Power, Protection, and Privilege
The Son: Meeting Jesus through Luke • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Opening Comments:
Opening Comments:
Please meet me in your copy of God’s Word this morning in Luke 10:17-20, as we continue in our verse by verse study of the Gospel of Luke that we have Titled “The Son: From the Manger to the Cross.” If you’re using one of our church Bibles. You will find our passage on 816. This is the Word of the Lord.
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Prayer:
Prayer:
Father,
As we reflect on the disciples' joyful return from their mission, we ask that you ignite within us a similar passion and excitement for sharing your love with others. May our hearts be filled with wonder and awe at the mighty works you do through us, and may we never forget that our names are written in heaven. We pray for your guidance and wisdom as we explore this passage together, and may your Spirit inspire us to live out the truths we learn. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Introduction:
Introduction:
In the previous passage we saw where Jesus sent out 72 of his most devoted followers on a short term mission trip ahead of him to the villages and towns he would pass through on his way to Jerusalem. Now, we see here in today’s passage the 72 missionaries returning to Jesus to report on all that had taken place on their trip.
This trip had an air of excitement to it, v.17 says “they returned with Joy.”
Their rejoicing wasn’t in how much they had done for Jesus, but over the phenomenal power of Christ. The results they were witness to astounded them
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
Why such elation? Jesus told them they would be able to heal the sick, but had mentioned nothing of casting out demons, and yet they were able to see demonic forces leave people due the power of Jesus.
They recognized that nothing they had seen accomplished was at all due to their abilities but all to the “name of Jesus.” All the credit for their missions success rested in Jesus.
They had learned the valuable lesson that when God’s people boldly do what he has called them to do, we can anticipate his blessings in ways we can’t even fathom.
From Jesus response to their celebration we can see that he shared in their enthusiasm for the great victories they had seen accomplished but he also took some time to remind them what they really should be rejoicing over.
In this text we learn that as witnesses for Jesus we have been given power, protection and privilege but only one of these should cause us to rejoice.
1.) The power of Christ’s witnesses. (v.17-19)
1.) The power of Christ’s witnesses. (v.17-19)
When the 72 returned to Jesus bursting with excitement, he immediately began to share with them why they had seen such success in their mission as witnesses for Jesus.
He had gifted them with power over the kingdom of Satan.
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
In order to understand why this matters, we need to first understand where satan and his forces came from.
Lucifer, was originally created as an angel of God made to serve in Heaven. He was created to be holy, but became corrupted by pride and desired to be equal or to even be above God. He led a rebellion in heaven where 1/3 of the other angelic beings joined forces with him (Rev 12:4). Because of this he was cast out of heaven along with those who joined with him.
The Bible describes Satan in many different ways:
Ruler of this world (John 12:31)
Prince and power of the air. (Eph 2:2)
God of this world. (2 Cor 4:4)
Murderer and Father of lies. (John 8:44)
Deceiver (Revelation 12:9)
Accuser of the believers (Rev 12:10)
Evil one (1 John 5:19)
The choice of the demons, the angels who followed Lucifer in his rebellion, is an irrevocable one. They are beyond forgiveness and will one day be cast into the lake of fire along with Satan. (Matthew 25:41, Rev 20:10). Like Satan, they are evil and are the enemies of God and his people. They go about deceiving those who are not Christians (2 Corinthians 4:4) and use false teachers to spread heresy and lies by twisting and perverting God’s Word.
Demonic forces seems to have been at the peak of their work during the time of Jesus ministry here on earth as an effort to put a stop to his “destruction of thier works.
8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Obviously they failed to stop Jesus from accomplishing his task and were ultimately defeated by the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
Every time a person repents of their sin and turns to Christ as Lord it is another defeat of Satan and his hordes.
The mission of the 72 was a sign that the total defeat of Satan had begun. Jesus elaborates on this in v.18
18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
The Bible actually mentions four falls of Satan:
From glorified to profane (Ezekiel 28:14-16).
From having access to heaven (Job 1:12, 1 Kings 22:21, Zechariah 3:1) to restriction to the earth (Revelation 12:9).
From the earth to bondage in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).
From the pit to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).
The verb here translated as “I saw” is in the imperfect tense meaning it was a continual process. Jesus saw and he saw and he saw over and over again. This wasn’t a one time even but an ongoing event.
Jesus paints vivid imagery here that he saw satan defeated over and over gain like flashes of lightening every time one of the 72 lead someone to Christ. He observed Satan’s kingdom falling one soul at a time.
This is still happening today through the spread of the gospel. Every time a sinner bows to Christ in repentance and faith the power of Satan in this world diminishes more and more.
The power over Satans kingdom lies in the proclamation of the Gospel. Christ has already won the victory, so be embolden to share Jesus in power.
2.) The protection of Christ’s witnesses. (v.19)
2.) The protection of Christ’s witnesses. (v.19)
19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Just because Satan is defeated does not mean he has given up. As we try and peach Jesus to a lost world around us, we can expect the demonic forces of Satan to oppose every effort.
They have no power over the soul of any child of God, so the only way they can go after God’s witnesses physically and stopping the work.
Jesus is not literally saying we should handle snakes and scorpions (as some aberrant groups have claimed.) We should never tempt God and presume any power over him by deliberately putting ourselves in harms way.
This is a metaphor for the protection Jesus has given his witnesses over Satan and his forces.
The life of a christian is in the hands of God at every moment. Nothing can happen to us that is outside of his will and care. This means that if God desires to continue using you to proclaim the gospel, he will protect us no matter the treat of physical injury be that snake bite or scorpion sting.
We don’t need to worry about such things, we just need to be busy about the task of preaching Jesus.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
We are perfectly secure against the forces of Satan in the hand of God.
3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
3.) The privilege of Christ’s witnesses. (v.20)
3.) The privilege of Christ’s witnesses. (v.20)
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
When the 72 met back up with Jesus at their predetermined meeting place, they came back jubilant, over both the power of God they had witnessed and the protection that had been provided to them as they spread the Gospel, but there was a far more significant thing for them to be rejoicing over.
After all, if our joy is based in God using us to accomplish some great exciting task, what happens when the next task is more mundane?
What happens when Jesus sends us to people who aren't responsive?
What happens if we endure hardship just for preaching Jesus?
Friends, if our joy is based in power and protection it will disappear the first time those things are taken away.
The great privilege of the Christian witness is not found in God’s power to enable us or his protection, the greatest privilege is salvation itself.
Jesus wasn’t being a killjoy here. It wasn’t wrong for them to rejoice in being used by God, but that joy needed to be subordinated to a greater joy; that there names were written in heaven.
Lists of names were kept for various purposes in the ancient world. This papyrus scroll, written in Greek, contains a list of farmers (AD 196–98). For Jews, they were also very familiar with genealogical records being kept.
To be enrolled on one of these lists though was not something they had any control over, someone over them did. It was the government who compiled lists lie the picture. It was God who determined what family they would be placed in.
Herein is the great thing about our being written in heaven. We didn’t place ourselves there. It’s not by us, no. It is something that has been done for us. It is God who places us on the list of all those who have been redeemed. If he placed us there, we are eternally secure and no one can remove us.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
To be enrolled in the heavens means to be justified by God and to be accepted by him as one of his children; and to be permanently so enrolled means that we are among the number of the elect. The book of life is Christ, in whom all are written who are brought to faith by his gospel… Our joy over being written in this book is to increase until in heaven itself we see our names written there. To have our names thus written is the greatest victory over Satan.
R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 585.
Friends, evangelistic success and power over Satans kingdom are for this world only, but knowledge that our names are forever written in heaven, never to be removed far outweighs any momentary joys of this world.
5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
As God’s people we are the recipients of His power and we wield that power every time we preach the gospel. The more we share the gospel, the more people come to Christ, the more Satans defeat marches towards its ultimate end.
We are promised protection form Satan and his forces as we preach the gospel. That doesn't mean that nothing bad will ever happen to us, but it does mean nothing can happen to us that God does not allow. We are safe and secure in his hands both in this life and for all eternity.
Therefore rejoice, if you are God’s child your name is written in permanent ink in the Lambs Book of Life. Written there by the hand of God himself.
Give the gospel, by talking about the consequences of those whose name is not written there.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.