But what about the other signs? They are not for unbelievers. The pagan world of the time was, as we have said, a world of miracles and miracle-lovers. Those popular miracles were of the type calculated to excite awe in all beholders and stir up general public interest. Of this type of miracle the Lord strongly disapproved. Not only did he repeatedly instruct those who had been the beneficiaries of his miraculous powers not to spread the news abroad, but in every instance where he was asked for a sign, he rebuked the askers and quickly withdrew from the scene.
Father Garrigou-Lagrange in his recent treatment of the subject, defending the thesis that the purpose of miracles was to prove the divine origin of the Christian religion “by most certain signs accommodated to the intelligence of all,” cites the instances in Matthew 11:4 [Matt. 6:1]—6 and Luke 7:18 [Luke 5:16]—23 where the Lord answered John the Baptist’s question as to whether he was the Messiah by referring him to the miracles he had done.1 But a personal message to his friend and relative John, a righteous man and a believer all his days, can hardly be construed as a policy for converting the heathen; and here John does not ask for a sign—he is ready to take the Lord’s word for it. The powerful rebukes administered by the Lord to those who sought signs, Lagrange explains as applying only to the Pharisees, “who were always seeking new signs after they had had other signs.” Yet we also read (Luke 11:29 [Luke 8:14]): “And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign.”
Speaking to the whole multitude, he condemns the whole sign-seeking generation. The Lord says those who seek a sign will receive a sign—but it is not the sign they want, it is the sign of Jonah. When the Pharisees asked him for a sign, “he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. And he left them” (Mark 8:12 [Mark 4:17]—13). And yet there were signs all around them, but only those who believed could see them—the signs only follow them that believe: “O ye hypocrites,” said the Lord to the Pharisees and Sadducees asking him for a sign from heaven, “ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed”
Blasphemy of the Scribes; Jesus’ True Family
Confronted with a deliverance they cannot deny, the scribes attribute it to the devil, and Jesus answers with the one sin he says will not be forgiven. Then his mother and brothers arrive, and he redraws the family around the will of his Father.
Tap a Gospel to show or hide its column. Narrow to any two to read them side by side.
Note. Both Matthew and Mark carry substantial Joseph Smith Translation insertions with no King James verse behind them, and both do the same work: they supply the question the hardest saying in the Gospels was answering. In Matthew the scribes object that “it is written that every sin shall be forgiven”; in Mark certain men accuse him of receiving sinners. In each case what follows is a reply, not a pronouncement out of the air.
? How to read this edition
The reading is the Joseph Smith Translation, in the text of the Covenant Christian Edition, carried beside each Gospel and set against the King James baseline. Headers give both numbering systems: the CCE chapter and verse, and the traditional KJV reference.
22Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb. And he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw. 23And all the people were amazed and said, Is not this this the son of David? 24But when the Pharisees heard it that he had cast out the devil, they said, This man does not cast out devils but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. 25And Jesus knew their thoughts and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. 26And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then shall his kingdom stand? 27And if I, by Beelzebub, cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out out devils? Therefore, they shall be your judges. 28But if I cast out devils by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come unto you, for they also cast out devils by the spirit of God; for unto them is given power over devils that they may cast them out, 29or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house.
30He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me, scatters abroad. 31Wherefore, I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men who receive me and repent, but the blasphemy against the holy ghost; it shall not be forgiven unto men. 32And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the holy ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by the fruit. 34And Jesus said, O you generation of vipers. How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, brings forth good things; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things. 36And again I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment; 37for by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
38Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from you. 39But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there shall be no sign given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah; 40for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41The men of Nineveh shall rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and you behold a greater than Jonah is here. 42The queen of the south shall rise up in the day of judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the furthest parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and you behold a greater than Solomon is here.
43Then came some of the scribes and said unto him, Master, it is written that every sin shall be forgiven, but you say, Whoever speaks against the holy ghost shall not be forgiven. And they asked him, saying, How can these things be? And he said unto them, When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44But when a man speaks against the holy ghost, then he says, I will return into my house from which I came out. And when he has come, he finds him empty, swept, and garnished, for the good spirit leaves him unto himself. 45Then goes he the evil spirit and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. And the last end of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
46And while he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47Then one said unto him, Behold, your mother and your brethren stand without, desiring to speak with you. 48But he answered and said unto him the man that told him, Who is my mother? And who are my brethren? 49And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, Behold my mother and my brethren. 50And he gave them charge concerning her, saying, I go my way, for my Father has sent me, and whoever shall do the will of my Father who is in Heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
20And the multitude comes together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21And when his friends heard of it him speak, they went out to lay hold on him; for they said, He is beside himself. 22And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils he casts out devils. 23Now Jesus knew this, and he called them, and he said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24And if a kingdom should be divided against itself, how can that kingdom stand? 25And if a house should be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26And if Satan rise up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but speedily has an end. 27No man can enter into a strong man’s house and spoil his goods except he will first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house.
28And then came certain men unto him, accusing him, saying, Why do you receive sinners, seeing you make yourself the Son of God? But he answered them and said, Truly I say unto you, all sins which men have committed, when they repent, shall be forgiven them; for I came to preach repentance unto the sons of men. And blasphemies of any kind with which they shall blaspheme shall be forgiven them that come unto me and do the works which they see me do. But there is a sin which shall not be forgiven: 29he that shall blaspheme against the holy ghost never has forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation being cut down out of the world. And they shall inherit Eternal damnation. 30And this he said unto them because they said, He has an unclean spirit.
31While he was yet with them, and while he was yet speaking, there came then some of his brethren and his mother, and, standing outside, sent unto him, calling unto him. 32And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, your mother and your brethren outside seek for you. 33And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother? Or who are my brethren? 34And he looked round about on them who sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren; 35for whoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
19Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not speak to him because of the multitude. 20And it was told him by certain which said some who stood by said unto him, Your mother and your brethren stand outside, desiring to see you. 21And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it.
What a Man Must Do to Commit It
All Are Within the Reach of Pardoning Mercy
At the October 1841 conference, arguing that God can save the dead, Joseph Smith drew the same line verse 32 draws: every sin is within reach of mercy, in this world or the next, except one. The published minutes give his words; switch to “Scribal accounts” for Willard Richards’s notes taken as he spoke.
Discourse, 3 October 1841, general conference, Nauvoo · published minutes, Times and Seasons, 15 October 1841 (2:577–578), p. 577; Words of Joseph Smith, 76–79 · Joseph Smith Papers ↗It is no more incredible that God should save the dead, than that he should raise the dead. There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God. All are within the reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, which hath no forgiveness, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.
Sins That May Be Forgiven in the World to Come
Joseph Smith read verse 32 for what it implies as much as for what it says: if one sin is not forgiven “neither in this world, neither in the world to come,” then other sins evidently are forgiven there. He built the case for baptism for the dead on that reading, in a signed editorial.
“Baptism for the Dead,” Times and Seasons, 15 April 1842 (3:759–761) · Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 219 (cf. History of the Church, 4:595–596) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗… our Saviour says that all manner of sin, and blasphemy shall be forgiven men wherewith they shall blaspheme; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come; evidently showing that there are sins which may be forgiven in the world to come; although the sin of blasphemy cannot be forgiven.
Peter also in speaking concerning our Saviour says, that “he went and preached unto spirits in prtson, which sometimes were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” 1 Pet. iii, 19, 20. Here then we have an account of our Saviour preaching to the spirits in prison; to spirits that had been imprisoned from the days of Noah; and what did he preach to them? that they were to stay there? certainly not; let his own declaration testify; “he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised”— Luke iv, 18, …
He Must Receive the Holy Ghost, and Then Sin Against Him
In the King Follett Discourse, two months before his death, Joseph Smith set the boundary of the unforgivable sin as narrowly as he could, and insisted that nearly everyone falls outside it. To read the reporters’ notebooks instead of the prepared text, use the Scribal accounts toggle.
Discourse, 7 April 1844 (the King Follett Discourse), Nauvoo · Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 357–358; Words of Joseph Smith, 340–362 · Joseph Smith Papers ↗God hath made a provision that every spirit in the eternal world can be ferreted out and saved unless he has committed that unpardonable sin which cannot be remitted to him either in this world or the world of spirits. God has wrought out a salvation for all men, unless they have committed a certain sin; and every man who has a friend in the eternal world can save him, unless he has committed the unpardonable sin. And so you can see how far you can be a savior.
A man cannot commit the unpardonable sin after the dissolution of the body, and there is a way possible for escape. Knowledge saves a man; and in the world of spirits no man can be exalted but by knowledge. So long as a man will not give heed to the commandments, he must abide without salvation. If a man has knowledge, he can be saved; although, if he has been guilty of great sins, he will be punished for them. But when he consents to obey the Gospel, whether here or in the world of spirits, he is saved. A man is his own tormenter and his own condemner… The torment of disappointment in the mind of man is as exquisite as a lake burning with fire and brimstone.
All sins shall be forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; for Jesus will save all except the sons of perdition. What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against Him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it.
I advise all of you to be careful what you do, or you may by-and-by find out that you have been deceived. Stay yourselves; do not give way; don’t make any hasty moves, you may be saved. If a spirit of bitterness is in you, don’t be in haste. You may say, that man is a sinner. Well, if he repents, he shall be forgiven. Be cautious: await. When you find a spirit that wants bloodshed—murder, the same is not of God, but is of the devil.
No Redemption for Them in This World, or in the World to Come
Later in the same sermon Joseph Smith came back to the sin twice: once with the proverb of verse 34, “out of the abundance of the heart,” and once at the close, in the words of verse 32 itself, adding what becomes of those who commit it. The text printed in the Times and Seasons that August is given; switch to “Scribal accounts” for the reporters’ notebooks.
Discourse, 7 April 1844 (the King Follett Discourse), Nauvoo · Times and Seasons, 15 August 1844 (5:612–617), pp. 616–617 (cf. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 358–361) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Out of the abundance of the heart man speaketh. The man that tells you words of life, is the man that can save you. I warn you against all evil characters, who sin against the Holy Ghost, for there is no redemption for them in this world, or in the world to come.
… Hear it all ye ends of the earth—all ye sinners, repent! repent! turn to God, for your religion wont save you, and you will be damned; I do not say how long; but those who sin against the Holy Ghost cannot be forgiven in this world, or in the world to come; they shall die the second death; as they concoct scenes of bloodshed in this world so they shall rise to that resurrection, which is as the lake of fire and brimstone: some shall rise to the everlasting burning of God, and some shall rise to the damnation of their own filthiness—as exquisite as the lake of fire and brimstone.
The Only Sign They Will Get
The scribes who have just called his power devilish now ask him for a sign. Nibley collects the whole pattern of Jesus’ response to sign-seekers across the Gospels and finds it invariable: the request is rebuked, and he leaves.
Whenever people asked the Lord for a sign, he walked out on them, telling them that to those who ask for a sign, no sign shall be given save one they don’t want. (Cf. Luke 21:11 [Luke 12:15]—28.) When the Jews pinned him down with the request for a specific demonstration, asking him, “What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?” he evaded them neatly with the challenge, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:18 [John 1:10]—19), that being a thing he knew they would never do—they brought this against him later as a serious charge, and of course missed the real significance of the remark. In the other passages cited by Lagrange we read (Acts 5:14 [Acts 3:4]—15): “And believers were the more added to the Lord. . . . Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets” to be healed, etc. Here they bring out their sick inasmuch as they believe: They believe first; the miracles follow. Does not the Lord in preparation for a miracle often ask the recipient whether he or she believes, this being a prerequisite to the miracle? In his own native district the Lord “did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58 [Matt. 7:14]). If the purpose of miracles was to convince the unbelieving, this should have been the very place where the Lord would perform his greatest ones, but the rule is very clear—no belief, no miracles: “Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6 [Eth. 5:2]—30). Lagrange again cites the case of Simon, who “wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done” (Acts 4:30 [Acts 2:7]; 8:13), but that was only after he had believed and was baptized. He was not converted as a result of those miracles, but they followed his belief. In the King James Bible, the twelfth chapter of 2 Corinthians is headed Paul’s Visions Are Apostolic Credentials. Yet he never reveals the content of those visions, least of all to unbelievers; what he does in this chapter is to remind the Corinthians, “Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you . . . in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds” (2 Corinthians 12:12). The Corinthians had been treated to this after their conversion as Christians, not as pagans, but even these signs did not guarantee a lasting conversion, for Paul goes on to describe how these same Corinthians are falling away.
Nibley also observes that John the Baptist’s question from prison, answered by a list of miracles, is not a sign-seeking request: the Baptist “is ready to take the Lord’s word for it.” That passage is the previous John section in this era.
A Melchizedek Claim
Barker places “binding the strong man” in a sequence of acts by which Jesus declared himself to be Melchizedek, the great high priest expected to come in the tenth Jubilee and break the power of Belial, which, on her reading, is exactly why the charge of collusion with the prince of devils was the charge his enemies chose to make.
Jesus then performed exorcisms to release people from the power of evil spirits, spoke about “binding the strong man” (Mark 3:27 [Mark 2:8]), brought in the outcasts, and declared that he would give his life as the great sacrifice (Mark 10:45 [Mark 5:28]). Jesus having thus declared himself to be Melchizedek the Great High Priest, it is no wonder that the high priests and chief priests in Jerusalem had him arrested and saw to it that he was put to death.
The link between Jesus and the Melchizedek text is confirmed by Luke’s account of Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth. He chose to read from Isaiah 61, the very text that was associated with Melchizedek coming to bring the good news of the Jubilee and the Kingdom of God. “Today,” said Jesus, “this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21 [Luke 4:3]), and he then went on to proclaim, “The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand.”
Quoted from a scanned BYU Studies offprint: spacing errors from the scan have been corrected, and the wording is unchanged. There is no stable open copy online, so the citation has no link.