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Then the seventy 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 give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered 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 the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."
Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."
- Luke 10:17-24
In yesterday's reading, we read that the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals, and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.' But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they wouldhave repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."
Then the seventy 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 give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." My study bible notes that Jesus' first statement here ("I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven") is probably a reference by Jesus to Isaiah 14:12-15, and invites us to observe the five 'I wills' in that linked passage from Isaiah. It adds, "Because he pursued his own will, Satan is both fallen from heaven, and he is defeated and dethroned from his demonic lordship over the world by the ministry of Christ and His disciples. The joy of discipleship is not in authority over demonic power, but in the citizenship of God's Kingdom." Serpents and scorpions, I believe, are references to demons and devils, thus linked to "the power of the enemy." As my study bible points out, it is not power over which they should rejoice, but rather that their names are written in heaven.
"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight." My study bible tells us that "these things are the mysteries of the Kingdom manifested through the words and works of Jesus. They are received by babes, people of simple and open hearts, rather than by the scribes and Pharisees, the wise and prudent." Let us remember that these disciples follow Christ out of love, out of faith. They aren't doing something for social position, or other rewards, but rather following a Teacher for whom they are risking their lives. As such they are not the "wise and prudent" but "babes" who act from the heart. Jesus teaches us here in this passage, through His gratitude, that this "revelation" in such an event as Jesus' followers is "good" -- it is an act of grace that such gifts are shared and revealed to the "babes."
"All things have been delivered 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 the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." My study bible says that "Jesus is the Son of God in the absolute. He shares fully all authority and knowledge of the Father, and is the sole and eternal revealer of God to humanity." But again, we go Jesus' prayer of gratitude to the Father. Whatever His ministry looks like, whatever its revelation to us, what it teaches us, all is given by the Father, "delivered to Him by His Father." As such the Son is the One through whom the Father is revealed to the world, even the ministry wherein it is the "babes" and not the "wise and prudent" who receive the spiritual power to cast out demons, against the adversary. To whom the Son chooses the Father shall be revealed.
Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it." Jesus is now speaking directly to the "babes." He's giving to them the information that what has been revealed to them through this ministry is more precious than they can imagine. My study bible says that "many prophets and kings of the Old Testament anticipated the coming of Jesus, but they do not experience the blessing of His Incarnation and the presence of His Kingdom."
Today's passage tells us about the spread and revelation of His Kingdom, in the world. It's not just the Twelve anymore who are graced with power given to them by Christ, who may go out and spread the gospel message of the good news of the kingdom, who perform healings, and to whom "even the demons are subject in His name." Now there are more who minister, and who will go on to become saints of the Early Church, who will spread the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire, and beyond. The Kingdom takes root in these people. It is revealed in them and through them and through the action of grace. This is how we come to understand this kingdom and its nature. That such grace is given, not to the wise and prudent, but to babes, tells us about God's kingdom, and how the Father, ultimately, is revealed to us by the Son. It tells us about God's nature and will, about grace. But most of all we begin with the fundamental element of this Kingdom and how it works in the world: through people. The "babes" are those with love in their heart, a kind of faith that is borne not just of knowledge but knowledge that comes through loyalty, and starts in love. The Kingdom begins in our hearts and from there it goes out to the world. It's in the heart where we embrace truth and love; heart to heart God is revealed through the Son, "to whom the Son wills to reveal the Father." In Luke 18, Jesus will tell His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." Elsewhere He makes references to babes, such as in Matthew's gospel, when He says to the leadership in the temple, "Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” It is linked to His teaching on the pure in heart, found in the Beatitudes: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Person to person, God is revealed, and has lived among us. Person to person, we find grace, we learn love, we pray. Let us remember that we are created in God's image, as persons. We are made for relationship, and we learn to be "like" our Creator by experiencing relatedness. To reveal Himself to "babes" is a teaching of grace, about what it is to be capable of love and loyalty, and to reach with an open heart to God. Person to person, God reveals the things of God. Jesus rejoices in what seemed good in the Father's sight.
