Luke 10:1

Luke 10:1–20

4/12/2012

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

"The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20

BAM! OUCH! This is both an amazingly great and an incredibly important rebuke. The 72 return, happy that they have spiritual power Jesus, amazed at what they were able to do. How does Jesus respond? "Don't let the power go to your head. Don't miss what's important." I doesn't matter if you can heal 10,000 people. It doesn't matter if you cast out hundreds of demons. If you evangelized millions. If you changed the world for Jesus. Don't rejoice for yourself in any of these things, because this power and work was only given to you by God. Without Him you are nothing. Rather, rejoice that you are known by God. Rejoice that your name is in the book!

Nothing we do is worth anything compared to being known by God. This is what we rejoice in! Anything God gives on top of that is a small gift, because that gift is the greatest and most important. That gift, not our works in Jesus' name, are the source of our joy.

andrew s

4/12/2012 10:46:15 am

Speaking of the harvest, I was wondering what you think about the song You said by Shane Bernard. Especially the "I ask for the nations " part. I took it to mean asking for them in terms of evangelizing and changing people. I could also see it as literally asking for the nations because if God already gave his son, what else would he withhold. Although it sounds presumptuous which is why id go with the former. Thoughts?

Greg

4/13/2012 03:13:18 am

I'd go with the idea that it's about evangelism. I'd say so because it just makes more sense and is less "presumptuous" as you said. I don't think it would really be "after God's own heart" to be asking to be some kind of evil overlord. It IS true that He gave His Son, but for His glory and our salvation, not for our riches and domination. Those are my thoughts.

4/12/2012 10:47:08 am

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4/13/2012 03:14:02 am

Awesome. I can't really claim any credit because it does it automatically, but I agree and it makes me really happy.

Ina

4/12/2012 04:56:17 pm

Is this passage saying that we are only known by God if we go out an try to convert people?

4/13/2012 03:18:33 am

In short, no. It's saying that we shouldn't rejoice in the power that God may or may not choose to give us, but we should rejoice that we are known by God. The the question of evangelism has to do with obedience and a changed heart I think. Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of every nation." We usually call that the "Great Commission", and He wasn't really asking - it was a command. If we seek to be obedient we seek to evangelize. The second part - heart: If we have truly been changed and redeemed by God and have found joy and abundant life in that, how could we NOT want to share that with others? Obviously there are issues of fear, awkwardness, and the cultural demand for tolerance, but I don't think it's an issue of trying to build our "team" so much as it is sharing the joy and changing power of Jesus that has so changed our own lives. As it's commonly said, sharing Jesus is like "one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread."

Andrei

4/12/2012 05:24:10 pm

I was thinking maybe it is Satan's deception that we tend to find much more joy in the things that God provides for us rather than finding the most joy in being known by God like Greg said?

Also had a question about the message that the disciples are preaching when Jesus sends them out. I think I asked about this in Salt and Light but I might have forgotten some of the answers that people told me. Do the disciples know who Jesus is yet? They haven't seen him die and be raised yet. So what exactly are they preaching when they go out? Are they just telling people that the kingdom of God is near and that they should repent?

4/13/2012 03:25:50 am

Great question Andrei. I would say that yes, they are first of all preaching a similar message to John the Baptist's, about the Kingdom and repentance. I don't think they really do totally understand who Jesus is, so it wouldn't be the message that we preach today. I would also add that it could include some of the ideas from the Sermon on the Mount, particularly the parts about the Kingdom and what it's like and what citizens of the Kingdom are like. As I've written before, a lot of scholars think that the "Sermon on the Mount" content is basically what Jesus preached during the whole or most of His ministry. If that's the case, when He sends them out that's probably also what they are telling people. I would assume as well that they are proclaiming that people should come to follow Jesus and doing wonders in His name as proof of His power.

I think it's true also that Satan's deception could play a role in what's going on in this passage, but I think that the bigger player here is our own hearts. We have an addictive need for our own glory. I think we need to fess up to our own sin and heart-disease before we start trying to pawn it off on Satan, though He can certainly be a cause of the temptation. Observation: though the passage doesn't make the connection clearly, Satan's fall was all about what the 72 struggle with in this passage: the obsession with His own power, going to such an extent that he sought to put himself in the place of God, the very source of his power.

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Luke 10:1–20

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