It means showing content or a lack of reverence for God, ‘And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.’ (Lev. 24:16); ‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? (Mark 2:7) Or to something sacred. ‘Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy (Matt 26:65); including claiming for oneself divine attributes by word or deed. ‘The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.’ (Mark 14:16); ‘We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’ (John 10:33). Harpercollins Bible dictionary.
Worthy to be considered that there are many sins mentioned in the Old Testament, but none of them are ever described as unforgivable sins. Sometimes the penalty for sin is death, but repentance is always possible before the punishment. St Matthew (12:31-32) said: ‘And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.’
And in the Gospel of Luke (12:10) we find the same thought occurred again that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable by stating; ‘And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.’ Also St Mark (3:29), ‘but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.’
In reality it is a severe statement that this metaphor “blaspheming against the Spirit” was given by Jesus for resisting or opposing Grace and inspiration that comes from the Spirit of God. and if that is the case it means that we are making a practical decision to refuse Grace and Forgiveness in other words, we refuse to believe that Jesus is acting under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and if we take hold of that we will never be saved.
- Blasphemy:
Blasphemy is directly opposed to the second commandment ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain…’ It consists in uttering against God – inwardly or outwardly – words of hatred, reproach or defiance; in speaking ill of God; in failing in respect toward him in one’s speech; in misusing God’s name. St James (2:7) condemns those ‘who blaspheme that honourable name (of Jesus) by which you are called.’ The prohibition of blasphemy extends to language against Christ’s Church, the Saints and sacred things. It is also blasphemous to make use of God’s name to cover up criminal practices, to reduce peoples to servitude, to torture persons or put them to death. The misuse of God’s name to commit a crime can provoke others to repudiate religion.
Blasphemy is contrary to the respect due God and His holy name. It is in itself a grave sin. (Cf. CIC, can. 1369)
CIC. Code of Canon Law (Latin: Codex Iuris Canonici)
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