The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Luke 10:17 (NIV)
When the seventy-two returned from their mission, they were filled with joy. Then Jesus gives this strange reply: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (10:18).
What did Jesus mean? There are two possibilities. One is that Jesus was sharing in the joys of their ministry triumph. They say, “The demons were subject to us,” and Jesus says, “As you were expelling the subordinates, I was watching their master (Satan) fall too.”
The other possibility is that Jesus was referring to Satan’s expulsion from heaven. Remember, Satan rose with pride in his own position and rebelled against God. As a result, he was cast out of heaven, and it could be that Jesus is saying here, “I saw it when that happened.”
If this is the case, then there would be a warning in Jesus’ words about the dangers of pride that come to every person who experiences God’s blessing in ministry. Jesus is saying, “Satan became full of himself and that led to his fall. Make sure that this does not happen to you.”
One of the greatest dangers for any person is that we take the ministry God has given and we make it an idol. If you place your joy in anything God gives you in this life, even your ministry, there will come a time when God takes it away.
Find your joy in that which can never be taken from you: You belong to Christ. Your name is written in his book of life. He knows you and you know him, and that is eternal life.
Have you experienced God’s blessing in ministry? Take to heart Jesus’ warning about the dangers of pride.