Author: Bill Hall

Luke 10:24 "for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

Jesus makes it very clear that He is the promised Messiah. To get to be there as the Chosen One of Yahweh is revealed and present in person was truly special. David, Daniel, Ezekiel, or Josiah would have given much to be in the shoes of Mathew, Peter, James, and John. This just serves to highlight how blessed we are today to know all that we know about God through His Word. And, to be closer to the Second Coming of Christ is a blessing as well.

Notice the seeing and hearing. Many times Jesus quotes the Old Testament sources and says that Israel would not see or hear though having eyes and ears. Here He draws a parallel in that there were those in the past who would have loved to get to use their eyes and ears for this.

Heavenly Father, You are amazing beyond all that we can ask or think! To know You and love You and serve You is so fulfilling. We live a life that is settled and at peace with all things and every person when we live in Your will. You bring us to a place of active contentment. We do not become non-existent when we are submitted to You, we become whole. To serve the Sovereign of all is a privilege beyond compare. Thank You for the blessings of righteousness in Christ! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:23 "Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see;"

The disciples had every reason to be thankful. So many would have loved to be in their shoes. And, though we often fail to recognize it, we too are very blessed. The Lord has given us His very Spirit in our hearts.

Heavenly Father, we can never praise and thank You enough. But we shall live our lives in that endeavor, and to that end. You are beyond all our understanding. We know we can trust You and that You care for us. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:22 " All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."

Jesus is still praying in this verse even though it doesn’t seem like it. There are several examples in Scripture of the Trinity speaking and this is one of them. Christ, as God the Son, is making a statement here that He could not make if He were not God. To speak on behalf of God in this way is His prerogative. And, what He says is very interesting.
Normally in the gospels, and throughout Scripture, we hear of the will of the Lord in general. But, here we have a specific. This shows us that God the Son has a role in choosing those who have the truth revealed to them. And, in the previous verse Jesus had just said that it was God the Father Who was pleased to reveal things to the followers of Christ.
So, we are seeing the working of the Triune God, and Jesus is a Person of the Trinity. As God, Jesus had chosen to reveal Himself to His disciples.

Heavenly Father, it is the joy of our heart to bring glory to You. As the One Who made all of heaven and earth, You are the natural recipient of all the praise. You are worthy for You are Altogether Wonderful. I will keep Your praise in my heart and my mind as I live in the world that You have made. You have given us this place in which to live and breathe and do our work of the day. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:21 “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.”

The men that Jesus chose to be His disciples were not, by and large, very educated or skilled advisors. His prayer here reflects upon the previous verses. The disciples were given great authority to carry out the will of the Lord. Whereas, the elite of the day, those who thought themselves worthy, had mostly rejected Christ.

This is an example of God the Son submitting to the will of God the Father. The Godhead — Elohim — which is all three Persons of the Trinity, had determined the will of God long before. Christ rejoiced in the glory and beauty of that plan. This is so important because the real danger is to think that we know better than God. Jesus, the very Son of God Who could have made a change, did not.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your glorious plan and purpose for the ages. We can only stand back in awe as we see all that You have determined. You are so wise and just! You are faithful and true! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

   This is quite an important principle, and it divides whole denominations today. Power and authority in the spiritual realm is given to the followers of Christ for the furtherance of the gospel. It is not for personal glory. It is not for a sense of security. It is for the freedom to continue to be what we are to be without the evil one and his forces being able to stand in our way.

   Thus, our joy, glory, and motivation in life is to be the fact that we are indeed in the book. We know that He has given to us eternal life and we have a home in heaven. This is to be our abiding joy. That the powers of darkness are subject to Him with Whom we have to do is an attendant circumstance that brings glory to the Lord Jesus, not to us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us all that we need to live for You in this present time. You have guided and shown us the truth through Your Word. We rejoice! To know You and Your truth is the great delight and blessing of our lives. You are so gracious and kind! We love You and praise You forever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

   Though Jesus’ reference to serpents and scorpions may have had some literal fulfillment with the animals by this name, the significance here is spiritual. Serpents especially remind us of the devil, and the allusion to scorpions is also an allusion to spiritual powers of darkness.

   Christ has given His disciples, both then and now, complete authority in the spiritual realm. In other words, the devil does not have the power to spiritually posses, oppress, or otherwise hurt, a child of God who is relying on the Lord Jesus. Believers can rest in the authority of Christ, knowing He has power over the enemy.

Heavenly Father, thank You for victory in Jesus Christ! We know that we can rely upon Him in all things. He is greater than this world and all of its evil. You are worthy of all the praise and thanks! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:18 “And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

Luke 10:17 “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

   Greater is He that is in you then he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). Jesus has absolute authority in the spiritual realm. When those He had sent out returned they were grateful for the power that had been accessible to them.

   We often find opportunities to deride the disciples. But, it is here that we find them doing something that we often forget to do ourselves. True, Jesus gives them something better to rejoice over. But, they were on the right track, there was much to be thankful for. We tend in our day to focus on our duty, service, results, and performance. The disciples were simple in their gratitude that they were able to be used at all.

Father, thank You for allowing us to be used by You! That is a blessing. Often we think about how much we have had to do to serve You. But we should rather be grateful for how little we have had to do in order to make a difference for Your kingdom. To be involved in this great gospel ministry is a delight beyond imagination. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:16 “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

   This really summarizes the point of this passage. Nobody can afford to ignore true ministers of God. Now, let’s be clear as to what we mean here. Sola Scriptura is as true as it has always been. In other words, God’s Word is the final authority. The authority of the church does not come before the authority of the Bible in the Christian’s life. Only God’s Word is inerrant, not our interpretation of it.

   However, when the church acts in accordance with the Word of God, it is expected that we will listen. When missionaries go into new areas and preach, if they are faithful to the Word, it is a matter of life and death (and eternal destiny) for the new tribes, peoples and nations to hear and obey the Word. When the church teaches the growing Christian biblically, that individual must listen in order to follow Christ as intended.

   So, to put it directly, the church has authority. But, it is a dependent authority. It is dependent upon Scripture. It is expected that we will question the church on the basis of Scripture, and that process is good and very important. But, when we question the church on the basis of only our own ideas and opinions, we are doing something dangerous. The Word is the final authority, and if the church acts in accordance with the Word, it is dangerous to work against her.

   As Jesus says here, to reject those He has sent is the same as rejecting Him. And, rejecting Him is the same as rejecting the Father.

Heavenly Father, we long to be in fellowship with You at all times. To know You is the most wonderful thing that ever happens to us. You alone are God. You alone are the One Who Can. We are powerless without You. We love You and praise You forever! Thank You for Your mercy, love, grace, and truth! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 10:15 “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.”

   In what way was Capernaum exalted to heaven? Jesus ministered there. He Who is God Himself physically came to see these people. He was there, He spoke, He did miracles, He stayed there. Though we can speak of God’s blessings on people throughout history, this was indeed a special blessing, to have the Christ physically present.

   So then what does it mean to be brought down to hades? Jesus here uses a word that would be widely understood. It referred to death and the grave, and more specifically what lies beyond it for the wicked. Regardless of what a person might have in mind, whether a dark underworld, hell, or the abode of the dead, this word matched it all.

   Thus we can make two statements here about what Jesus was saying about the destiny of the wicked. First, He did not in any way deny the existence of hell. He didn’t minimize it or make it friendly. But, second, He didn’t get specific either. He didn’t here locate it for us, or give us exact specifics as to its nature. That was beside His point in this verse. He was simply letting Capernaum know that indifference to Him would not go without dire consequences.

Heavenly Father, thank You for telling us the truth! This world likes gods that lie. We want to hear stories and anecdotes that make us feel good. But the brutal facts are always the most useful things. We can know something when we have the facts. It gives us something to work with. Thank You for shining the light, regardless of the level of darkness. You alone are good! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.