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[Viking]

In Matthew 12:30-32, what's the difference between the "Son of Man" and "Holy Spirit" if there is no difference?

[jimwalton]

What an excellent question.

For starters, the "Son of Man" is Jesus, and it's a reference to Him being the divine 2nd person of the Trinity; the "Holy Spirit" is the divine 3rd person of the Trinity, so that's the difference between them.

But I gather than your question is more to the point of "Why can someone blaspheme Jesus and it's forgivable, but to blaspheme the HS is not forgivable?"

I'll answer that in two stages. First, we know that all sins are not equal (Ex. 32.30; Ezk. 32.11; Jn. 19.11; 1 Jn. 5.16). While they are all sin, some are worse than others (something we'd expect; murder can't possibly be the same as stealing a pack of gum).

Second, in Jesus's context, there is an expectation that some people won't recognize that He is the Messiah sent from God, but who will later (in the book of Acts and even later) confess Him as Lord. So if people speak against Jesus, that may be forgivable down the road, depending on what people decide. But to "speak against the Holy Spirit" is meant a permanent rejection of Christ's identity, which cannot be forgiven. For someone who never changes their mind, their position, and never repents but continues to reject Christ, this person will not be forgiven (compare also Luke 13.22-30).