Yes, Now Go And Do The Same

Meditations in the Season of Epiphany 

March 1, 2022

Yes, Now Go And Do The Same

When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!

Luke 10:17-18

Read: Luke 10:17-24

In Luke’s introduction to the parable of the Good Samaritan, he makes clear that God isn’t calling us to try and be better people. God is inviting us into His Kingdom, where life is altogether different than it is in this present age.

When Jesus went into the wilderness following his baptism, he was tempted by Satan. That name means accuser.  In the Old Testament, we learn that in God’s Heavenly Council, the accuser oversaw prosecutions. However, he began to make false allegations and even tricked people into doing things for which he would later accuse them. The accuser then rebelled against God and sought to destroy God’s people and to thwart the mission of God’s Messiah.  Thus, in John’s Gospel, Jesus called Satan a liar. He said he was the father of lies, that the truth was not in him. He comes only to kill, steal, and destroy, said Jesus. (John 8:44, 10:10)

Jesus victory over temptation in the wilderness was an individual victory. When Jesus has a vision of Satan falling, (v.18) Jesus is seeing his mission as the Messiah gaining momentum as the seventy go out to defeat the works of the evil one. The ultimate victory will again be a one-on-one contest fought on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus’ resurrection will make God’s victory over sin and death complete.

Now we can see that Jesus is not simply calling his followers to be good moral people. He is calling his followers to come with him to live in a new realm, the Kingdom of God, where life is altogether different. Here, all people are valued as the precious creation of God. What does that look like?

My Takeaway: “Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. . .” (Luke 10:30)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.