A Problematic Faith
Luke 22:31-34
31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
Introduction: No individual in the New Testament is more paradoxical or problematic than the Apostle Peter. His highs are high and his lows are low. In this respect he is more like us than we care to acknowledge. For just a few minutes this morning I want to examine his life of faith to see if we can learn anything that would help us in our own personal journey of faith.
Notice: And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon.” Peter is particularly, and by name, spoken to, either because he might be a principal person in the debate and contention about superiority, or because he was chiefly to suffer in the following temptation of Satan; or because he was generally the mouth of the rest of the apostles; and he is addressed, not by the name of Peter, the name Christ gave him, when he first called him, signifying his future solidity, firmness, and steadfastness; because in this instance, he would not give any proof of it; but by his former name, Simon, and which is repeated, partly to show the earnestness of Christ in the delivery of what follows, and partly to express his affectionate concern for him; so the Jews concerning God's calling, "Moses, Moses", (Exodus 3:4) that, "the doubling of the word", is expressive "of love", and finding grace and favour; even as it is said, "Abraham, Abraham", ( Genesis 22:11 ) or it may be to excite attention to what Christ was about to say. Though the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read the first of these, "to Simon", thus: Jesus said to Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you; not only Peter, but all the apostles; for the word, "you", is plural:
First let’s look at text:
Satan, the enemy of the woman's seed, the accuser of the brethren, the wicked one, and the tempter, desired, asked leave of God, for he can do nothing without permission; that he might have these disciples under his power, and in his hand; just as he got leave to have the goods, and even the body of Job in his hand, and fain would have had his life, and soul too, could he have obtained it; and he would have the lives and souls of others; for he goes about, seeking to devour whom he may; and he had now an evil eye upon the apostles, and wanted an opportunity to gratify his malice and envy: his end in desiring to have them in his power was, that he may sift you as wheat; not to separate the chaff from the wheat, but to make them look like all chaff, by covering the wheat of grace with the chaff of sin and corruption; or to destroy the wheat, was it possible; or to toss them to and fro as wheat is in a sieve; that is, to afflict and distress them; see ( Amos 9:9 ) by scattering them both from Christ, and one another; by filling them with doubts about Jesus being the Messiah and Redeemer: and by frightening them with the fears of enemies and of death, which end he obtained; see ( Matthew 26:56 ) ( Luke 24:31 ) ( John 20:19 ) .
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I. The Antagonist – Satan
a. His character – He is the “wicked one” and the title that stands out is he “is an accuser of the brethren.”
b. His conduct – He walketh to and fro in the earth and “…seeketh whom he may devour.” No Christian is immune or exempt from his interest…
c. His control – He can do nothing without permission but he does have tremendous influence, if we give him place. In this case the disciples were debating about who would be the greatest in the kingdom. These were issues of pride, arrogance, and control. Who was going to be in charge in the coming kingdom was the subject for debate and this gave the Devil many places in the lives of the disciples unfortunately.
II. The Activity - Sifting
a. Separating them – Satan wanted to drive a wedge between the disciples. The metaphor of sifting is the acting of tossing the wheat or grain into the air in order to separate the chaff from the grain.
b. Scattering them - By scattering them both from Christ, and one another. When Jesus was arrested the disciples scattered like a covey of quail. One of the things that Satan understands is that the Lord’s disciples are “better together.”
c. Shaking them - By filling them with doubts about Jesus being the Messiah and Redeemer. By frightening them and instilling fear in them.
“We must expect to be assaulted and sifted by Satan. If he cannot destroy, he will try to disgrace or distress us. Nothing more certainly forebodes a fall, in a professed follower of Christ, than self-confidence, with disregard to warnings, and contempt of danger.”
Matthew Henry Commentary
One denial leads to two; two lead to three. Our descent away from God always grows steeper and faster. Have you watched sledding competition during the Winter Olympics? Sledders exceed 65 mph at the end of the course! And it all started by purposely pushing away from level ground.
III. The Advocate – Support
a. The call – “Simon, Simon…”
Peter is given the name Peter by Jesus and it means a small stone, or a piece of stone detached from a rock. Three things are important here. First among the Jews when a name is repeated it means pay attention or listen up. Second it was an indication of affection. Jesus loved Peter even though He knew that Peter would soon deny Him. Derived from Greek (Petros) meaning "stone". This is a translation used in most versions of the New Testament of the name Cephas, meaning "stone" in Aramaic, which was given to the apostle Simon by Jesus (compare Matthew 16:18 and John 1:42). Third this address is plural so Jesus is focused on not just Peter but all the disciples.
b. The care – “I have prayed for thee…”
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted
I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.’ Did it fail? If we look only at Peter’s denial, we must answer, Yes.
Luke 22:60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, [b]the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster [c]crows, you will deny Me three times.” 62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
If we look at the whole of the future life of the Apostle, we answer, no. One event is not extinction; the momentary untruthfulness to one’s deepest convictions is not the annihilation of these convictions. Christ’s prayer is never vain, and Christ’s prayer was answered just because Peter, though he fell, did not lie in the mud, but staggered to his feet again, and with sore weeping and many an agony of shame, struggled onward, with unconquerable hope, in the path from which, for a moment, he strayed. Jesus is the Advocate for Christians, meaning He is our great Defender. This is the intercessory role He currently fulfills for those who are His (1 John 2:1). Jesus is always pleading our case before the Father, like a defense lawyer on our behalf.
Jesus is interceding for us while Satan (whose name means “accuser”) is accusing us, pointing out our sins and frailties before God, just as he did with Job (Job 1:6-12). But the accusations fall upon deaf ears in heaven, because Jesus’ work on the cross paid our sin debt in full; therefore, God always sees in His children the perfect righteousness of Jesus.
Hebrews tell us that Christ “…ever liveth making intercession for us.”
c. The command –
“When thou art converted…” This term does not reference Peter’s salvation but means that when Peter repents, remember he denies Christ shortly after and leaves to weep and
“…strengthen thy brethren…”
John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Conclusion:
ILL: A rooster’s crow announced the dawn. This dawn was not the sunrise, still hours away, but the dawn of Peter’s realization of what he had done. Like the first rays of the sun slicing through the night’s darkness, Peter awakened to his sin and its gravity. It cut him to the core of his being, and he went out and wept bitterly. And with those tears, the rehabilitation of Simon Peter began.
In his anguish, Peter may have reflected on the words of another broken man, King David of Israel, who in the agony of realized sin but with hope in his heart, wrote, “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” If Peter did, he found David’s words to be true.
Peter’s sin would not define him, as Judas’ did. He rose to heights he could not have imagined at the time he heard the rooster crow. Jesus had already told him, “to you will I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” signifying that he would be the first to declare the gospel to a world that would have been forever lost without it. Even after Peter’s denial and the Lord’s death and resurrection, Jesus told him “shepherd my sheep.” He would write two priceless letters that would make their way into the sacred scriptures – words that still bless millions today.
The key to Peter’s rehabilitation was his willingness – no, his passionate desire – to accept the free gift of forgiveness he knew he did not deserve, and to become what he knew God wanted him to be.
Jesus knew in advance that all this would happen. Before going to the garden of Gethsemane where he would be arrested, he said to Peter, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." I suggest that Jesus prayer for Peter’s faith was not that Peter wouldn’t deny him, for he immediately afterward told Peter he would do so; but that Peter would find the way back - he would “turn again.”
There is a way back from sin. It is easy to find and easy to take, with the main impediments residing within ourselves: “I just don’t want to give up my life as it is,” “my sins are too great,” “I can’t maintain the life God requires,” or “I’m not worth saving.” Judas Iscariot may have had similar thoughts, but such is an insult to God, whose grace is greater than every sin since Adam’s. If sin were greater than God, it would be sin, not God, we should worship. But God is greater and through Jesus’ work has conquered sin.
Have I, by words, thoughts, or deeds, denied Jesus? Am I willing to abandon sin and be lifted above it rather than be destroyed by it? Has Satan demanded permission to sift me like wheat? Is a rooster crowing for me?
J. Vernon McGee once said; I think some of us ought to go to God in prayer on Monday and ask him to forgive us for going to church on Sunday. We should pray, "Lord, forgive me for going to church yesterday I sang the hymns, but my heart wasn't in it I prayed, but it was a mere formality. I listen to the word of God, but it had no effect on me. I criticize the preacher and others who were there, but I did not criticize myself. "Nothing is easier than fault-finding; no talent, no self-denial, no brain, no character are required to set up in the grumbling business." God forgive me for going to church like that." This would be a good thing for many of us to pray it would be wise for us to prepare ourselves on Saturday, so that we would not have to pray this prayer on Monday.
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way of everlasting.
What can we learn from Peter’s problematic faith?
1. We are all in danger of a fainting fit of faith as Spurgeon called it.
2. Christ who knows our frame and our frailties intercedes for us.
3. There is a way back no matter what we have done, no matter how many times we have denied Him, He stands ready to forgive if we are willing to confess our faith failures.
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
