8 “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. 9 But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 “And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. 11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
12:8
“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
In verses 8-10, Jesus challenged His disciples to make a choice. They needed to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. Acknowledgement is more than a public confession; it involves integrating the inner self with outer actions. If we recognize God in our lives, He will acknowledge us in eternity.
12:9
But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
Confessing and denying are polar opposites. There is no in-between; the disciples needed to decide to confess Christ as the Messiah. For believers, this judgment will be for Christians at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Co 3:10-15). They will receive fewer rewards for not testifying to Jesus.
12:10
“And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.
Jesus taught that the person who spoke against Him as the Messiah but later repented of that attitude toward Him would be forgiven. However, God would never forgive the person who rejected the Holy Spirit’s ministry toward them. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit manifests a person’s hardened, unrelenting, and permanent attitude toward His convicting work. The essential ministry of the Holy Spirit is to testify about the authenticity of Christ.
The persistent rejection of the testimony of the Spirit to Jesus constituted blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. To deny Jesus publicly was wrong, but abandonment of one’s faith was worse. The issue was not loss of salvation but a warning about the seriousness of denying Jesus. Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit was to attribute the work of Jesus to Satan.
12:11
“Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.
Jesus assured His disciples that when people would reject His Messiahship, He would give them what to say.
12:12
For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
The Holy Spirit would enable them to give an appropriate response.
PRINCIPLE:
Believers should never let their message be silent.
APPLICATION:
Disclosure links to acknowledgment. The choice we must make in life is one of allegiance and identification with Jesus. Jesus Himself will acknowledge these people before the angels in heaven. Confession is a cure for hypocrisy.
Believers need to be faithful to the testimony of Jesus, even in the face of persecution and rejection. Each denial of Jesus on earth will be met with a commensurate denial of reward.
