Rejoice because your names are written in heaven

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 about Jesus' appointment of and instructions to the seventy - to those who are sent out on a new mission, after the Twelve. Their mission is one of humility, and bringing the kingdom near. It is also one of choice, and of judgment. See Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you. Today, we find them as they return from their mission.

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 "I saw Satan fall . . . from heaven is probably a reference by Jesus to Is. 14:12-15. Note the five 'I wills' in that passage. 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 (v. 19). The joy of discipleship is not in authority over demonic power, but in the citizenship of God's Kingdom." It is my opinion that the reference to "serpents and scorpions" is a vivid image of demons. This is Christ's power that is shared with those who are His disciples - but as He says, and my study bible notes, they are not to rejoice in that specific power, but in their membership in the kingdom (so beautifully put - "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." A note reads: "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." In addition to the point my study bible makes in the note, I can't help but feel that it is a part of a whole: Jesus reveals in His words and works the power He shares with His disciples, the joy they feel in membership in that kingdom and their part in it.

"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 here: "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." So, those babes with whom all this is shared are chosen by the Son for this revelation. God's kingdom - and the understanding therein - is for those with whom He shares it.

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." A note reads: "Many prophets and kings of the Old Testament anticipated the coming of Jesus, but they did not experienced the blessing of His Incarnation and the presence of His kingdom."

In today's reading we get an understanding of revelation and how it works in this ministry, in this "kingdom that has come near." It is a kingdom that is shared among Jesus' disciples. It is a kingdom of power over all forms of evil and demonic activity in this world. It is a kingdom in which all those who are a part of it are privy to knowledge of the Father, because the Son (whom only the Father knows) chooses to share it, to reveal it. And it is babes who are chosen for this revelation: not the wise and prudent, who have sought to know these things and failed - and not the prophets and kings of history who so desired to see Jesus' day. This is the fruit of this mission of the seventy; it sets the standard for the reality of that kingdom that "breaks in" upon us and comes near and lives among us. A part of the key to this passage is humility, and the necessary humility Jesus has been teaching to those who would be disciples. We recall from the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." This is a kingdom, a reality, that is received, not taken. The quality of discipleship is in our willingness to receive, to be taught. What does your faith tell you and teach you? How are you learned and blessed in that kingdom and its strength? How does it share its power with you, "break in" upon you, and reveal itself? What have you gleaned from what it shares? Do you know the love of the Father for yourself? If we have even a taste of any of this then, this membership, a sense of "the names written in heaven," let us rejoice for we are blessed. How are you blessed by your faith? The Beatitudes teach us about the inheritance of the humble (in Luke and in Matthew). Jesus' instructions to the seventy reflect this attitude. Do we know when we are blessed?