Rejoice because your names are written in heaven. The mission of the seventy-two was a success (their commissioning was the subject of Thursday’s Gospel reading [cf. Luke 10:1-12]). We can only picture them coming back in pairs, and with broad smiles spread across their faces, tell Jesus of all that had taken place. They too must have been surprised at the power that the name of Jesus carried, for at the name of Jesus, even demons submitted to them. The surprise appears to have been relived when they reported this to Jesus: “We couldn’t believe it. They were all screaming and begging for mercy when we mentioned your name. It was a special moment for us. We never wanted it to end.” “Don’t let it go to your head,” Jesus told them, “rejoice at the broader picture-the souls that you were able to save.”
Jesus was not belittling what, for all practical purposes, was the pinnacle of the mission of the seventy-two. The subjection of the demons to the seventy-two was definitely something to behold. But it was a link in the chain that their mission was. It was part of bringing wholeness to the people: restoring peace to homes, healing the sick. Jesus had sent them with a message of the kingdom. That the seventy-two had been able to cure the sick and drive out demons was an indication that they succeeded in proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. They managed to “bring” the kingdom to the villages they visited. They managed to do this because they themselves were “insiders” of that kingdom. It is in this that Jesus wanted them to rejoice. They belonged to the very kingdom whose good news they had succeeded in proclaiming.