The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons, submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus was an effective coach for his disciples. After they returned from their mission trip, Jesus listened to their report, offering both affirmation and correction. In particular, he underscored the value of a relationship with God. Doing good works for God matters, but belonging to God for eternity matters even more.
Jesus planned and organized his kingdom work, delegating key responsibilities to seventy of his disciples (10:1-12). Unfortunately for us, Luke does not describe what happened when the seventy went out to do what Jesus has given to them. We do, however, get a snippet of their report to Jesus when they returned from their mission trip. “Lord,” they said, “in your name, even the demons submit to us!” (Luke 10:17).
Jesus’s response to these disciples is not what we might expect. No “Great job” or high five. Rather, Jesus said, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:18-20).
When we unpack this odd saying of Jesus, we see him in the role of a coach. At first, he speaks words of affirmation. When his disciples were exercising authority over demons, Jesus “saw” the defeat of Satan. He could sense in his spirit that Satan’s kingdom was coming to an end as his followers vanquished Satan’s minions. It was as if Jesus was saying, “What you experienced was actually far more than demons submitting to you. This was evidence of the eternal downfall of Satan.” That’s a pretty strong affirmation if you ask me.
Yet Jesus didn’t just affirm his disciples. He also corrected and redirected them. Yes, the spirits were subject to their authority. But far more important than this was the fact that the names of the disciples were “written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). This meant more than just the salvation of their souls. Having their names in the book of life signified a permanent relationship with God. And this, Jesus said, is a fantastic reason to rejoice.
When I consider the affirmation and the correction offered by Jesus as a coach, I’m impressed by what he urges his disciples to value most of all. Beyond performance, even impressive demonstrations of spiritual power, relationship matters most. That’s not to say we shouldn’t be pleased when we are able to serve the Lord in tangible ways. But in our performance-driven society, we can easily let what we do for God matter more than our relationship with God. Jesus coaches us to care most of all about the fact that we belong to God for eternity. When we do, our joy will not be dependent on our success, but rather on the love of God that never lets us go.
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