Greetings fellow servants of God,
Today, let’s look at how Satan demands our lives, yet we can find comfort in our Savior who prays for us:
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat. But I have prayed earnestly for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, once you have returned, strengthen your brothers.”
— Luke 22:31-32
Jesus makes this statement to Simon regarding the events that were to come. This was among the last conversations they had before Jesus was arrested. Throughout His ministry, Jesus shared with the disciples what would happen towards the end of His ministry. He had already told them that He would be arrested and die. In this statement, we see Jesus sharing some love and concern with Simon.
Simon, Simon
He mentions Simon’s name twice: “Simon, Simon.” This repetition indicates the tone of voice Jesus was using. Jesus does this to draw attention to what He is about to share. By emphasizing Simon’s name, He is indicating the crucial importance of the information.
This kind of sentence structure was common in those days to add emphasis. The speaker would repeat a term to highlight its importance. We see this phrasing in other statements made by Jesus:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
— John 3:5“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”
— John 6:47“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
— John 8:58
In the same way, when Jesus addresses Simon by repeating his name, He’s calling attention to the importance of the information He is about to deliver. In essence, He’s saying, “Pay close attention and take heed.”
Satan’s Demands
There are only a handful of parts in scripture that show Satan making demands, and this is one of them. Jesus states that Satan has made a demand, one that concerns Simon Peter and the other disciples.
The demand is phrased as “to sift you all like wheat.” This statement refers to bringing about persecution and suffering to the disciples. One commentator notes:
“The imagery is appropriate. It suggests that such trials, though unsettling and undesirable, have a necessary refining effect.”
— John MacArthur
This speaks to the nature of the suffering and trials they were going to face. While it is obvious that Satan’s request is not designed to refine the faith of the believers, it is in God’s design that all trials the believer faces will cause them to lean more on God and strengthen their faith. This is similar to the situation Joseph had with his brothers:
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive.”
— Genesis 50:20
We also see that Satan made requests to afflict Job, highlighting that all authority ultimately belongs to God. Even when Satan operates, he does so within the confines of the freedom God grants. Satan cannot do anything outside of what God has allowed him to do, because all authority and power belong to our almighty and sovereign God.
Jesus’ Prayer
In Jesus’s response, we see that the text does not explicitly state whether or not Satan’s request was granted. We can speculate that it was granted because the apostles had to suffer many things. However, as we focus on what Jesus states, we see God’s plan in strengthening the faith of the believers for His glory. Jesus says:
“But I have prayed earnestly for you”
We see that while Satan had his own plans for the apostles, Jesus also had plans for them. Since all authority has been given to Jesus, it is His plan that will come to fruition, not the devil’s.
Jesus’s prayer is that Simon Peter will strengthen the rest of the believers. He prays that Peter’s faith will not fail. This means that throughout all the persecution and suffering Peter and the other apostles will face, Jesus’s prayer is that Peter will not lose faith.
The Result of Jesus’ Prayer
Finally, Jesus says that once Simon Peter has returned, he will strengthen the other believers. It is important to note that Jesus does not leave Simon’s return to chance. He does not say “if you return” but “once you return,” indicating certainty of Simon’s resilience in the faith and eventual return to help his brothers.
Such is the case when Jesus prays for the believers. Jesus is certain that those whom the Father has given to Him will indeed come to Him:
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out.”
— John 6:37
This is a great encouragement for us who have placed our faith in Christ. We know that we have an advocate in Christ who continuously prays for us and advocates for us to God the Father:
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;”
— 1 John 2:1
Because Jesus Himself is advocating for us, He enables us to have a faith that will not fail.
In this prayer, we also see an interesting responsibility for believers who have returned and been reconciled to God. Like Peter, we have a responsibility to strengthen our brothers. As the body of Christ, when one part grieves, the whole body grieves, and when one part rejoices, the whole body rejoices:
“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:26
I pray that this word will encourage us to remember that we have a Savior in Christ who continuously prays for us and that we have a responsibility as believers to strengthen one another and build each other up.
Blessings,
Paul
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