ルカによる福音書10:17-20 Luke 10:17-20,

しかし、悪霊があなたがたに服従するからといって、喜んではならない。むしろ、あなたがたの名が天に書き記されていることを喜びなさい。　　　　　　　　　　　（ルカ10:20）

弟子たちが悪霊を追い出すという奇跡を起こすことができたのは、キリストの力の表れでありました。そして、これは神の国のしるしであるとも言い換えることができます。しるしというものは、目に見えないもの目に見えるもので表したものです。そして、目に見えるものは過ぎ去りますが、目に見えないものは永遠に続きます。ですから、目に見える神の国のしるしを見て有頂天になるのではなく、目に見えない神の国そのものにしっかりと心を向けなければならないのであります。すなわち、自分が神の国の市民とされているということ自体を、しっかり心に留めなければならないのであります。そこで、キリストは「むしろ、あなたがたの名が天に書き記されていることを喜びなさい」とおっしゃいました。これはわかりやすく申しますと、あなた方の名前が天国の市民の名簿に書き記されているということです。もちろん、これは、神様が神の国に属する者たちを名簿に記すように確かに定めておられるということを表すたとえでありましょう。（中略）

7月の最初の日曜日の説教でご紹介した大阪西教会の武田瑛四郎先生は、大阪西教会の牧師になる前に和歌山県の那智勝浦町にある日本基督教団の紀南教会の牧師をしていました。第二次大戦が終わって間もない時代で、武田牧師が赴任したころ、教会堂は荒れ果て礼拝も数人しか集まらなかったのだそうです。ところが、武田牧師が熱心に伝道すると赴任から一年後には20人を超える人々が集まるようになりました。ある時、紀南教会に巡回伝道に来た岡田正夫牧師という方が、本日の聖書の箇所に基づいて「われわれ信徒にとって最大の喜びは、罪から救い出されて戸籍が天に移されたことであって、地上のわずかな成功や喜びはとるに足りない。われわれはこの喜びを真に喜びとしているであろうか……」と語られました。この言葉に武田牧師は心を刺し貫かれました。そして、その時の経験を次のように記しておられます。

「人びとが呼び集められて教勢がすこしばかりあがったのも、ひとえに神の恵みであったにもかかわらず、傲慢にも自分の力量で教勢があがったかのように錯覚し、おごり高ぶっていた不信仰のわたしに対して、主はこの牧師のことばを通して手きびしい一撃をお加えになったのである。（中略）そして、ことある毎に、『わたしはいま、ほんとうに、自分の名が天に記されたことを喜びとしているだろうか？』と自問し、反省するのである。」　　　　　　　　　　　（7月28日の説教より）

Today, I would like to invite you to consider with me where the blessing of being a disciple of Christ lies. As you know, some people are well known and respected worldwide as Christians. For example, there was a famous Christian evangelist like Billy Graham, who preached and lectured all over the world. There was also a Christian sister like Mother Teresa, who was respected worldwide for her ministry of service. Of course, these people did not do their work with the intention of becoming famous or respected. However, some people may admire such people and want to be like them.

Some may not become world-famous, but may consider it a blessing to be a pastor or an elder of one church, someone who is respected by the people. For example, in Korea, a neighbouring country to Japan, being an elder of a church is considered a great honour. In Korea, it is not unusual for a single church to have several thousand members or more. However, even in such large churches, the elders are often less than 10 people in one church. This is because Korean churches do not need a large number of elders, since the elders concentrate on church governance, leaving the various minutiae of service to the deacons and the other believers. Not only that, but there is a strict procedure for becoming an elder, whereby one has to attend Sunday worship services and prayer meetings without absence, receive a recommendation, take and pass an examination conducted by the presbytery and then be ordained by the presbytery. Because only such a limited number of people are ordained, church elders are respected not only within the Christian church but also in general society in Korea.

Now, then, is it a blessing for Christians to be famous and respected in this way? If so, it would mean that in order to become famous and respected, one must do good works as a Christian. However, good works are not something we can do on our own. They are something that are done by the power of God. If we try to do good works without the power of God, out of a desire to be famous or respected, we may become proud of ourselves and go astray as Christ’s disciples. And finally, faith itself may be transformed into a means of self-praise.

In our Protestant churches, which are in the tradition of the Reformation, we hold to the teaching of justification by faith, which says that we are justified by faith and not by works. According to this teaching, good works are the fruit of faith, not a requirement for salvation. However, when the desire to be famous or respected comes first, the feeling that one must do good works to achieve this becomes dominant in the mind. And the conviction of salvation that we are justified by faith and not by works is lost. As a result, instead of serving humbly, they serve out of pride in their good works. This is not only the case for pastors and elders. Even in the case of ordinary believers, if the desire to do good works is too strong, it will work against them and they will lose their conviction that they are justified by faith. Then they will no longer be able to serve out of gratitude for salvation.

Today’s Bible passage describes the 72 disciples sent by Christ on a mission, who return from their mission and joyfully report that they have been able to do great works in Christ’s name. As in verse 9, the 72 disciples were commanded by Christ, on being sent on a mission, to “heal the sick” and to say, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” So the disciples must have healed the sick and preached the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, as they were commanded to do. But not only that, an amazing miracle also took place: people who were controlled by evil spirits were delivered from them if the disciples used Christ’s name. The miracle of Christ’s deliverance of people from evil spirits is, as we know, often recorded in the Gospels, and the 72 disciples were so pleased that they had been given authority to perform miracles similar to Christ’s that they reported to Christ, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” (verse 17)

However, Christ responded to this joyful report very calmly. First, Christ made it clear that the power to become the demons subject to the disciples did not belong to the disciples, but to Christ himself, who had triumphed over the demons. As in verse 18, Christ said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” This does not mean that he saw literally and visually, but rather that Christ’s dramatic victory over the devil is symbolically expressed by saying that “Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” The expression “like lightning from heaven” describes a very swift fall from heaven. The word “fall” refers to the defeat of the devil. The victory of Jesus Christ over the devil was already announced at the beginning of human history in Genesis 3:15. That is, against the serpent, which represents the devil, Christ was foretold that he would “crush your head” (NIV 2011). In fact, Christ was tempted by the devil at the beginning of his ministry as Saviour, which he repelled and won (Luke 4:1-13). Therefore, Christ already had victory over the devil. That victory was revealed through the work of the sent disciples. And when the 72 sent disciples cast out demons in the name of Christ, it meant that Christ’s victory over the devil was manifested through the work of the disciples. So Christ was convinced that his disciples would have victory over the devil, and so he said in a symbolic way, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

And in the verse 19, Christ more directly states that the power to subdue demons is his own power: “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.” The metaphor of “serpents and scorpions” is a symbolic representation of the devil. “The enemy” also refers to the devil. The Bible elsewhere describes victory over the devil in similar terms to “treading.” For example, in Romans 16:20, the apostle Paul encourages Christians in Rome by writing to them, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” It is not that the power to overcome the devil was inherent in the 72 disciples. As Christ says, “I have given you,” the power to overcome the devil is a power that Christ has given to his disciples. In other words, it was not to the credit of the disciples that they had subdued and cast out the demons, but rather entirely due to Christ’s own power.

If the disciples had been ever defeated by the devil, it would have been because of their lack of faith, since Christ himself had given them the power to win. But if the disciples trusted in the power that Christ had given them, the power to triumph over the devil was always with them, as in the second half of verse 19: “Nothing shall hurt you.” To add, victory over the devil means that in our daily life, we will triumph over the evil thoughts that spring up in our hearts and over the evil forces that seek to destroy society.

Secondly, Christ admonishes his disciples by saying that they should not become complacent by the superficial success of having cast out demons, as in verse 20, where he says: “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” The fact that the disciples were able to perform the miracle of casting out demons was, as I said earlier, a sign of Christ’s power. And this can also be said to be a sign of the kingdom of God. A sign is a visible representation of the invisible. And what is visible will pass away, but what is invisible will last forever. Therefore, we must not be elated by the visible signs of the kingdom of God, but must keep our minds firmly focused on the invisible kingdom of God itself. In other words, we must keep in mind that we are citizens of the kingdom of God.

Therefore, Christ said, “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” This means, in plain English, that your names are written in the register of the citizens of heaven. Of course, this is a metaphor for the fact that God has indeed ordained who belong to his kingdom as written in the register.

Such a saying has been made since the early days of the Old Testament. The Israelites, after departing from Egypt, aroused God’s anger by worshipping an idol of golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. God became angry and said, “My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you” (Ex 32:10). This means that, as at the time of Noah’s flood, the Israelites will be destroyed so that only the descendants of Moses will survive. Then, Moses, the great leader of Israel, prayed an intercessory prayer for the Israelites. And he prayed as follows. “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written” (Ex. 32:31-32). In other words, this prayer of Moses means that God should forgive the sins of the people of Israel by erasing Moses’ name from the register of citizens of the kingdom of God. It is a prayer that leads to the cross of Christ, in which he asks for the forgiveness of the sins of the people by sacrificing himself. At that time, Moses refers to the register of citizens in heaven by saying “your book that you have written.”

Also in the New Testament, in Philippians 4:3, Christians of the church in Philippi is referred to as “Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” The expression “book of life” is used repeatedly in Revelation. For example, Revelation 21:27 says, those who enter the heavenly Jerusalem are “only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life,” which means that one’s name is written in the register of citizens of the kingdom of God and it is decreed that he will receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Christ commanded his 72 disciples to rejoice above all in the fact that they had been named in this register of citizens of the kingdom of God and had been made citizens of the kingdom of God.

Thinking about the world, for example, if you took an entrance examination for a school somewhere and your name was on the list of successful applicants when the results were announced, how happy would you be! Since you are happy even if you pass the entrance exam for a school in this world, how much more happy would you be if your name was on the list for the everlasting kingdom of God, not only in this world but also in the world to come, where you will be forgiven for your sins and given life for ever!

Rev. TAKEDA Eishiro of Osaka Nishi Church, whom I introduced in my sermon on the first Sunday in July, was once the pastor of Kinan Church in Nachikatsuura Town, located in the most southern part of Wakayama Prefecture, before becoming the pastor of Osaka Nishi Church. It was shortly after the end of the Second World War, and when Rev. TAKEDA was appointed to the church, the church building was in disrepair and only a few people attended services. However, Pastor TAKEDA evangelised enthusiastically, and one year after he was appointed, more than 20 people began to gather. One day, pastor OKADA Masao, who came to Kinan Church as an itinerant missionary, said, based on today’s Bible passage, “The greatest joy for us believers is that we have been saved from our sins and our register has been transferred to heaven, and the little success and joy on earth are insignificant. Are we truly rejoicing in this joy?” Pastor TAKEDA’s heart was pierced by these words. He described his experience as follows.

The Lord dealt a severe blow through the words of this pastor to unbelieving me, who arrogantly thought that the church had risen by my own strength and was conceited. …… And every now and then, I ask to myself, “Now am I really rejoicing that my name has been written in heaven?” and reflect on it. (TAKEDA Eishiro, Ketsudan, Seitousha, 1970, 53-54. Translated by MIYOSHI Akira.)

Christian evangelism and service are not done in order to become famous or respected among people for it. Real evangelism and service come out of the gratitude for being made citizens of the kingdom of God. I myself want to evangelise and serve zealously. I also hope that everyone in the church will evangelise and serve with enthusiasm. At the same time, however, I hope that my own zealous evangelism and service, and my encouraging others to evangelise and serve, will not go too far. This is so that our own hearts and your hearts will not be filled with a sense of satisfaction that we have achieved so much as a result of our evangelism and service. As Christ says in today’s Scriptures, “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven,” our blessing as Christians lies in the fact that by grace, not merit, our names are written in the book of life and we are made citizens of the kingdom of God.