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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Luke 10:17 - 10:20
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The return and report of the seventy:
v. 17. And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name.
v. 18. And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
v. 19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
v. 20. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
The mission of the seventy was attended with great success, as Luke here reports at once, and they returned with joy. They were especially elated over the fact that they had been able to accomplish more than they had expected or been promised. Confronted with the necessity, they had adjured demons in the name of Jesus, and through the power of this mighty name and by faith in His almighty strength they had driven them out. Not all exigencies of pastoral work can be mapped out, even in a very complete course, and therefore a pastor must, under circumstances, beg for power from on high and then use his best judgment in solving a difficulty. The report of the disciples was no news to Jesus. In His omniscience He had seen the very Satan, Satan himself, falling from heaven like lightning. As a bolt of lightning comes down from heaven in shining glory and disappears on earth, so the splendid power of Satan was thrust down out of heaven. As spirits the devil and his angels belong to the creatures above the earth, and therefore their destruction, their conquest, appears as a fall from heaven. In the casting out of the evil spirits the destruction of the power of Satan appeared. Christ Himself, as the stronger, had come upon the strong, had overcome and bound. him. The entire life of Christ, from His birth to His burial, was a victory over Satan. And this victory is transmitted to the disciples of Jesus. He gave them the power to step upon, to tread under foot, vipers and scorpions and the entire power of the enemy, and nothing should in any wise hurt them. All the dangerous, demoniac powers that attempt to harm the disciples of Jesus in their work of preaching the Gospel must be subject to them. The work of the Lord must progress and be brought to the desired conclusion, and if all the devils of hell make a league to overcome it. But this is not the most important fact for the individual Christian, and this is not his greatest cause for rejoicing, that the devils are subject to him through the name of Christ, but the happiness of the Christians rests upon; is founded upon that fact that their names are inscribed in the heavens. That is the glorious certainty of the believers, that they know God has chosen them from the beginning unto salvation, has prepared the everlasting mansions for them. This fact must remain uppermost in a Christian's consciousness. It will keep him from putting his trust in his own gifts and works.