“Then the seventy returned with joy saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’ And He (Jesus) said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.'” Luke 10:17,18
What does being a Christian really mean? And how important is it in a world of unbelief, where faithlessness is so rampant? We can begin to get a slight grasp of the importance of it when we see something of the eternal sovereignty and power of God. In one of those brief moments, when the Lord Jesus seems to step away from His ministry to address a specific issue that has arisen, we find present the seventy disciples, which had been sent out by Christ, two by two, into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. The message that they were to convey to all, and this affirmed and proven by Christ’s power given them not only to heal the sick, but to cast out demons, was that “the kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Lk. 10:9,11) Christ was bringing before the people to whom He ministered a central, and most important fact, and that is that He is King, and possesses all authority in heaven and earth, power to heal and deliver, but more importantly, power to save the soul from sin, Satan, and the world. The seventy disciples, upon returning to Jesus after ministering in this manner, declared with wonder and joy, that even the demons were subject to them in Christ’s name. It is then that the Lord begins to unveil just how far reaching this moment would be, for the Lord Jesus would take the disciples back just very briefly, into the very distant past, to an event that was singularly important, and which had a definite, massive effect on all humanity. He would say, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Why did He say this, and why was it necessary that the disciples know it?
The disciples had just tasted something of the power of the kingdom of God, and the authority of Christ. They rejoiced in their discovery of Christ’s supreme authority over demons, that authority being conveyed to them at that time, brought into effect by their actions “in Jesus’ name.” The fact that Jesus declares to them that He saw Satan fall reveals that something far greater than the casting out of demons is being revealed here. The first thing that is greater is the revelation of Christ as Sovereign God, Maker and sole Redeemer of men, Eternal, unchanging, with the power and authority not only to see Satan fall, but to be cast out of heaven by the power of God. Christ was there, beholding, seeing the terrible event that would result in so much suffering and death, but at the same time, revealing His saving grace and mercy as being greater than “he that is in the world.” The second thing that is important to see is how Satan fell, in response to such absolute authority and dominating power as lightning from heaven. The event was deliberate, decisive, and determined by God, nothing on earth or in heaven able to deter Him and the fulfillment of His will. This same power and authority were demonstrated by the Eternal Father in decisively giving His Son to die on Calvary, and Christ’s resolve to obey the Father, accomplishing the perfect work of redemption. It is then that Jesus, as the Eternal Son, having received from the Father this authority, communicates it to His disciples. It is an authority to overcome all the power of the enemy. These were great words of victory and hope, when facing the weakness, helplessness, and frailty of the souls of men who were incapable of saving themselves.
How important is belonging to Christ, being His for time and eternity? It is far more important than any work of man in service to God. For Jesus then declared: “…do not rejoice… that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (10:20)
Dear Father, Make us wholly Thine. In Jesus’ name, Amen.