Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 12:31-32

"Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come." — Matthew 12:31-32 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: The Lord had refuted the Pharisees by explaining His own actions, and He now proceeds to terrify them. For this is no small part of correction: to threaten punishment as well as to set right a false accusation.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: He condemns this opinion of the Pharisees, and of those who thought like them, with a most rigorous sentence. He promises pardon for all sins but denies it for blasphemy against the Spirit: “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men.”

Remigius of Auxerre: But it should be known that sins are not forgiven to all people universally, but only to those who have performed due repentance for their guilt. By these words, the error of Novatian is overthrown, who said that the faithful could not rise by repentance after a fall, nor merit pardon for their sins, especially those who denied the faith during persecution.ⁱ

St. Augustine of Hippo: For what difference does it make, whether it is said, “The spirit of blasphemy shall not be forgiven,” or, as Luke says, “Whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him” (Luke 12:10)? The only difference is that the same meaning is expressed more clearly in one place than the other, with one Evangelist not contradicting but explaining the other. The phrase “the spirit of blasphemy” is stated briefly, without specifying which spirit. To make this clear, it is added, “And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him.”

After saying the same about every kind of blasphemy, He then speaks more particularly of the blasphemy against the Son of Man. He shows this to be very serious in the Gospel of John, where He says concerning the Holy Spirit, “He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me.” Therefore, what follows—“but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come”—is not said because the Holy Spirit is greater than the Son in the Trinity, which no heretic has ever affirmed.¹

St. Hilary of Poitiers: And what is so beyond all pardon as to deny what is of God in Christ, and to take away the substance of the Father's Spirit that is in Him? For He performs every work in the Spirit of God, and in Him, God is reconciling the world to Himself.

St. Jerome: Or the passage may be understood this way: Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man—stumbling at My flesh and thinking of Me as no more than a man—finds pardon for such an opinion and blasphemy. Although not free from the sin of heresy, it is pardonable because of the humble nature of the body. But whoever plainly perceives the works of God and, being unable to deny God's power, speaks falsely against them out of jealousy—calling Christ, who is the Word of God, and the works of the Holy Spirit, “Beelzebub”—will not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But if this were the case, then every other kind of blasphemy would be omitted, and only that which is spoken against the Son of Man—such as declaring Him to be a mere man—would be forgivable. The statement, “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men,” undoubtedly includes blasphemy against the Father in its scope. Yet, here again, only the blasphemy spoken against the Holy Spirit is declared unforgivable. What then? Has the Father also taken on the form of a servant, that the Holy Spirit should be spoken of as if He were greater?

For who could not be convicted of having spoken a word against the Holy Spirit before becoming a Christian or a Catholic? First, when pagans say that Christ worked miracles by magic arts, are they not like those who said He cast out demons by the prince of demons? Likewise, the Jews and all heretics who confess the Holy Spirit but deny that He is in the body of Christ—which is the Catholic Church—are like the Pharisees, who denied that the Holy Spirit was in Christ.

Some heretics even contend that the Holy Spirit Himself is a creature, as the Arians, Eunomians, and Macedonians do, or they deny Him in such a way as to deny the Trinity in the Godhead. Others, like the Sabellians, assert that the Father alone is God, and that this same one is sometimes spoken of as the Son and sometimes as the Holy Spirit. The Photinians also say that the Father only is God, that the Son is nothing more than a man, and they deny altogether that there is any third Person, the Holy Spirit.

It is clear, then, that the Holy Spirit is blasphemed by pagans, Jews, and heretics. Are all of them, therefore, to be excluded and considered as having no hope? For if the word they have spoken against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven them, then the promise made to them—that in Baptism or in the Church they would receive the forgiveness of their sins—is in vain.

For it is not said, “It shall not be forgiven him in Baptism,” but, “neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” And so, only those who have been Catholics from infancy could be considered free from the guilt of this most serious sin.

Others think that only those sin against the Holy Spirit who, after being washed in the laver of regeneration in the Church, then plunge themselves into some deadly sin—such as adultery, murder, or abandoning the Christian name or the Catholic Church—as if ungrateful for such a gift from the Savior.

But from where this meaning can be proven, I do not know, since the opportunity for repentance for sins, however great, was never denied in the Church, and even heretics are exhorted by the Apostle to embrace it, “If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25).

Lastly, the Lord does not say, “If any Catholic believer,” but, “whosoever speaketh a word”—that is, whosoever—“it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

Alternatively, the Apostle John says, “There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it” (1 John 5:16). I judge this “sin unto death” to be when anyone, after coming to the knowledge of God through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, opposes the brotherhood or is roused by the fury of jealousy against the very grace by which he was reconciled to God.²

The stain of this sin is so great that it cannot submit to the humility of prayer, even when the sinful conscience is driven to acknowledge and proclaim its own sin. We must suppose that some may be brought to this state of mind because of the greatness of their sin. This, perhaps, is what it means to sin against the Holy Spirit: to assail brotherly love through malice and jealousy after having received the grace of the Holy Spirit. The Lord declares that this sin will be forgiven neither in this world, nor in the one to come.

From this, it may be asked whether the Jews committed this sin against the Holy Spirit when they said that the Lord cast out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Are we to suppose this was spoken of our Lord Himself, because He said in another place, “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” (Matthew 10:25)?

Since they spoke this way out of jealousy, ungrateful for such great and present benefits, are they—though not yet Christians—to be considered to have sinned against the Holy Spirit because of the very greatness of that jealousy? This cannot be gathered from the Lord's words. Yet He may seem to have been warning them to come to grace, and, after receiving that grace, not to sin in the way they were now sinning.

For now, their evil word had been spoken against the Son of Man, and it could be forgiven them if they were converted and believed in Him. But if, after they had received the Holy Spirit, they were to become jealous of the brotherhood and fight against the grace they had received, it would not be forgiven them, neither in this world nor in the world to come. For if He had condemned them in such a way that no hope remained, He would not have added the admonition, “Either make the tree good...”

But I do not state this with certainty by saying that I think this way. Yet this much might have been added: if a person should end this life with this impious hardness of heart, it is still not unreasonable to pray for him. For as long as anyone is in this life, however evil, we may not utterly despair of him.³

Yet this inquiry is very mysterious. Let us then seek the light of explanation from the Lord. I say to you, beloved, that in all of Holy Scripture there is perhaps no question as great or as difficult as this.⁴

First, then, I ask you to note that the Lord did not say, “Every blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven,” nor “Whoever shall speak any word against...” but rather, “whosoever speaketh the word.” Therefore, it is not necessary to think that every blasphemy and every word spoken against the Holy Spirit will be without pardon; it is only necessary that there be some specific word which, if spoken against the Holy Spirit, will be without pardon. For it is the style of Scripture that when something is declared, but it is not specified whether it applies to the whole or a part, we need not assume it applies to the whole just because it could; it may well be understood as applying only to a part. For example, when the Lord said to the Jews, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin” (John 15:22), this does not mean that the Jews would have been altogether without sin, but that there was a particular sin they would not have had if Christ had not come.

What, then, is this “speaking against the Holy Spirit”? This must now be explained. Now, in the Father is represented to us the Author of all things; in the Son, generation; and in the Holy Spirit, the communion of the Father and the Son. That which is common to the Father and the Son is the means by which they desire us to have communion with them and among ourselves. As it is written, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). And because our sins alienated us from possessing true good, “charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). And because Christ forgives sins through the Holy Spirit, we can understand why, when He said to His disciples, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22), He immediately added, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them.”

The first benefit, therefore, for those who believe is the forgiveness of sins in the Holy Spirit. The impenitent heart speaks against this gift of free grace. Impenitence itself, therefore, is the blasphemy against the Spirit which will not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the one to come. For indeed, he who treasures up for himself wrath for the day of wrath through his hard and impenitent heart speaks the evil word against the Holy Spirit, whether in his thought or with his tongue. Such impenitence truly has no forgiveness, neither in this world nor in the world to come, for repentance obtains forgiveness in this world that will hold true in the world to come.

But this impenitence cannot be judged as long as a person lives in the flesh, for we must not despair of anyone as long as the patience of God leads them to repentance. For what if those whom you find in any kind of sin, and condemn as most desperate, should turn to repentance before they end this life and find true life in the world to come? Although this kind of blasphemy may be long and comprised of many words, Scripture is accustomed to speak of many words as one word. It was more than a single word that the Lord spoke with the prophet, and yet we read, “The word that came to” this or that prophet.

Here, perhaps, some may ask whether only the Holy Spirit forgives sins, or if the Father and the Son do as well. We answer that the Father and the Son do also. For the Son Himself says of the Father, “your Father which is in heaven... will forgive you your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14), and He says of Himself, “the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6). Why then is that impenitence which is never forgiven spoken of as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit only? It is because he who falls into this sin of impenitence seems to resist the gift of the Holy Spirit, for in that gift the remission of sin is conveyed.

But because sins are not remitted outside the Church, they must be remitted in that Spirit by whom the Church is gathered into one. Thus, this remission of sins, which is given by the whole Trinity, is said to be the proper office of the Holy Spirit alone. For it is He, “the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15), so that to Him we may pray, “Forgive us our sins.” And John says, “Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (1 John 3:24). For to Him belongs the bond by which we are made one body of the only-begotten Son of God, for the Holy Spirit Himself is, in a way, the bond of the Father and the Son. Therefore, whoever is found guilty of impenitence against the Holy Spirit—in whom the Church is gathered together in unity and one bond of communion—it is never remitted to him.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, according to the first explanation, the Jews were indeed ignorant of Christ, but they had received sufficient communication from the Holy Spirit, for the Prophets spoke by Him. What He says here, then, is this: Granted, you have stumbled at Me because of the flesh that is around Me; but can you say the same of the Holy Spirit, “We do not know Him”? Therefore, this blasphemy cannot be forgiven you, and you shall be punished both here and hereafter. For since casting out demons and healing diseases are works of the Holy Spirit, you do not speak evil against Me only, but also against Him. And so your condemnation is inevitable, both here and hereafter.

For there are some who are punished in this life only, like those among the Corinthians who were unworthy partakers of the mysteries. Others are punished only in the life to come, like the rich man in hell. But those spoken of here are to be punished both in this world and in the world to come, as were the Jews, who suffered horrible things in the taking of Jerusalem and will undergo the most severe punishment there.

Glossa Ordinaria: This passage destroys the heresy of Origen, who asserted that after many ages all sinners would obtain pardon, for it is said here that this sin will not be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come.⁵

St. Gregory the Great: From this we may gather that some sins are remitted in this world and some in the world to come, for what is denied for one sin must be supposed to be permitted for others. This may be believed in the case of minor faults, such as excessive idle talk, immoderate laughter, or the sin of anxiety in our worldly affairs—which can hardly be managed without sin even by one who knows how he ought to avoid it. Or it may apply to sins of ignorance (if they are lesser sins) which burden us even after death if they have not been remitted to us while still in this life. But it should be known that no one will obtain any purgation there, even for the least sin, except for the one who has merited it by good actions in this life.⁶

1. Serm., 71, 13
2. Serm. in Mount, 1, 22
3. Retract., i, 19
4. Serm., 71, 8
5. ap. Anselm, see infra in cap. 25
6. Dial., iv, 39