A Divided Kingdom Cannot Stand: Christ, the Spirit, and the Unforgivable Rejection of the Spirit (Matthew 12:22-32)

Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute. He cured the mute person so that he could speak and see. 23 All the crowd was astounded, and said, “Could this perhaps be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” 25 But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

In Matthew 12:22-32, we are drawn into a moment of profound spiritual confrontation. Jesus heals a man possessed by a demon—one who was blind and mute—restoring both his speech and sight. This act of liberation astounds the crowd, who begin to wonder aloud: “Could this perhaps be the Son of David?” (v. 23). The title “Son of David” reflects their messianic hope, rooted in God’s covenant with David (cf. 2 Sam 7:12-16), that a righteous king would arise to deliver and shepherd Israel.

Yet the Pharisees respond with bitter accusation: “This man drives out demons only by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons” (v. 24). In their attempt to discredit Jesus, they paradoxically affirm the reality of His power while denying its divine origin. Jesus answers with a devastating logic: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste... If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself” (vv. 25–26). Evil does not war against itself; rather, its strength lies in hiddenness and deception. If Jesus casts out demons, it must be by a higher power than darkness—a power that conquers it.

Christ goes further still, declaring, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you” (v. 28). Here He reveals the true source of His authority: the Holy Spirit. Though Jesus lacked nothing in His divinity, He chose, in humility and obedience, to carry out His mission as a man anointed and empowered by the Spirit. In doing so, He showed us not only His unity with the Father but also how we, in our humanity, are called to live in full dependence on the Holy Spirit. This mirrors what was foretold by the prophets—especially Isaiah—who announced a Spirit-anointed Messiah who would bring sight to the blind, liberty to captives, and healing to the brokenhearted (cf. Is 42:1-7; Lk 4:18-21).

Jesus then utters a sobering warning. While many sins may be forgiven, “whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven” (v. 32). This is not a moment of harsh condemnation, but one of spiritual clarity. The unforgivable sin is not a lapse in faith or a spoken blasphemy in ignorance—it is the hardened, willful rejection of the Spirit’s testimony to Christ. As the Paulist Biblical Commentary notes, it is “not an isolated offense, but a radical refusal to be converted” (Chiu et al., 2018). When a soul persistently attributes the works of God to evil, it cuts itself off from the very mercy that could save it. It is not that God will not forgive, but that the heart no longer seeks or desires forgiveness.

This passage reveals the consistency of God's saving plan: the Spirit, present at Creation (Gen 1:2), descending upon the prophets (Num 11:25; Is 61:1), and overshadowing Mary at the Incarnation (Lk 1:35), now testifies to Christ and empowers His mission of liberation. To reject the Spirit’s witness is to resist the fullness of divine revelation—and in doing so, to resist salvation itself.

Almighty God, send Your Spirit to soften the hardness of our hearts and deliver us from pride and blindness. May we never resist Your call nor attribute Your works to evil, but instead fall humbly before the mercy of Jesus, our Deliverer and King. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord.  Amen!

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Sources and References:

• The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
• A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Orchard et al. (1953).
• The Navarre Bible: Matthew, Faculty of the University of Navarre (2008).
• The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. Chiu et al. (2018).
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§683–684, 1864.
• St. Augustine, On the Spirit and the Letter, ch. 28.
• St. Gregory the Great, Homilies on the Gospels, 18.