“The fall of the adversary” (Luke 10:18)

Luke 10:1-11,16-20

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Pastor Tom Johnson, July 3, 2016

Jesus sends out his disciples to tell the good news, heal, and overcome peoples’ demons. They are to be messengers and carriers of true peace. But he says he is sending them out like lambs into the midst of wolves. At first, it sounds like he is sending them out to be wolf-meat—defeat even before they set their bare feet out to their mission. Thankfully, that is not the case. It is simply a reminder of the formidable adversaries they will face. Like lambs, they will be vulnerable, weak, and indefensible—especially when you compare a baby sheep with an adult wolf. It’s another reminder that they will have to rely on the Good Shepherd to guard and protect his fold.

He is sending them out in his strength. They will not rely on their own resources or power. And so they go out without purses, bags, or sandals. They will rely on God’s resources to do what he calls them to do. When they come back from their mission they are elated! They have seen the power of God at work in and through their lives. People rejoiced at the good news of forgiveness and salvation. They experienced healing. Most amazing of all, even the demons submitted to them. Even those invisible spiritual powers were overcome. They even had a peak into the hidden, spiritual realm and saw victories of good over evil.

Jesus says, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. …Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Jesus challenges his disciples to see these little victories of good over evil in view of the great victory of good over evil. He wants us to see the demise of a number demons in light of the great demise of the Adversary himself.

When we live our lives by faith in Christ—when we serve God day to day, we will, like the disciples, feel vulnerable. For we know that we cannot muster our own strength to meet the challenges ahead. We are like sheep in the midst of wolves. Sometimes we are in valleys too deep and dark to see that the Good Shepherd is right beside us. It is only by faith—not by sight—that his rod and staff comfort us. It is only the Lord Jesus who assures us that we will get through to the other side. God calls us to also trust him—to follow where he leads and not put our confidence in our gear or wallets to take us there.

There are spiritual wolves out there. We all have our own demons to face. The struggle is real. And the challenge is often daunting. There will be times that we will experience victory. But not all the time. And not often enough. That is why Jesus is not being a party-pooper when they come back all happy that demons submitted to them in the strong name of Jesus. He is not scolding them or trying to diminish their joy. On the contrary. He wants us to see that our victories are only a foretaste of what is to come. Our joy day to day is only a sample of the joy that is fully ours in Jesus Christ. As Scripture encourages us: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9; Isa 64:4). “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.”

This Fourth of July weekend, we are reminded of words that also held out a vision of the way the world and society can be: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These are ideals. At the time, they were radical and unrealized. In other words, those who signed the Declaration of Independence did not see this vision become a reality. But without such ideals, they (and we) would have nothing to aspire to.

Jesus is doing the same thing for us with his powerful vision: “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.” He gives us a vision of final victory of light over darkness and good over evil. It is self-evident, Jesus assures us, that all people are created in the image of God and that he wants us to rejoice—not just over the small victories—but the great victory of all our adversaries. He wants us to know we are on the winning side. Even though we may win and lose various battles, we will win the war. This is the vision John has in his revelation when he sees “the devil who had deceived [the nations] thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev 20:10). This is the demise of the Adversary and of evil we sing about in the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is our God” when we say:

Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill;
They shall not overpow’r us.
This world’s prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none.
He’s judged; the deed is done;
One little words can fell him.

Jesus says, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.” We walk forward in the strength of Christ and his victory that has already been won.