Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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


 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

Yesterday we read that after Jesus made the decision to start His journey toward Jerusalem, He 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 would have 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."   I saw Satan fall describes an event that took place before the creation of the world, says my study bible.  Five times Satan set his will against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; see also Revelation 12:7-12).  Serpents and scorpions are images of devils and demons; they are things which carry poison and cause pain to human beings.  These are part of the power of the enemy, who is the evil oneIn the Lord's prayer as given in Matthew 6:13, Jesus teaches us to pray, "Deliver us from evil," or from "the evil one" (it can be read both ways in Greek).   The Greek for this word translated as "evil" is poneros, which literally means the one who causes pain, is hurtful.  That pain includes burdens of harsh labor and toils in its meaning.  But again, Jesus reminds us that it is not power that is ours personally nor that we should rejoice over. Rather it is His power shared with us as a work of grace, and our true rejoicing is that our names are written in heaven, and that we may participate in the kingdom of God.

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."  Here Jesus Himself rejoices over the power of grace at work in the world, and gives us a true taste of the joy we should know in gratitude for such gifts.  He teaches us their true value in His words.  Babes, says my study bible, are people of simple faith and open hearts (see 18:15-17).  This is the power that has worked through Christ, in whom is vested all power by the Father -- and Christ reveals the Father to whom He wills.  What we need to understand is that many prophets and kings have desired to see what these apostles -- and through their work, we also -- see and hear

Here is really the great good news that the Virgin Mary understood at the Annunciation, when she said in what is known as the Magnificat, "He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.  He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty."  Her own song was reflective of the songs of others before her, such as Hannah, and so this is a theme that has echoes throughout spiritual history and the work of God in the world.  Jesus Himself rejoices in Spirit at the work of the Father through His own ministry, saying, "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."  At that which our Lord rejoices, in the Spirit, in prayer between Father and Son, we can truly take time for awe.  It blesses His ministry and sanctifies the work of God in the world that is always truly surprising.  And more than that, it means that Satan has fallen like lightning, the one who oppresses with toils and hard labor and pain, who enforces only the power of materialism and conquest and murder and all its association with death in many dimensions.  (That is, a purely material perspective minus a relationship to God, to Christ.)  This is the great victory in which all should rejoice.  And yet, how do we neglect the gift of this good news, God's grace in the world?   Let us understand its awesome power in our lives and its blessing.




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