>>1515 (OP)
“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus was there to save people. His name means "God's salvation." Jesus was performing supernatural miracles in public. It was obvious to all that He had supernatural power. The scribes were saying that the spirit He was empowered with was a demon because they couldn't deny the miracles.
Now the whole program; searching for God in one's heart, repenting of sins, hearing the gospel, baptism- the path of salvation of one's soul- relies on believing in the Savior. No one can come to God except through Jesus. So, you're out of luck if you say that the Holy Spirit is a demon. That's the Spirit that saves those who believe. If you call Good evil, then you are rejecting salvation, as the Good Spirit is the only one with the power to save. Not to mention the twisted, wicked mental gymnastics someone would have to go through in order to arrive at that conclusion after seeing the good fruit of casting out demons that Jesus was exhibiting. They were grasping at straws to discredit him. They were the types of people that do things for the approval of others and want to fit in with the powerful group rather than doing what is right according to their conscience.