Luke 12:10-12 10And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you will defend yourself or what you will say, 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.
These verses continue and increase the thoughts of verses 8-9 about the need to proclaim Jesus with courage. Another way to experience judgment is by denying the Holy Spirit. Instead of using the word “deny,” Jesus uses the strong word blaspheme as a substantival participle, the one who blasphemes (blasphēmēsanti). Blasphemy is a strong form of denial by not acknowledging the worth of someone (such as God). It can mean to slander, defame, or speak in such a way as to reject the honor due someone.
There has been much discussion about what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit means. There are many ways a person can not honor the Holy Spirit. The greatest way is to not respond affirmatively to the conviction that Holy Spirit gives. To deny the Holy Spirit leads to a hardened “heart” or conscience. The Spirit is the source of new creation through which we are born again. By rejecting the Spirit, a person essentially has cut off the only source of eternal life. Both speaking against the Son and rejecting the Spirit are serious issues and show an unrepentant attitude. As long as a person has that attitude, there is no route to eternal life. But if a person begins to wonder, the Holy Spirit is already speaking and the person is starting to listen.
Verses 11-12 indicate that Jesus is especially speaking to his present disciples who would face difficulties once he left them. Since he experienced opposition from the religious establishment, they would also. The local Jewish leaders in the synagogues and the high level rulers in the Sanhedrin would all cause them trouble, resulting in persecution. This is exactly what happened, as recorded in the Book of Acts. Jesus will warn them again later about this in 21:12.
They need not worry about what to do or how to defend themselves. We get the word “apology” from the word for defend (apologēsēsthe). Apologetics involves speaking the truth of the gospel in such a way that Jesus is glorified and not denied. The pressure for the disciples would be to deny knowing Jesus. The authorities would pressure them to deny Jesus and get back in line with their expectations. When under extreme pressure like this, we may be at a loss of words. But Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would fill the disciples and enable them to speak the truth with boldness. Denying the Spirit’s leading is disastrous. Accepting the leading of the Spirit brings confidence and leads to eternal life.
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