At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. ( Luke 10:21).
We don't often see Jesus rejoicing like this as much of the time if He wasn't rebuking the Disciples He was teaching them. This was a rare moment when we see evangelism; in this case when the 70 were sent out. It is a sobering thought that we don't know how many of these would remain to the end once they got wind of the crucifixion coming near and the increasing opposition from the Pharisees.
I always say that there has to be a balance; and what we can learn from being a seasoned believer is not to let the salt become dull. It is always good to see new believers and their excitement in reaching the lost; but someone truly in the faith won't stop with those efforts after say 6 months or a year. Now situations in life can change; as it was for me taking care of my parents where I was restricted; and moved back to my hometown. I am speaking to myself here as well as I often pass out tracts due to duty rather than rejoicing as I should. We may have learned the hard lessons in life and sadly that involves many these days who have walked away from God; or worse apostatized and continue in the churches. Nonetheless; let us observe what made Jesus rejoice and realize that the focus here was not only on those evangelized but the Disciples themselves who discovered the power over the forces of the evil one. This was a brief moment before persecution and opposition would change course of open extensive evangelism and be centered on warnings about the end times and preparing the Disciples for His departure. We also need to realize that at least a third of the N.T. is focused on the last week of His life in the Gospels.
We are to be in the world but not of it ( John 17:26-etal)
We don't often see Jesus rejoicing like this as much of the time if He wasn't rebuking the Disciples He was teaching them. This was a rare moment when we see evangelism; in this case when the 70 were sent out. It is a sobering thought that we don't know how many of these would remain to the end once they got wind of the crucifixion coming near and the increasing opposition from the Pharisees.
I always say that there has to be a balance; and what we can learn from being a seasoned believer is not to let the salt become dull. It is always good to see new believers and their excitement in reaching the lost; but someone truly in the faith won't stop with those efforts after say 6 months or a year. Now situations in life can change; as it was for me taking care of my parents where I was restricted; and moved back to my hometown. I am speaking to myself here as well as I often pass out tracts due to duty rather than rejoicing as I should. We may have learned the hard lessons in life and sadly that involves many these days who have walked away from God; or worse apostatized and continue in the churches. Nonetheless; let us observe what made Jesus rejoice and realize that the focus here was not only on those evangelized but the Disciples themselves who discovered the power over the forces of the evil one. This was a brief moment before persecution and opposition would change course of open extensive evangelism and be centered on warnings about the end times and preparing the Disciples for His departure. We also need to realize that at least a third of the N.T. is focused on the last week of His life in the Gospels.
We are to be in the world but not of it ( John 17:26-etal)
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