Luke 10:17-24
Chapter 10
The seventy-two disciples returned joyfully. They said:
“Lord, even the demons obey us when we call on your name.”
Then Jesus responded:
However, don’t rejoice because the evil spirits submit to you; rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.”
At that time, Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and said:
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. I have been given all things by my Father so that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said to them privately:
for I tell you that many prophets and kings would have liked to see what you see, but did not see it; and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Commentaries
Return of the Seventy-Two.
The return of the missionaries is marked by joy and happiness, first because they have completed their task, and then because of the message’s impact on the people. Jesus agrees with them, for he had seen Satan fall from heaven like lightning (18), a symbolic way of saying that the mission carried out by himself and his envoys is taking power away from the forces of evil.
The Father and the Son.
This passage highlights that only those who are humble and straightforward, without pretensions or demands on God, can understand and appreciate the significance of the messianic era and recognize God’s presence in Jesus, who is one of the people. This understanding fills Jesus with joy, and he responds with gratitude and praise to the Father.