Day 67: Learning From the Devil

Luke 10:17-20

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
 ¹⁸ He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”


Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. I'm not sure I've ever heard a sermon on this passage, or even read an article on it, but, well... this is something. I got a sort of chill when I read it. There's a lot to ponder here.


First, the ones who were sent out have gotten a charge out of the fact that they have power over demons. And who could blame them? I can only imagine what watching someone who was demon possessed must have been like (I've seen a few kids that have made me wonder, but I digress). And then to realize that you could do something about it? It must have been quite the experience. 


But you see, that's the thing. They couldn't do anything about it - on their own, anyway. Only Jesus could. And that's what he is trying to get across when he points out that he saw Satan himself fall from heaven. He's saying that while their "authority" is just a shadow, his is the real thing. It's a proclamation that He Was, and Is, and Is To Come. He was there when Satan went from an angel to the devil. I have often wondered what that moment was like. It must have been terrible.


In any event, it seems to be a serious business to Jesus, with good reason. Just think of all the  harm that Satan has done. I can't count the things he's done to me personally, and Jesus has watched every one of them unfold, multiplied by every person who has ever lived. When he tells the disciples not to rejoice that the spirits submit to them, he's teaching a valuable lesson. He knows why Satan fell... because he coveted the power of God. He got a taste of power, and that taste grew until it was insatiable. Jesus doesn't want to see that again. And so He says, don't exult in the power. Exult in the fact that you have salvation.


Keep your focus. Keep your humility. As Micah 6:8 says, "Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God." Learn a lesson from the devil, and don't follow in his path.