Luke 10:17-24
17 Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!”
18 And He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
19 Behold, I have given you authority to walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for doing so was well pleasing in Your sight.
22 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.”
23 Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see;
24 for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them.”
The Return of the Seventy
The joy of the disciples
The seventy disciples who had been sent out returned with joy. The mission was a great success. The commands they had received from Jesus were (1) to heal the sick and (2) to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God. However, what they experienced in the mission field went beyond that. They were even able to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. With simple faith and the power of the name of Jesus, they achieved dramatic victory. How dramatic that victory was, can be seen from the words of Jesus: “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning” (Luke 10:18). Here, Jesus seemed to sense in the joy of the disciples the danger of a false triumphalism. And He gave them two warnings: (1) The authority over demons was entirely given from Jesus, and the disciples had nothing at all to boast about. (2) What they should truly rejoice in was the fact that their names were recorded in heaven, not that the demons were subject to them (ref. Rev. 3:5). We are people who easily lose balance. Our attention is often captured by sensational things. However, the greatest miracle is that we have been made children of God through faith in Jesus. Have you been rejoicing most in this fact?
Jesus’ joy
Jesus was a man of sorrows. Yet in this passage, He was greatly rejoicing. This was not an earthly joy, but joy in the Holy Spirit. Jesus had often seen the wise and intelligent reject the Word of God. But seeing the work of God advance through these disciples (the little children) who simply believed, He greatly rejoiced. Those who think themselves wise cannot receive God’s revelation. As Paul said, “But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). Do you sometimes think of yourself as wise? Are you an instrument that is easy for God to use? How great is your joy in knowing that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament? Let us meditate on these questions.
Today's prayer
Father God of Jesus Christ, I thank You today for teaching me what I should truly rejoice in. I am one who easily loses balance. Please forgive me. I believe and give thanks that my name is recorded in heaven. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.