The seventy[-two] returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” 18 Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. 19 Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
21 At that very moment he rejoiced [in] the holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
23 Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
The seventy-two return from the mission Jesus had given them filled with joy. They had proclaimed the kingdom of God, healed the sick, and discovered that even demons were subject to them “because of your name” (v. 17). Their success came from the authority Jesus had given them and from the power of His name. Luke, who also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, later shows this same authority at work in the Church when healing and deliverance are accomplished in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:6; 16:18).
Jesus responds, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky” (v. 18). The mission of the disciples reveals that God’s kingdom is advancing and that the power of evil is being diminished. Satan is a creature and remains entirely subject to the sovereignty of God. Jesus’ words therefore describe the weakening of Satan’s influence as the saving reign of God is manifested through Christ and the mission He gives His disciples. The imagery recalls Isaiah’s description of one who had sought to exalt himself and was brought down (Isaiah 14:12–14). Jesus’ words also point toward the definitive defeat of Satan’s power through Christ’s Death and Resurrection, a reality described symbolically in Revelation 12:7–12.
Jesus then tells them that He has given them power “to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy” (v. 19). Psalm 91 uses similar imagery: “You can tread upon the asp and the viper, trample the lion and the dragon” (Psalm 91:13). Serpents and scorpions were real dangers, but Scripture also uses them as images of destructive evil. Jesus assures His disciples that the authority He gives them enables them to confront the power of evil as they carry out the mission of the kingdom of God.
Jesus then directs their joy toward something still greater: “rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (v. 20). Scripture uses the image of names written in God’s book to describe those who belong to Him and share in His salvation (Daniel 12:1; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 21:27). Jesus therefore speaks here of the seventy-two as belonging to God and sharing in the promise of eternal life, just as He later promises the repentant criminal, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). The disciples have experienced the power of God working through them, and Jesus teaches them that their deepest joy comes from belonging to God and receiving the gift of eternal life.
At that moment Jesus Himself rejoices “in the holy Spirit” and praises the Father (v. 21). Father, Son, and Holy Spirit appear together in this scene. Jesus thanks the Father because the mysteries of the kingdom have been revealed to the “childlike.” Earlier in Luke, Jesus had said that knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom had been granted to His disciples (Luke 8:10). Here the childlike are those who receive God’s revelation with humility, trust, and an open heart.
Jesus then reveals the deepest foundation of everything the disciples have experienced: His unique relationship with the Father. “All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son” (v. 22). The Father has entrusted all things to the Son (John 3:35), and Jesus knows the Father perfectly (John 10:15). Because the Son knows the Father, He can reveal the Father to others. In Jesus Christ, God makes Himself known.
The mission of the disciples therefore flows from the relationship between the Father and the Son. The Father sends the Son, the Son reveals the Father, and Jesus sends His disciples to proclaim what they have received. After His Resurrection, this mission will continue as Jesus tells His disciples, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus finally turns privately to His disciples and says, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see” (v. 23). They are witnessing the fulfillment of God’s saving promises. Earlier in Luke, Simeon had rejoiced because his eyes had seen God’s salvation in the infant Jesus (Luke 2:26, 30). Now the disciples see Jesus proclaiming the kingdom, overcoming the power of evil, revealing the Father, and drawing people into God’s saving work, and they rejoice in what God is doing through Him.
“Many prophets and kings desired to see what you see” (v. 24). Generations of God’s people had awaited the fulfillment of His promises. The disciples are blessed because that fulfillment is taking place before them in Jesus Christ. The disciples rejoice in what God has done through them, and Jesus directs them to the deeper joy of belonging to God and receiving the revelation given through the Son.
Father, teach us to rejoice in belonging to You. Give us humble and receptive hearts, strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ, and help us share faithfully in the mission He has entrusted to His disciples. Through the Holy Spirit, lead us ever more deeply into the knowledge and love of You and into the promise of eternal life. Amen.
________________________________________
Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Notes on Luke 10:17–24.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 128–129.
- Casciaro, Jose Maria, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008, 293–294.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 701–702, pars. 124–125.
- Aguilar Chiu, Jose Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 1065.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid, OP, and Donald Senior, CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. 3rd fully rev. ed. London: T&T Clark, 2022, 1325–1326.
- Gadenz, Pablo T. The Gospel of Luke. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018, 204–208.
Comments