Mark 3:29

3:29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin” 1 

Mark 6:7

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

6:7 Jesus 2  called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 3 

Mark 7:25

7:25 Instead, a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit 4  immediately heard about him and came and fell at his feet.

Mark 9:17

9:17 A member of the crowd said to him, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that makes him mute.

Mark 9:20

9:20 So they brought the boy 5  to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He 6  fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

1 sn Is guilty of an eternal sin. This passage has troubled many people, who have wondered whether or not they have committed this eternal sin. Three things must be kept in mind: (1) the nature of the sin is to ascribe what is the obvious work of the Holy Spirit (e.g., releasing people from Satan’s power) to Satan himself; (2) it is not simply a momentary doubt or sinful attitude, but is indeed a settled condition which opposes the Spirit’s work, as typified by the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and (3) a person who is concerned about it has probably never committed this sin, for those who commit it here (i.e., the religious leaders) are not in the least concerned about Jesus’ warning. On this last point see W. W. Wessel, “Mark,” EBC 8:645-46.

2 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

3 sn The phrase unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

4 sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

5 tn Grk “him.”

6 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.