Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Wednesday Easter IV - Luke 10:1-4, 17-20
Wednesday Easter IV
Daily Lectionary Readings: Leviticus 16:1-24; Luke 10:1-22; (Smalcald Articles: Preface 1-15)
Luke 10:1-4, 17-20:
[1] After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. [2] And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. [3] Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. [4] Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.
[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.”
[21] In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [22] All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (ESV)
Satan's best party trick to date has been to convince the world that he does not exist. The devil isn't real. It's all in your imagination. We are the real devils here. When a man is capable of such great evil, who needs to maintain the myth of a supernatural being, some supposed fallen angel who tries to lead you astray? We humans, who love nothing more than to think we are the real agents of change at the center of our universe, are more than happy to take all the credit. Good or bad, we are all that there is. That is precisely what Satan wants us to believe. Like some diabolical Wizard of Oz, he stands in the shadows pulling our strings and whispering sweet murderous hatred in our ears.
Sharing the word of God can seem very discouraging. Most often, it appears as though it falls on deaf ears. The devil plants the idea in your head. "You are wasting your time,” he says. “Just live for yourself, these other folks don’t matter. In fact, they seem happier than you are. Why not join them?” Lie is grafted upon lie. God has gifted us with His Holy Spirit, Jesus says, telling us, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”1 Yet so often, this just does not seem enough. We have become so results-oriented in our culture that we think God owes us some sort of progress report to know how we are doing.
What happened to the simple trust we put in the Lord? We modern humans have achieved technological wonders. We've built monuments of our ingenuity to the heavens that put the ancient stone Tower of Babel to shame. Science has pushed back our view of the cosmos to near the moment of creation. Yet children around the world continue to not have enough food to eat. We fight over what color signs adorn our front lawns. We pick sides so extreme that truth lay on the ground between us, discarded.
Satan continues to laugh at us. In our sinful condition, we dismiss his influence on us as nonsense, superstition, or just forget he exists altogether. We even arrogantly assume that we are the devils, we are the gods. And the spiritual warfare rages on. At a time when we most need to unite, we continue to be divided. It may seem a small comfort, but this is absolutely not a new situation. It is why Jesus proclaimed, “behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”2
The war against sin, ours of commission and omission as well as those originating from demonic attack, continues to be won through the proclamation of the unchanging Gospel: the blood of the Lamb of God shed for the forgiveness of all sins. All sins. The ones we feel compelled to do. The ones we too quickly embrace because they are aligned with our secret beliefs and desires. And especially those sins we harbor in secret, for which we think we are unable to be forgiven.
We think we are so advanced. Deep thinkers. Even in our small towns where life is a little quieter and quite a bit simpler. Look around. This is a lot different from life one hundred years ago, despite the similarities. Two things never change. The human capacity for sin and God’s capacity for love.
The disciples Jesus sent out needed to hear the word of God before embarking on their mission as lambs among the wolves. As they preached and healed, they needed to recall Jesus’ message that “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”3 applied not only to those who heard them but to themselves as well. By the preaching of those disciples, the very kingdom of God drew near to all who heard. In the face of the Gospel brought to a lost and dying world, Satan is defeated. Christ Jesus has triumphed, His cross absorbing the world’s sin. The devil continues to assault them and us, but Jesus has guaranteed that he can no longer harm them or us.
[Later, the seventy-two disciples] 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 have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”4
Through your baptisms, your names are written in heaven! Rejoice each and every one of you! Remember this when Satan tries to convince you otherwise. Delight in this certainty when you attempt, and then try again, to reach a wayward friend or unbelieving acquaintance. While it may appear nothing is happening to them in our mortal eyes, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”5 When the devil tries to sow doubt in your mind, remember what Jesus said in the parable of the sower. We scatter the seed of God’s eternal word. He makes the faith grow, including your own. We may not see it, and we may not know it. But we have the Lord’s word that it is happening, and it is working effectively.
The Word of God is a fountain of life. Jesus has given us the authority to tread upon all the power of the enemy. Satan still snaps and bites, but his venom has been neutralized. That ancient dragon is defeated. That is why Jesus could say He saw Lucifer falling from the sky like lightning. The disciples performed miracles, yes – but this was an outward sign of a much greater reality. They performed signs and wonders, we proclaim the eternal Gospel, but it is Christ who fought and won the war that threw down that murderous and lying serpent of old.
1John 3:8 (ESV).
2Luke 10:3.
3Luke 10:9.
4Luke 10:17-20 (ESV).
5Luke 15:7 (ESV).