Misled By Miracles

Luke 10:17-20 ESV 17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

It has been 17 years since the grace of God though Jesus brought me to salvation. We see here, that Jesus believes the miracle of all miracles is the very grace of God that has chosen us and brought us to our knees in submission to the savior Jesus Christ. Whom, through the cross, has cleared our names and placed us into the lambs book of life. I’ll never forget that day.

In these seventeen years of grace I have seen many that once walked with Christ, that no longer submit their lives unto his ways. Whether or not they are ‘saved’ will be judged by the Lord at the end of days, proven by the fruits of their lives and their endurance in Christ in this life. But I’ve watch their lives turn, often due to discouragement or disappointment.Early in their walk they became very excited, passionate due to the things they saw the Lord do. Often when the Spirit first grants our eyes sight to the Lord, we respond with great awe, joy, and excitement. So eager to tell others that God is real, and that He does things today!

There is a great danger in this stage, if not properly discipled by a mature believer, many get stuck in this realm of feeling, emotion, excitement, and outward signs and wonders. It begins to form the early stages of our theology, or ‘lenses’ by which we see God. We begin to grow prideful in our experience, rather than in the deeper things of our relationship with the Lord that truly matter. Without fail, the reality of life is that there come times when the miracles don’t happen how we want, and our prayers are not being answered according to our desires, for reason only the Lord who knows what is best for us understands. But they lose heart, because their theology didn’t allow for this to be a possibility, and if not refocused onto Christ and off of signs, they walk away.

Don’t get me wrong; miracles have their place, if nothing more than God being God. He does what He wants, when He wants, through whom He chooses, for reasons far beyond our understanding and comprehension. But forming the basis of our theology behind miracles is a dangerous place to be.

That is why Jesus addresses the seventy-two here in Luke 10. They’ve come back overjoyed about the signs and wonders experienced by the authority of Christ working through them. Jesus quickly refers to the Satan and how he was overthrown far before the gospel was preached, and that they really have nothing to be boasting in. They’ve done nothing God’s done everything.

He quickly moves their focus and attention off of the miracles and onto where their rejoicing should truly be focused.

Luke 10:20 ESV “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

The greatest miracle of all being that they’ve been chosen for salvation through Christ, a miracle of grace. Matthew Henry writes, “He directed them to turn their joy into the right channel.” The miracle that deserves boasting in the eyes of Jesus is the miracle of our wretched selves being saved! This miracle alone by the working of the Spirit, through the Son Jesus. Rejoice in this! Boast in this! Paul describes it like this,

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

The reality is, even miracles are temporary, they will cease. Just like this world and everything it, they will run their course and cease to exist. But the Lord Jesus is eternal! He is worthy to be praised, a reason to boast, something worth being excited about. A theology that will stand and will not lead others to discouragement is one that puts all our passion into the person of Jesus, not the things he does. We ought let nothing trump our worship and focus of him. Even great miracles that he does, the only miracle that matters is the one that took place on the cross.

Grace and Peace

Zac Gandara