The Greater Joy of Salvation

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

It was a mystery, this task. Sent out by a rabbi who taught amazing things. Told to go and find the lost. Given the authority of the rabbi to cast out demons and do other sorts of things in the name of the rabbi. What kind of task was this for seventy-two men?

But what they experienced was even more amazing. They were shocked. They found themselves in situations where only the power of God would deliver the end result, and the end result was delivered. God provided the strength and ability through them to accomplish what He wanted done. They were eyewitnesses to His miracles, done through their hands and feet. They were filled with joy.

Of course they were. They had just seen what happens through a surrendered life. And it was contradictory to what the world teaches. They were more than joyful. They were amazed. They were probably very animated, interrupting each other with breathless stories of what they saw. The scene was one of loud, exuberant talking and shouting.

But the quiet voice of Jesus cut through the crowd with the more meaningful news. “You are redeemed.” Forget that you have been able to see things that you would never have believed. Forget that you have been part of miracles. Forget that these things were told to you but you didn’t believe them and now you have seen them for your own eyes. The big news is that you have an eternal home in heaven. That’s the exciting story that you need to be telling and shouting and interrupting each other for. You have eternal life with God in heaven.