“Blasphemy against The Holy Spirit…”

By Arnaud Dumouch, August 14th, 2006, \

Accueil histoires

 

Translated by Alain Quenneville

They were about fifty at most. They were the high priests of the Temple, doctors of the Law, notable Jews of the congregation of Pharisees. Their ancestors had been brilliant partisans, a few centuries earlier, at the time of ferocious patriotic and religious war against the Greeks. They had all shared an advanced theology, believing in the resurrection of the flesh and even in a purgatory (2 Maccabees 12,39ss).

So they were men of good, devoted servants of God, their ancestors having paid the price in blood. And yet they foundered miserably since it was they who were responsible for Judaism’s greatest failure: the condemnation to death of the Messiah, the living Son of God.

But some of them had made the decision with full knowledge of all the facts. No one knows how many of them had this sagacity but, by their influence and the fear they kindled within their peer group, they managed to involve the entire body of the Jewish Authority.

Their fundamental sin

The motivation for their crime was without question a love of power. And yet, publicly, if they could represent themselves today, they would savagely deny this assertion and say: “It was only the love of God and of our nation that motivated our action.”

Besides its what each one of them loudly proclaimed at the time the Council made the decision to kill Jesus. That occurred after Pharisees who had seen, with their own eyes, the resurrection of a certain Lazarus, had given an account of the event to the High priests in Jerusalem. The notables who were present said (John 11,48-50): “What are we to do? This man (Jesus) has performed many signs. If we let him alone, all will believe in him; and the Romans will come, and suppress our Holy site and nation.” But one of them, named Caiphas, being the high priest that year, said to them: “You know nothing. Neither do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people so the whole nation perish not.

There is often a gulf between the publicly proclaimed reason and the hidden reason to have Him executed. Jesus was a peaceful preacher and the Romans didn’t have anything against him, right to the end. The Pontius Pilate, the governor, held Him either as a softhearted dreamer, or perhaps for a supernatural being, if one subscribed to the dreams of his wife. But Jesus would never have caused a riot as periodically occurred with pseudo Messiahs full of military aggressiveness originating from parties of Zealots.

 

Then why the eagerness from these notable Jews, why didn't they try to handle Jesus by simply involving him in their circle, by having him become one of them? Why… precisely because Jesus wasn’t a softhearted dreamer. Though not involving Himself in politics, His spiritual words had, and for a long time, revealed to everyone without diplomacy, the very soul of the notables of Israel (Luke 12,1): And when great multitudes stood about him, so that they trod one upon another, he began to say to his disciples: Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed: nor hidden that shall not be known.

Thus, for a long time, a savage and irreconcilable hatred towards Jesus had been born of and harboured, by the notables; because of the very concrete fear they had in seeing a diminution of their, power, their legitimacy, their station, prerogatives and honours. Indeed, these people were quite a different breed than their Maccabees ancestors. They had held power for to many generations not to love it.  

And they saw Him arriving, this Jesus, with his twelve apostles…

 This is not a sin against the Spirit

If Jesus had only been an impostor allotting himself titles, their struggle, though violent, would have even been understandable. As long as they held Jesus to be an ambitious Johnny-come-lately, they deemed themselves to be in possession of a clear conscience. The theology of this preacher was indeed daring, and there was enough of to scandalize a normal theologian (John10.33): we do not stone you concerning a good work, but concerning blasphemy; and because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

But came the moment, where in an astonishing way, Jesus proved the divine origin of his mission. He had often performed great miracles. But medicine or the devil can cure certain kinds of diseases. So it was thus possible to say as in the Talmud, even though the lame can walk, the blind men can see at his approach: “It is by Beelzebub that Jesus drove out the demons.” But then again at that time, and up until today, everyone knows it’s impossible to resuscitate a corpse in the course of decomposition, except through the direct and immediate intercession of the power of God. 

Jesus was warned that Lazarus, one of his friends was dying. (John 11,17) When he arrived at his house, he found Lazarus had already been in his tomb for four days. However many of the notable Jews had come to see his sisters, Martha and Mary, to comfort them about their brother. A few of them said, when seeing Jesus arrive (John11: 37): “Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?”

 (John 11:38) Deeply moved once more, Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. "Take the stone away! Jesus ordered    Martha, the dead man's sister, answered, "There will be a bad smell, Lord. He has been buried four days!” Jesus said to her, "Didn't I tell you that you would see the Glory of God if you believe?" They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, "I thank you, Father, that you listened to me. I know that you always listen to me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me."     After he had said this, he called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" He came out, with his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth round his face.” Untie him", Jesus told them, "and let him go." Many among the Jews, which had come to see Mary saw what he had done, believed in Him. Others went to find the Pharisees to tell them what Jesus had done.

 Sin against the Spirit

The sin against the Holy Spirit wasn’t born on that day. But it was manifestly exteriorized with those where it had already existed.

This sin has a precise theological definition: it is an act that must be made by a so lucid an intention, so free, that no ignorance or weakness can mitigate responsibility for its commission. Here on earth, it can only be committed by theologians, because; any person who commits evil but is ignorant of God is at a certain disadvantage. At the hour of death, and faced with a perfect revelation of the truth, man becomes enabled, since any ignorance concerning good and the evil disappears. But another condition is required: this theologian must be a calm man, educated and Master of his weaknesses. A theologian taken by his passions, blinded by his impulses could only sin against the Father, that is to say. A sin of weakness, since the Father is the symbol, in the Trinity, of the Almighty.

Therefore, if one listens to Jesus’ testimony, which can penetrate the innermost secrets of the soul, it’s certain that blasphemy against the Spirit had occurred by some of the notable Jews: They were theologians. So they unquestionably knew in their science that only the power of God could resurrect the dead. So they knew on that day from an infallible science that Jesus was sent by God.

(John 11,53) “Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.” Thus they did it, knowing full well they were killing God’s envoy in a cold, premeditated way.

A little later, they carried on to the very end of the logic of their sin:

(John 12:9-12) “Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might also put Lazarus to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.

Some, however, didn’t go as far as forging this certainty as to Jesus’ divine origin. (All the while publicly affirming not to believe and projecting to kill Him, which constitutes a blasphemy against the Saint Spirit). This is why, at the site of the cross, they wanted to be reassured. At the site of the cross they tried to convince themselves: he couldn’t be the Messiah since he couldn’t save Himself (Mathew 27,41): “Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him ””

But their laughter froze when the seism occurred and tore the veil of the Sanctuary into two, from top to bottom.  (Matthew 27:51)

 Eternal damnation after death

All those who, among the Pharisees and the priests, had with their own their eyes seen the signs were just as guilty of their inconsequence or their fear of opposing the High priests converted with to the Lord a little later, either at the time of the Apostles first predications, or at the hour of their death.

But it is more than probable that certain theologians, who made those decisions on that day, damned themselves for eternity. 20 or 30 years later, they died. And their souls were received in the other world by the one who had explicitly prophesied it to them, face to face (Mathew 26:63): “I am the Christ, the Son of God. Moreover I declare unto you: henceforth, you will see the Son of man sitting at the right of the Power and coming on the clouds from the skies.” The High priest whom Jesus had addressed was called Caiphas. When he saw Christ in his glory, he had formed part of those who had told him: “You’re not teaching us anything. We know very well who you are. And we would make the same decisions if we had to do this over again. We don’t want your message. It ruins all the glory of our people and our religion. What we want, it is a religion of visible glory. ” If he belonged to that group, he damned himself for eternity.

Many times before Jesus had warned some of the notable (John 8:44): You are of your father the devil, and the wishes of your father you will do.” Its beyond the visible aspect of things (the capacity, stations, honours), were these two conceptions of God clashed:

For these notable Jews, God was the one who gave visible Power and Glory.

However Jesus proclaimed that the Power of God would be given to gentleness and humility.  

In this conflict an eschatological battle was thus played out between the god of the hell (Lucifer) and the true God, Jesus Christ.

 

And each opted for eternity.