I saw Satan fall like lightning from 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

Yesterday we read that as Jesus had set Himself to go to Jerusalem, He appointed seventy other apostles 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."  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 says that "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" describes an event that took place before the creation of the world.  Five times Satan set his will against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; see also Revelation 12:7-12).  Christ shares His power with the Seventy, as He did previously with the Twelve, so that even the demons are subject to human beings in His name.  Serpents and scorpions are symbols of demons and devils.  This is about spiritual battle, not a worldly one.  But the greater rejoicing, He reminds us, is not over such power but rather to be members of the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever power the Church may have over demons, human beings always have free will.

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."  Christ rejoices in prayer over the revelation of His ministry.   Babes, says my study bible, are people of simple and open hearts (see 18:15-17).  These seventy, like the twelve before them, are not men of extraordinary learning or social stature; in this sense they are like babes.  Jesus contrasts them with the wise and prudent.  What it reveals is the power that rests solely in the Son, for even many prophets and kings have desired to know what these babes know, to see and hear the things they have seen and heard, and it remained hidden from them.  This is clearly the remarkable intention of God the Father at work through Christ's ministry to the world, another sign of gracious condescension and love.

Jesus' ministry has power, as expressed in the joy of the Seventy that "even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  But perhaps in today's reading in particular, what is revealed is that this power is unlike earthly power.  A spiritual battle, as stated before, isn't an earthly battle.  There aren't great weapons that wipe out material civilizations and humankind.  This is a battle from the heart, and in the hearts and minds of people who choose their faith and the journey of their faith in the world.  These disciples have followed Christ, and He shares His power with them.  They have found that in His name, even the demons are subject to them.  We can't always know or tell demonic influence; it's something that is most likely subtle rather than something out of a horror show or frightening film dreamed up for the camera.  Popular culture won't really give us a good idea of what our faith is about.  Exorcism wasn't something strange or unknown in Jewish religious tradition.  (When Christ is accused by Pharisees of casting out demons by the power of demons, He responds by asking them, "By whom then do your sons cast them out?" in Matthew 12:27).   But what is truly remarkable and wonderful is that through Christ, God has given such power to babes -- and more than that, greater than that, is that such babes hear and see the work and the truth of the Kingdom, mysteries are revealed to them, and their names are written in heaven.  This is the gracious God that hid such things from the wise and prudent, even from prophets and kings who highly desired them, and shares them with those of true hearts and good faith.  There's really more to this than we've discussed, because all of it touches on the great transforming -- transfiguring -- power of Christ.  It is, as Christ's words of gratitude to the Father tell us, a product of the grace of God at work through this ministry, through Christ, and in these men and women of faith who are His followers.  The truth of God's grace and condescension is that human beings -- even babes -- are those who will share this kingdom and whose names are written in heaven.  This is the gracious power of God, the power that doesn't work as worldly power does, that will transform unlearned, even socially and politically naive men into those who will change the world with the Gospel message.  That is what we see at work in the saints, in the love of God, in our faith.  It remains at work, but it is still with us and within us to follow and keep His word in faith.  It is God's love that is the real power, and that we share in.   This is the bond that defeats the enemy.