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Luke 10 · a question people ask

"I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven" (10:18). What did Jesus see, and when?

In the text

Luke gives the words and doesn't explain them. Jesus says them to the seventy, who have just said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" (10:17). He goes on, "Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will in any way hurt you." (10:19), and "Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (10:20). Luke doesn't say when Jesus saw it or what he meant by it, and these notes don't say either. They quote his words exactly, and set no other verse beside them to explain them.

The verses

“The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” He said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will in any way hurt you. Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.””
Luke 10:17-20 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Luke 10

Luke 10: Go and do likewise

The lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered with a story and asked him which of the three "seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers". From "what shall I do" to "Do this", "He who showed mercy" and "Go and do likewise", the Greek has one verb behind do and showed.

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Last reviewed October 2, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions