Luke 10:17-24

2 d. The Return: Luke 10:17-24.

Jesus had appointed a rendezvous for His disciples at a fixed place. From the word ὑπέστρεψαν, they returned (Luke 10:17), it would even appear that the place was that from which He had sent them. Did He await them there, or did He in the interval take some other direction along with His apostles? The sequel will perhaps throw some light on this question. His intention certainly was Himself to visit along with them all those localities in which they had preceded Him (Luke 10:1). This very simple explanation sets aside all the improbabilities which have been imputed to this narrative.

The return of the disciples was signalized, first of all, by a conversation of Jesus with them about their mission (Luke 10:17-20); then by an outburst, unique in the life of the Saviour, regarding the unexpected but marvellous progress of His work (Luke 10:21-24).

Vers. 17-20. The Joy of the Disciples. “ And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name. 18 And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Only in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice because your names are written in heaven. ” The phrase, with joy, expresses the tone of the whole piece. The joy of the disciples becomes afterwards that of Jesus; and then it bursts forth from His heart exalted and purified (Luke 10:21 et seq.). Confident in the promise of their Master, they had set themselves to heal the sick, and in this way they had soon come to attack the severest malady of all that of possession; and they had succeeded. Their surprise at this unhoped-for success is described, with the vivacity of an entirely fresh experience, by the καί, “ even the devils,” and by the pres. ὑποτάσσεται, submit themselves.

The word ἐθεώρουν, I was contemplating, denotes an intuition, not a vision. Jesus does not appear to have had visions after that of His baptism. The two acts which the imperfect I was contemplating shows to be simultaneous, are evidently that informal perception, and the triumphs of the disciples recorded in Luke 10:17: “While you were expelling the subordinates, I was seeing the master fall.” On the external scene, the representatives on both sides were struggling; in the inmost consciousness of Jesus, it was the two chiefs that were face to face. The fall of Satan, which He contemplates, symbolizes the complete destruction of his kingdom, the goal of that work which is inaugurated by the present successes of the disciples; comp. John 12:31. Now the grand work of Satan on the earth, according to Scripture, is idolatry. Paganism throughout is nothing else than a diabolical enchantment. It has been not unjustly called “ une possession en grande. ” Satan sets himself up as the object of human adoration. As the ambitious experience satisfaction in the incense of glory, so he finds the savour of the same in all those impure worships, which are in reality addressed to himself (1 Corinthians 10:20). There remains nevertheless a great difference between the scriptural view of paganism and the opinion prevalent among the Jews, according to which every pagan divinity was a separate demon. Heaven denotes here, like ἐν ἐπουρανίοις, Ephesians 6:12, the higher sphere from the midst of which Satan acts upon human consciousness. To fall from heaven, is to lose this state of power. The figure used by our Lord thus represents the overthrow of idolatry throughout the whole world. The aor. πεσόντα, falling, denotes, under the form of a single act, all the victories of the gospel over paganism from that first preaching of the disciples down to the final dénouement of the great drama (Revelation 12). The figure lightning admirably depicts a power of dazzling brilliance, which is suddenly extinguished. This description of the destruction of paganism, as the certain goal of the work begun by this mission of the disciples, confirms the universalism which we ascribed to the number 70, to the idea of harvest, Luke 10:2, and in general to this whole piece. Hofmann refers the word of Jesus, Luke 10:18, to the devil's original fall; Lange, to his defeat in the wilderness. These explanations proceed from a misunderstanding of the context.

Ver. 19. If we admit the Alex. reading δέδωκα, I have given you, Jesus leads His disciples to measure what they had not at first apprehended the full extent of the power with which He has invested them; and ἰδού, behold, relates to the surprise which should be raised in them by this revelation. He would thus give them the key to the unhoped-for successes which they have just won. The pres. δίδωμι in the T. R. relates to the future. It denotes a new extension of powers in view of a work more considerable still than that which they have just accomplished, precisely that which Jesus has described symbolically, Luke 10:18; and ἰδού expresses the astonishment which they might well feel at the yet more elevated perspective. Thus understood, the sentence is much more significant. Serpents and scorpions are emblems of the physical evils by which Satan will seek to hurt the ambassadors of Jesus. The expression, all the power of the enemy, embraces all the agencies of nature, of human society, of things belonging to the spiritual order, which the prince of this world can use to obstruct the work of Jesus. ᾿Επί is dependent on ἐξουσίαν rather than on πατεῖν (Luke 9:1). In the midst of all those diabolical instruments, the faithful servant walks clothed with invulnerable armour; not that he is not sometimes subjected to their attacks, but the wounds which he receives cannot hurt him so long as the Lord has need of his ministry (the viper at Malta, Peter's imprisonment by Herod, the messenger of Satan which buffets Paul). The same thought, with a slight difference of expression, is found Mark 16:18; comp. also Psalms 91:13.

Ver. 20. Yet this victory over the forces of the enemy would be of no value to themselves, if it did not rest on their personal salvation. Think of Judas, and of those who are spoken of in Matthew 7:22 et seq.! Πλήν, only, reserves a truth more important than that which Jesus has just allowed. The word μᾶλλον, “ rather rejoice,” which the T. R. reads, and which is found in the Sinaït., weakens the thought of Jesus. There is no limitation to the truth, that the most magnificent successes, the finest effects of eloquence, temples filled, conversions by thousands, are no real cause of joy to the servant of Jesus, the instrument of those works, except in so far as he is saved himself. From the personal point of view (which is that of the joy of the disciples at the moment), this ground of satisfaction is and remains the only one.

The figure of a heavenly register, in which the names of the elect are inscribed, is common in the Old Testament (Exodus 32:32-33; Isaiah 4:3; Dan 12:1). This book is the type of the divine decree. But a name may be blotted out of it (Exodus 32:33; Jeremiah 17:13; Psalms 69:29; Rev 22:19); a fact which preserves human freedom. Between the two readings, ἐγγέγραπται, is inscribed, and ἐγράφη, was written, it is difficult to decide.