2025 09 21 the Greatest Sin

By Jeff Ward

Understanding the “Point” of this lesson

The point of the lesson is thus described:

The greatest sin is never trusting Jesus.

I do walk to this discussion with loyalties. My God is Yehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The entirety of my trust is upon him. To the extent to which Jesus speaks for Yehovah in the role of a prophet, I likewise trust Jesus like I would Ezekiel or Jeremiah or Hosea. It is the responsibility of Jesus, not me to meet the requirements of a prophet as prescribed by my God. Under no circumstances does Jesus REPLACE or marginalize Yehovah. I’m a little befuddled by what the authors really expect here.

The rumor sparked in Matthew 12:22-23 is illogical

Because Jesus healed this demon oppressed man, the crowd immediately jumped to the conclusion this indicated he was the “Son of David”. This is something Christians would assume today, but not something anyone in the first century would automatically presume. Why? Because the ability to do miracles was associated with prophets. The “Messiah” was not expected to do divine healings or forgive sin or chase out demons. He was expected arrive in a day in which these things also happened:

  • Bring world peace as declared in Isaiah 2:4, Isaiah 11:6-8, Micah 4:3-7, Zephaniah 3:12-16, Zechariah 8:3-6.
  • Bring a universal knowledge of Yehovah as declared in Isaiah 11:9, Jeremiah 31:33, Zechariah 8:20-23, Zechariah 14:9, Zephaniah 3:9 and Micah 4:1-2.
  • Cause the resurrection of the dead described in Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:2, Ezekiel 37:12-13.
  • Provoke the gathering of Israel described in Isaiah 11:11-12, Isaiah 27:12-13, Isaiah 43:5-6, Jeremiah 16:15, Jeremiah 23:3, Ezekiel 34:11-16 (many others)
  • Provoke the building of the third temple as described in Isaiah 56:7, Ezekiel 37:26-28, Ezekiel 43:7.
  • Accompanied by spirit of Elijah as described by Malachi 4:4-6 which includes embracing of Torah rather than rejection of it.
  • Messiah is a man who fears Yehovah as described in Isaiah 11:1-5.
  • Seed of David as described in Jeremiah 23:5.
  • Messiah is their non-god prince while leaving being their God to Yehovah as described in Ezekiel 34:23-24.
  • Dignity and respect returns once again for the law of Moses as declared in Ezekiel 37:24-25.

Look at the vastness above. What is not found among all these messianic passages? The following:

  • Driving demons out of people
  • Forgiving sins

Therefore, anyone of the first century, Jews and Gentiles alike would have no concept of this kind of Messiah since the New Testament had not yet been written.

How do we proceed with something so anachronistic and improbable…..?

The central claim of Jesus in Matthew 12:24-29

If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Observations:

  • He claims the power as a tool he possesses, not something he originates.
  • The owner of this Spirit is Yehovah, not Jesus.
  • Doesn’t claim the ownership of the kingdom, but attributes it to Yehovah.

Jesus didn’t always have this spirit according to Matthew 3:16-17

The question arises, how and when did Jesus GET this power? Is he a divinity? How unique is this anointing?

and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him

So we can conclude, Jesus was using a tool that was granted him, not something he concocted personally.

Not the first time this ever happened

If we look through the Old Testament, we find similar things have happened before.

  • Joseph was recognized having the Spirit of God in Genesis 41:38 giving him ability to prophesy.
  • Bezaleel the son of Uri was given skills to craft and invent in Exodus 31:1-3.
  • Balaam was granted the gift of prophecy by the Spirit of God and Numbers 24:2
  • Yehovah bestowed his Spirit on 70 elders at once in Numbers 11:25-29.

Obviously, I don’t think anyone is going to allege Bazaleel or Joseph or Balaam were divine beings. The Spirit of God was given them as a tool.

Contemptuous?

The quarterly asserts the following on page 38:

With a comtemptuous attitude disdain in their voices, the Pharisees called Jesus “this man”…They insulted Jesus by not calling Him by His name.

How peculiar a claim since “the Pharisees” are seldom called by name, and never displayed in a positive light. Did Jesus mean contempt toward them by not calling them by name? Where’s the “golden rule” in this?

Gathering and scattering in Matthew 12:30-32

Jesus accuses the following:

Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.

Gathering is good. The good shepherd is denoted with this characteristic often. Jesus makes this intention clear in Matthew 9:36. However, the ministry of Jesus did not result in this gathering, but resulted instead in scattering. This is confirmed in Matthew 26:31, Mark 14:27 and John 16:32. It continued after his ascension in the early church as noted in Acts 8:4. It was acknowledged by New Testament writers in James 1:1 and 1Peter 1:1.

With this in mind, what are we to conclude? Did the “scattering” influence of the Pharisees prevail over the gathering influence Of Jesus? Why does Christianity result in the curses of Leviticus 26:14-33 which includes a continued exile?

What might “gathering with Jesus” look like?

The quarterly asked this question and I thought it was wonderful. The scattering is promised to conclude in Deuteronomy 30:3-6. Wonderful! But what is the trigger that causes it? Well, according to Deuteronomy 30:1-3, it is caused by a repentance by those scattered and a new zeal for God’s commandments.

According to Ezekiel 34:1-10, those given the job of Shepherd are basically fired. Yehovah himself does the gathering according to Ezekiel 34:11-16.

Finally in Ezekiel 34:23-24, David is appointed their shepherd. Could Jesus be this David? If Jesus allegiance to the law as declared in Matthew 5:17-20 is to be believed and he has a true devotion as stated, then it could be yes. If he came to “get rid of” the commandments as Christianity stiffly maintains, he would not qualify to be this shepherd.

The unforgivable sin

Presuming Jesus is a prophet and speaks for Yehovah, he declares something never before declared. He declares speaking against the Holy Spirit is a sin that can’t be forgiven.

Several aspects of this are troubling and unresolvable:

  • Suddenly, a term previously describing the power in the realm of Yehovah is spoken of like a constituent entity of a greater Trinity god. Are we even talking about the same spirit any more?
  • Are we to suppose Jesus speaks for Yehovah in the role of a prophet? Or are we to suppose he has the ability to legislate new laws? Where in prophecy is “my servant David” given authority to make the rules?
  • Is speaking against a self-acclaimed “spirit-filled Christian” such a blasphemy?
  • Suppose one questions the doctrines of Paul, expecting them to square against the scriptures as the Bereans were counted noble for in Acts 17:10-11. Is this blasphemy since the Church alleges Paul speaking is functionally their god speaking?