Wednesday Evening Bible Study

March 7, 2001

Introduction

Jesus is in the last half year of His ministry and is making His way to Jerusalem for His final Passover.

Jesus sent out seventy men as advance men to prepare the cities ahead for His coming.  They went out in groups of two, and they were to go with no provisions, trusting in the Lord to take care of them and for the people they ministered to, to meet their needs.  They were to eat whatever was put before them.  They were to heal the sick.  They were to say to people, “The kingdom of God is come near to you”.  They were to be ready for people to reject them.

Now the seventy have come back.

:17-24  The Seventy Return

:17  And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

returned – hupostrepho – to turn back; to turn about; to return

joy – chara – joy, gladness

the devils – daimonion – the divine power, deity, divinity; a spirit, a being inferior to God, superior to men; evil spirits or the messengers and ministers of the devil

subject – hupotasso – to arrange under, to subordinate; to subject, put in subjection; to subject one’s self, obey; to submit to one’s control; to yield to one’s admonition or advice; to obey, be subject; A Greek military term meaning "to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader". In non-military use, it was "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".

name – onoma – name: univ. of proper names; the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one’s rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc.

Earlier, when Jesus had returned from being transfigured on the mountain, some of the disciples had difficulty with a certain demon:

(Luke 9:37-40 KJV)  And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. {38} And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. {39} And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. {40} And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.

But this time they had success in their spiritual warfare.

Lesson

Joy in serving the Lord

There is a great thrill in serving the Lord.  To see God touch another person’s life through you.  To pray with a person to accept the Lord.  To pray with someone who is struggling and to see the look on their face when the burden is lifted.

To know that God would use someone like you.

Lesson

The power of His name

Jesus has given us power over the demonic world.

We are not strong in ourselves, but we are strong in God’s power.

(Eph 6:10-11 KJV)  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. {11} Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

(1 John 4:4 KJV)  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Our strength to stand against the devil only comes when we are submitted to God.

(James 4:7 KJV)  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Our authority comes “in His name”.

I believe that partly means that we ought to say His name.

Peter healed this way:

(Acts 3:6 KJV)  Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Paul cast out a demon this way:

(Acts 16:18 KJV)  And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

This also means we are His representatives.

It’s more than just some magic formula of special words.  When we speak or pray in Jesus’ name, we are acting as representatives of Jesus Christ.  In the old cowboy movies, the sheriff would say, “Stop in the name of the law!”  He was the representative of the law.

When we act or speak in Jesus’ name, we are His representatives, we are acting or speaking as if we were in Jesus’ place.

:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

I beheld – theoreo – to be a spectator, look at, behold; to view attentively, take a view of, survey; to view mentally, consider; to see; to perceive with the eyes, to enjoy the presence of one; to discern, descry; to ascertain, find out by seeing; word not used of an indifferent spectator, but of one who looks at a thing with interest and for a purpose; would be used of a general officially reviewing or inspecting his army denotes a careful observation of details.  The verb is an imperfect tense, carrying the idea of continuous action in the past.

Satan – Satanas – adversary (one who opposes another in purpose or act), the name given to; the prince of evil spirits, the inveterate adversary of God and Christ

lightning – astrape – lightning

heaven – ouranos – the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it; the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings

fall – pipto – to descend from a higher place to a lower; to fall (either from or upon); to be thrust down.  The verb is an aorist participle.

Satan has access to heaven.

(Job 1:6 KJV)  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

He is at work night and day in heaven.

(Rev 12:10 KJV)  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

He has had “falls” from heaven before.

Isa 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Eze 28:16  By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

There will be a day when Satan will be excluded from heaven for good.

(Rev 12:7-9 KJV)  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, {8} And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. {9} And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

I believe that Jesus is not talking about Satan’s final exclusion from heaven, but He’s talking about how He could see the affects of the disciples’ warfare against the demonic powers, causing Satan to have a temporary “fall”.

Jesus said that what we did on earth would affect what happened in heaven:

(Mat 18:18 KJV)  Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in 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.

I give – didomi – to give; to give something to someone

power – exousia – power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; physical and mental power; the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege); the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed); jurisdiction

to tread – pateo – to tread; to trample, crush with the feet; to advance by setting foot upon, tread upon: to encounter successfully the greatest perils from the machinations and persecutions with which Satan would fain thwart the preaching of the gospel; to tread under foot, trample on, i.e. to treat with insult and contempt: to desecrate the holy city by devastation and outrage

serpents – ophis – snake, serpent; with the ancients, the serpent was an emblem of cunning and wisdom. The serpent who deceived Eve was regarded by the Jews as the devil.

scorpion – skorpios – a scorpion, the name of a little animal, somewhat resembling a lobster, which in warm regions lurk, esp. in stone walls; it has a poisonous sting in its tail

all – pas – individually; each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything

power – dunamis – strength, power, ability

hurt – adikeo – to do some wrong or sin in some respect; to wrong some one, act wickedly towards him; to hurt, damage, harm

Lesson

God’s protection

There is a sense in which there is a literal promise of physical protection here.

Jesus also said:

(Mark 16:17-18 KJV)  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; {18} They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

When Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta:

(Acts 28:3-6 KJV)  And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. {4} And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. {5} And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. {6} Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

But this is not always the case.  Most of the men in the presence of Jesus at the giving of this promise would suffer martyrdom.  So would Jesus.

The ultimate protection is that eternal, spiritual protection.

(Mat 10:28 KJV)  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Nothing can separate us from His love.

(Rom 8:35-39 KJV)  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? {36} As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. {37} Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. {38} For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, {39} Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

rejoice – chairo – to rejoice, be glad; to rejoice exceedingly

subject – hupotasso – to arrange under, to subordinate; to subject, put in subjection; to subject one’s self, obey; to submit to one’s control; to yield to one’s admonition or advice; to obey, be subject; A Greek military term meaning "to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader". In non-military use, it was "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".

rather – mallon – more, to a greater degree, rather; much, by far; rather, sooner; more willingly, more readily, sooner

names – onoma – name: univ. of proper names; the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one’s rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc.

names written in heaven – there are books in heaven, listing who is saved, who is going to be alive in heaven.

(Phil 4:3 KJV)  And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

(Rev 20:15 KJV)  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Lesson

Salvation is the most important thing.

Sometimes we can get a little too excited about things that aren’t that special.

Illustration

Have you heard about the next planned "Survivor" show? Six men will be dropped on an island with 1 van and 4 kids each, for 6 weeks. Here are the challenges:

~ Each kid plays two sports and either takes music or dance classes

~ There is no access to fast food

~ Each man must take care of his 4 kids, keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, etc.

~ There is only one TV between them and there is no remote.

~ The men only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done

~ The men must shave their legs and wear makeup daily, which they must apply themselves either while driving or while making four lunches.

~ They must attend weekly PTA meetings, clean up after their sick children at 3 am, make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla, and one Magic Marker, and get a 4-year-old to eat a serving of peas.

The kids vote them off based on performance. The winner gets to go back to his job.

I think that sometimes guys think that when they’ve survived an afternoon watching the kids, that they’ve done something incredibly awesome.  It’s really not that big of a deal, is it gals?

I think we need to be careful that we don’t place too much emphasis on some of the things that God could be doing in our lives.

(Mat 7:21-23 KJV)  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. {22} Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? {23} And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Not everyone is going to have super-duper spiritual gifts.  Not everyone is going to do great miracles or lead thousands to Christ.  But you can know Him.

Do you know Him?

:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

rejoiced – agalliao (“much” + “leap up”) – to exult, rejoice exceedingly, be exceeding glad

I thank – exomologeo – to confess; to profess; acknowledge openly and joyfully; to one’s honour: to celebrate, give praise to

hid – apokrupto – to hide; concealing, keeping secret

wise – sophos – wise; skilled, expert: of artificers; wise, skilled in letters, cultivated, learned

prudent – sunetos – intelligent, having understanding, wise, learned

hast revealed – apokalupto – to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up; disclose, make bare; to make known, make manifest, disclose what before was unknown

babes – nepios – an infant, little child; a minor, not of age; metaph. childish, untaught, unskilled

good – eudokia – will, choice; good will, kindly intent, benevolence; delight, pleasure, satisfaction

sight – emprosthen – in front, before; before, in the presence of, i.e. opposite to, over against one; before, in the sight of

Jesus is rejoicing as He’s seeing how God has used the people that are standing before Him.  God has taken plain, simple, ordinary people, and used them mightily.

Lesson

God uses plain people.

Sometimes I get to thinking that if the church could only have this certain kind of special person, then things would be really fantastic.  If we only had some kind of real brainy person come to the Lord.

But the truth is that God seems to prefer to use simple people.

I don’t know if you’re offended by that.  J

Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

(1 Cor 1:26-31 NLT)  Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. {27} Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. {28} God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, {29} so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God. {30} God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom. {31} As the Scriptures say, "The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done."

This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t use smart, capable people.  He does.

But sometimes we can think that if we were only a little smarter, only a little stronger, only a little more talented …

In reality, what we need more of is simply Jesus.  God wants to use us, even in our weakness, especially in our weakness.

:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

delivered to – paradidomi – to give into the hands (of another); to give over into (one’s) power or use; to deliver to one something to keep, use, take care of, manage

knoweth – ginosko – to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel; to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of

will – boulomai – to will deliberately, have a purpose, be minded; of willing as an affection, to desire

reveal – apokalupto – to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up; disclose, make bare; to make known, make manifest, disclose what before was unknown

You can only know the Father by knowing the Son.

:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:

disciples – mathetes – a learner, pupil, disciple

privately – idios – pertaining to one’s self, one’s own, belonging to one’s self

blessed – makarios – blessed, happy

eyes – ophthalmos – the eye; metaph. the eyes of the mind, the faculty of knowing

see – blepo – to see, discern, of the bodily eye; metaph. to see with the mind’s eye

:24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

desired – thelo – to will, have in mind, intend; to be resolved or determined, to purpose; to desire, to wish; to love; to like to do a thing, be fond of doing; to take delight in, have pleasure

to see – eido – to see; to perceive with the eyes; to know

ye see – blepo – to see, discern, of the bodily eye; metaph. to see with the mind’s eye

Lesson

You too are in a special time and place.

These disciples were in a privileged place, having walked and talked with the very Savior of the Universe.  Jesus was the One of Whom all the prophets had spoken of.

I have often wondered what it would have been like to have walked and talked with Jesus face to face.  What an incredible time to live in.

There will be one more incredible time to live in.  That is when Jesus comes back to rule and reign over the earth.  Of all the prophecies concerning the coming of the Savior, many deal with His First Coming, but there are even more that deal with His Second Coming.

And we are living in those times, the time of His Second Coming.

Be ready for His return.