet and into the Fire.”

Either no one is reading my articles or I have done a poor job of communication, probably a bit of both! I have purposely, but somewhat subtly, been addressing controversial Biblical subjects from my first article until now for this on-line paper. One might say that causing controversy is not a very Christian thing to do. Yes, one might say that, but I would not say that and neither would Jesus.

Jesus was controversial from the moment the Virgin Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, and the power of the Highest caused a virgin to conceive and bare a holy thing called the Son of God. Jesus was controversial when He suddenly came to His temple as the messenger of the covenant. Jesus was controversial when He came to be baptized of John the Baptist. Jesus was controversial when He forgave the woman at the well. Jesus was controversial when He forgave adulterers, harlots, thieves and all manner of sin. I could go on and on about how Jesus was controversial as He went about the business of Salvation. He is like a refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap, a purifier of silver and gold. You cannot do any of those jobs without being noticed. In truth, Jesus was controversial before the foundation of the world, but that is another story within itself.
Why were the things which Jesus was doing in all the Gospels controversial? The short answer is: His deeds were controversial because Jesus was telling the truth about sin and salvation. The events surrounding Matthew 12:31 in particular are controversial, because those who should know the truth best, had just point blank called Jesus a liar (Matthew 12: 23,24). More than once Jesus said “I tell you the truth” or some form of that statement, such as, “verily” see John 6:36 or “truly” see Matthew 17:11.

Throughout the Four Gospels, Jesus was systematically one by one fulfilling every Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah. At the same time Jesus was fulfilling prophecy, He was also fulfilling all righteousness. In other words, He was fulfilling or keeping the Ten Commandments. By keeping the Ten Commandments, Jesus was demonstrating by His good works that the Lion of Judah (Jesus) was worthy to be slain like a lamb for humanity’s sins. He had to do this because no one else was worthy. (See Revelation 5, in particular verse 4). For telling the truth, Jesus is despised and rejected by men, He suffers sorrow and grief, He is falsely accused and called a liar as prophesied. (See Isaiah 53:3)

Now before I close, let me come into harmony with the rest of the Gospel, by saying that the Gospel message itself is without controversy. (See 1 Timothy 3:16) What is controversial is that given all the evidence, men and women would deny the invitation of the Holy Ghost to believe the truth. The truth is we all need a Savior and to go to our death bed without humbly accepting that truth is simply unforgivable.

Next week, as part of this series we will explore “Jesus Friend of Sinners.”

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