Have you ever met someone who always seems to be smiling? They’ll be standing at the end of a long SuperStore checkout line and smile while everyone else looks slightly flustered. Or they’ll smile while eating an overdone steak while everyone else is grimacing as they chew. They will even smile as they hand over their last hundred dollar bill in a game of monopoly to the guy who built a hotel on Boardwalk! If you spend enough time around someone like that, their constant smile can get a bit unnerving moving you to finally blurt: “Whatcha smilin’ about?”
That was the question Jesus asked his disciples in our text this morning. And it seems like a silly question because his disciples had just returned from a mission trip during which they had been given the ability to heal the sick and drive out demons. Wouldn’t you smile if you could cure cancer? And yet Jesus told his followers that they had something even better to smile about than possessing the power to heal. As we gather around our Thanksgiving dinners this weekend Jesus also asks us: “Whatcha smilin’ about?” Are you smiling about the family you have or your good job? Are you smiling because you’ve just gotten over a nasty cold? Are you smiling because tomorrow is a holiday? These are all good things to smile about and to give thanks for, but there is something even better that God has given to us that ought to make us smile. Let’s find out what that is.
Our text describes a high point in Jesus’ ministry. He had enough followers that he was able to send out 72 of them to go through the towns and villages to call people to repentance. He warned them that their task would not be easy however because not everyone would welcome them. But Jesus also promised these followers that he would give them the power to heal the sick and to drive out demons. It was this ability that really excited the missionaries. When they returned, it was the first thing they reported to Jesus. It was as if they still couldn’t quite believe what God had done through them. Even evil spirits had listened to them in the name of Jesus. Wow!
Jesus rejoiced with his followers and said: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Huh. Jesus believed in the existence of an evil spirit called Satan. And yet I wonder if even half the people who say they believe in Jesus, also believe that there is a Satan? Well with his pronouncement Jesus reminds us that Satan is a real being. He was once a good angel who rebelled against God and continues that rebellion as he tries to ruin as many people as he can by leading them away from Jesus. And so while the world is concerned about the Ebola outbreak and terrorists in the Middle East, as they seek daily updates on these threats, let’s not forget that there is something, or rather someone we should be more concerned about: Satan. There is no medicine or smart bomb that will stop his attacks on us.
But didn’t Jesus say he saw Satan fall like lightning? Yes! When Jesus’ disciples preached God’s Word, the Holy Spirit opened eyes to the truth so that sinners were no longer misled by Satan. God has soundly defeated Satan and yet when lightning falls to the ground it does so with a loud crash. Likewise Satan has not gone quietly into the night. He has fallen from his original position of power but he continues to seduce and intimidate and we need to be on constant guard against him. He is more dangerous than Ebola or an army of terrorists because the harm that Satan causes is loss of faith in Jesus and eternal separation from God’s love. That’s why Jesus urged his followers not to be excited that they had power over demons, but rather that their names were written in heaven and would escape the eternal judgment that awaits Satan.
But how do we know whether or not our names are written in heaven? Perhaps we should first talk about what does NOT cause our names to be written in heaven. Those disciples who had returned from their missionary journey were not to think that because they had driven out demons, because they had served God in this way, that their names were written in heaven. As someone pointed out last Tuesday night at our Bible class, on Judgment Day there will be those who remind Jesus how they drove out demons in his name, and yet Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers” (Matthew 7:23). These miracle workers must have performed their service out of a sense of duty or for the purpose of winning God’s favor. But we can never serve God as perfectly as we need to in order to earn our way into heaven. When we take time to help a friend move, we should do it gladly and not because we think this is what is expected of good friends. Or when we take time to sit down and encourage a co-worker or classmate who is going through tough times, we should do this not because we want them to think well of us, but because in Jesus we have a friend who always listens to us and we just want to emulate him.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we will have to admit just what hypocrites we are and what masters of deceit. We’re good at faking kindness and making others think we’re really nice people when inwardly we seethe at what people expect and demand from us – as if we were their slaves. And yet isn’t that what Jesus has called us to be? He has called us to serve each other just as he served us.
No, we don’t have a whole lot to smile about. Satan has gotten the best of us time and time again. But it was for that reason that Jesus came. He went head to head with Satan and rebuffed his temptations and his lies as surely as you and I can bat away balloons tossed our way. Jesus did this as our teammate. The victory he won over Satan is credited to us just as even the benchwarmer on the winning Super Bowl team gets a championship ring. Jesus made that promise to you at baptism. As the pastor spoke your name and poured water over your head, the Holy Spirit was inscribing your name in heaven. And so we have every reason to smile. In fact this is the single most important reason we have to smile! Through faith in Jesus we have eternal life!
Of course that doesn’t mean life will be easy. Sure, Jesus promised his followers in our text that nothing would harm them when he said: “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Luke 10:19). But on numerous other occasions Jesus warned his followers that they would face hardships. So which is it? Jesus’ point here in Luke 10 is that nothing will come our way that he does not allow. Satan is still active in this world but he doesn’t have free reign. He can only do what God allows him to do. So we can smile even in the midst of persecution or in the middle of a bad week. We smile because our names are written in heaven. We’re like the hikers who got caught in a freak snow storm in the middle of July. As they come down the mountain they are freezing and hungry. Their boots are soaked and they can hardly feel their fingers, but they are still smiling. Why? Because they’re staying in a hotel room. They know that at the end of the trail there is a hot shower waiting for them, as well as good food, and a comfy bed. You might feel like you’re in the middle of one those storms right now. It may not seem like you have a lot to smile about, but if your name is written in heaven you have every reason to smile.
So as you gather for your Thanksgiving dinners this afternoon or tomorrow, take time to list the things for which you are thankful. But be sure to have on top of that list your faith. Because Jesus died for you and because the Holy Spirit has given you the faith to believe that, your name is written in heaven. You are on God’s guest list. Actually it’s even better than that. You’re not just a guest of heaven, you belong there. Heaven is your home because God is your Father. May that truth keep you smiling through thick and thin. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
Why would we say that our sermon text describes a high point in Jesus’ ministry?
What were Jesus’ disciples excited about in our text?
“I saw Satan fall like lightning,” Jesus said. What caused that fall? How is Satan’s fall both a warning and a comfort to us?
Jesus wanted his disciples to smile because their names were written in heaven, and not because they had been given the power to heal disease and to drive out demons. What does it mean to have your name written in heaven? Why is that the best thing we have to smile about?
In what way are believers like hikers that got caught in a freak July snowstorm?
