Think I may have figured this one out.
Here is a possible definition of the sin called "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit". I think it is the safest and least conjectural definition.
From the context, it seems it could be defined safely as:
To interrupt an (effective) excorcism,
or to even condemn the (positive) outcome of an effective excorcism;
thus one is aiding or rooting for or taking the side of the demon,
as opposed to the side of the Holy Spirit
(which is the force the excorcist uses to excorcise the demon).
It might even have a much more specific definition, which would be: implying that an effective excorcism of a demon is actually being performed by demonic power. This is the same as the definition above (bolded), except it involves a charge of demons or demonic powers collaborating to fake an excorcism, basically. This latter definition is actually more literally true to the text, but I suspect the above definition (bolded) might be the intended lesson of the text.
If I may say....
In 1 John 5 we are told of some situations where we should pray for someone in sin, but that we are not to pray for sin leading unto death.
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.
V. 16 seems to say that we can pray for the sins of others.....and that same verse also says there is a sin that leads.
From what I've seen, I think sometimes we may read past some very direct things when it comes to what unforgiveable sin is - and perhaps it's just me....but as I John was focused on God as Love and our relationship to God as expressed to others (such as I John 4 when he calls us to love others if we love GOD or else we're liars when claiming to believe in Him - and we love because he first loved us), I tend to be open to the thought that the unforgiveable sin is simply failure to truly love.
And one key aspect of love is forgiveness..
Love is a gift from the Lord He has given freely in light of how we're able to experience His Mercy Daily and have even before knowing of Christ - is something we have to offer to others.....the gift of forgivness being something necessary if one is to truly be a part of the Kingdom of God since a lack of forgiveness is something the Lord repeatedly warned on
Luke 6:37
[ Do Not Judge ] Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Mark 11:25
[ Forgiveness and Prayer ] And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
Matthew 6:13-14
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.[c]
14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 18:29-31
29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet[d] and begged him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.[e] 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.[f]
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he made forgiveness the cornerstone of their relationship with God. For God has forgiven our sins and so we must forgive those who have wronged us - but to remain unforgiving shows we have not understood that we ourselves deeply need to be forgiven. When we don't forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God's forgiveness. Of course, God's forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32).....and there's a reason St. James noted that we should speak and act as those who're going to be judged by the law that gives freedom because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful - Mercy TRIUMPS over judgment (James 2:12-13).
And in many respects, when it comes to lacking mercy, this is something the Pharisees whom Christ spoke against sadly fell into. They saw others healed from being demon-possessed and even others who were blind or mute being healed - and yet while others were rejoicing over the matter, they could only accuse...their hearts were ones not concerned with showing mercy/compassion to others as they needed it ...and interestingly enough, in that culture, there was often a mindset that people born with the things Jesus healed were ones who deserved to deal with them - a matter of God's judgment (the view akin to
Retribution Theology that
was widespread in Biblical times and
an issue that
often had to be addressed by
Christ) -with the dynamics of leaving others to their
fate almost like how a caste system would be when you feel others were meant to be where they are.... and thus, certain Pharisees wouldn't be concerned with helping them or doing anything. That's what happens when we think ourselves deserving more of God's Mercy/touch more than others - we end up slandering it in others whom receive it. And in doing so, we slander the Lord..
The Pharisees had blasphemed against the Spirit (as noted in Matthew 12:22-38) by attributing the power by which Christ did miracles to Satan instead of the Holy Spirit. They had done this before in Matthew 9:32-34 when Jesus earlier healed those who were demon-possessed, even though Jesus didn't say anything at the time. In fact, in Matthew 9, the Pharisees accused Jesus of four different sins: blasphemy (when proclaiming forgiveness for the man who was paralyzed man in Matthew 9:1-4 ...perhaps needing to know indeed God had brought forgiveness to Him ...a vital part of proclaiming the Kingdom of God), befriending sinners (Matthew 9:10-12 - when he was at the house of Matthew the tax collector), impiety and serving Satan....Jesus was maligned by those who should have received him the most gladly.....and the Pharisees did all this because (1) Jesus bypassed their religious authority, (2) He weakened their control over the people and (3) he challenged their cherished beliefs while exposing their insincere/hypocritical motives.
But again, the Pharisees in their first accusation of "By demons he casts out demons" in Matthew 9 was left alone by Christ...and later on, Christ chose to address the matter for what it was. What occurred was a culmination of what was in their hearts - a lack of love for both God (whom they didn't want to submit to by rejoicing in His work for others - the essence of love) and Man (by having no desire to see others be forgiven or healed/transformed by God even as they would want God to work in their lives). When you attiribute to the devil what is a work of the Holy Spirit, it reveals a heart-attitude of unbelief and unrepentance...deliberate, ongoing rejection of the work of the Holy Spirit is blasphemy because it is rejecting God himself. And thus, Jesus said they couldn't be forgiven - not because their sin was worse than any other, but because they would never ask forgiveness nor extend it. This is something that is intimately tied to what Jesus noted when speaking on prayer in Luke 18 - first speaking on the importance of consistent prayer like the widow did with the unjust judge (in contrast to God who gives justice to those crying out for it) ..and yet noting afterward what can keep prayer from being answered when pointing out the Parable of the Two Men who prayed (as it concerns those confident in their own righteousness/looked down upon others) and showing how the Pharisee exalting himself compared to others considered the "worst of the worst" would not be justified before God ...while the one Tax Collector crying out for God's Mercy/not even looking to Heaven was accepted since he humbled himself.
With the unforgivable sin being unforgiveness or mercy, you can see how the religious leaders did this often - similar to people today speaking on how much God's mercy is available for all and yet they deny it to others they don't like ...or how, to be personal, I may choose to hold a grudge toward people who were living wild ...repented...and yet they were quickly able to advance a lot/seem MORE blessed when compared to myself or others who served God for a long time/felt that they didn't do anything to deserve THAT much of God's mercy or blessing.
To assume "It's not fair - they don't deserve God's forgiveness or blessing in their life..but I do" - that's a lack of understanding God's heart....and what I refuse to extend for others, God will refuse to extend for me. By saying "It's not right that you delivered them rather than letting them suffer as they deserve - I REFUSE to even pray anything good for them", we'd be saying "Holy Spirit - the work you're doing in their hearts is not truly a GODLY Work...it's of the Devil" - and in doing so, I cut myself off from working with the Lord since He cannot truly work in my own life when I cut off being merciful or giving forgiveness.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit results in Spiritual death (Mark 3:29) and the book of Hebrews describes the spiritual death of the person who turns against Christ - and With I John 5:17, when it comes to saying there is a sin that leads to death, the love (with forgiveness/mercy) dynamic seems hard to escape seeing that St. John already noted what it meant to be in death...as seen here:
1 John 3:8-24
The Imperative of Love
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous.
13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother[a] abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
The Outworking of Love
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this worlds goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us[c] commandment.
Not having love is death - and although there are other sins that don't automatically lead to ultimate death in eternity (like sins hindering us from being fully effective/productive in this life even as we seek the Lord - besetting sins we battle with ..addictions to bad habits/mindsets or deceptions..hidden faults like Psalm 19:13 that can enslave us...things St. James said we're to do with confession of sins like James 5:15-16 or St. John in I John 1:1-10), the reality is that the one sin which will hinder us is choosing not to LOVE God/others.
And love covers..
Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers all sins..
St. Paul noted the same dynamic in I Corinthians 13 when it came to the issue of what it meant when seeing how one had NOTHING if they had not love - the thing we're to strive for the most.
And the concept was so important that even St. Peter - after warning on being in the End Times and needing to be alert - seemed to repeat it as if saying even in being aware and yet imperfect, the one thing we needed to do above all else was have fervent love..as if that would truly cover everything else.
1 Peter 4:7-9 (NKJV)
Serving for Gods Glory
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.[a] 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
Archimandrite Irenei explored a series of patristic texts that deal with the imperative of forgiveness, and the need to forgive as the gateway into the life offered by Christ in the Church....as seen in "Shall We Forgive? The Fathers on Forgiveness as the Gateway to Salvation"
