The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat,
Parallel Translations
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The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat,
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And the Lorde sayde: Simon Simon beholde Satan hath desired you to sifte you as it were wheate:
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And the Lord saide, Simon, Simon, beholde, Satan hath desired you, to winowe you as wheate.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Luke 22:31 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- Zechariah 3:1 He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before Yahweh’s angel, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary.
- Job 1:6-12 Now on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan also came among them. Yahweh said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil.” Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven’t you made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face.” Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power. Only on himself don’t stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh.
- Job 2:1-6 Again, on the day when the God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh. Yahweh said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause.” Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “Skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face.” Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand. Only spare his life.”
- Revelation 12:10 I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ has come; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.
- Amos 9:9 “For, behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth.
- Luke 10:41 Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
- Acts 9:4 He fell on the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (22 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain We must always think upon the wait that Satan…
We must always think upon the wait that Satan layeth for us.
To toss you and scatter you, and also to cast you out.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan…
31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Ver. 31. Simon, Simon] q.d. Mi charissimo Simon. Piscat.
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Satan hath desired, &c.] As a challenger desireth to have one of the other side to combat with, as Goliath did. He cannot harm us without leave. So he desired to have Job, and had him.
That he may sift you] Cribratione Satanae non perditur, sed purgatur frumentum, saith Zanchy {See Trapp on "Mat 3:12"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Our Lord directeth his speech to Peter, as one…
Our Lord directeth his speech to Peter, as one who (as it will by and by appear) had a greater confidence of himself than the rest expressed, and as one who he foresaw would fall more foully than the rest; though it appears, that in his speech he had a respect to them all, for the word you is in the plural number. The devil had a mind to disturb them all by his temptations (that is here called sifting). Christ hath his fan in his hand, and will sift his church, but his sifting is to purge his floor; he sifts a particular soul, to purify it from its lusts and corruptions; but Satan sifts the soul and the church merely to give them trouble, and to keep them from rest and quiet by continual motion and agitation. This we are all concerned to take notice of, that we may both be continually prepared for the time of our siftings, and bless God who doth not satisfy Satan’s desires to sift his; for he hath the same mind to winnow us now, that he had to sift Peter and the rest of the apostles.
But (saith our Saviour) I have prayed that thy faith fail not. There is a total and a partial failing of faith. Peter’s faith did fail in part; but the seed of God did yet abide in him, his faith did not wholly fail: so will it be with the faith of every true disciple of Christ. In hours of great temptation and trial, their faith may, as to some degrees, fail, but totally it shall not: they may be perverted, but they shall again be converted. As the apostles saith of the bodies of the saints, Rom 8:10,11, And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you: may also be said of their souls. They have in them a body of death, and they may in act hour of great temptations fail, and their gracious habits may seem to die. But if the Spirit of God dwelleth in the soul, he will again quicken their souls by his Spirit which dwelleth in them.
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And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren; that is, when God hath recovered thee from thy fall, and made thee to see thy error, make an improvement of thy recovery out of the snare of the devil, by admonishing others to take heed of too much confidence in themselves, and encouraging them not to despair, though they also may fall into temptation; but that the grace of God shall be sufficient for them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Here I shall give,
Here I shall give,
1. The general sense of the words.
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2. The particular matters contained in them.
3. The special observation from them.
The sense of the words is this; as for you my disciples in general, and for thee Peter in particular, I must tell thee, that Satan has accused you all before God, and desires that he may have the sifting of you all by his winnowing winds of temptation and persecution, that he may shake your faith, and weaken your confidence; but I have prayed for you all, and particularly for thyself who art in greatest danger of falling, because so confident of thine own strength and standing, that thy faith, though severely shaken, may not utterly fail; and when by repentance thou art recovered from thy fall, be careful to confirm and strengthen others, that they may not fall in like manner.
The particular matter contained in these words, are these; a Christian’s danger, a Christian’s safety, and a Christian’s duty.
1. A Christian’s danger, Satan hath desired to sift you.
Where observe, 1. The person particularly warned of the danger, Simon, Simon: the doubling of the word, doubtless carries a special intimation with it: it denotes the greatness and nearness of Peter’s danger, his own security and insensibleness of that danger, and the great affection of Christ his monitor, to give him warning of his danger.
Observe, 2. The warning itself, and that is, of a devilish conspiracy against himself and all the apostles, Satan hath desired to have you; to have you for his own, if it might be; to have you as believers, rather than other men; to have you as eminent believers, rather than other Christians; and to have you as apostles and ministers, rather than other eminent believers. And as Satan has desired to have you, so to sift you too, to winnow you as wheat; not to fetch out the chaff, but to make the chaff.
Here note, that Satan has his winnowing winds of temptation, and his tempestous winds of persecution, for the sifting of God’s children.
Note farther, that it is the wheat, the good corn, that Satan winnows; not chaff, nor dross; sinners, that are all chaff, and nothing but dross, Satan will not be at the pains to sift and winnow them.
But what is the sifting? Answer, in sifting, two things are performed:
1. The agitation, shaking and tossing of the corn from side to side. The separation of the corn from the chaff and dust; Satan intends the former, God effects the latter: The corn is improved, not impaired, by winnowing. The saints of God shall be no losers in the end by Satan’s temptations, how many and how strong soever they may be in the way.
2. The Christian’s safety: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.
Where note, 1. The care that Christ had for Peter, and in him of all believers: I have prayed for thee; for thee, as a believing Christian, and for thee as a tempted Christian; and it is not said, I will pray for thee, but I have prayed for thee. Christ prayed for Peter, before Peter understood that he had need of Christ’s prayer; Christ prayed for Peter as soon as ever Satan desired to sift Peter.
Our intercessor is full as nimble and speedy in his suit for us, as Satan is in his accusations against us: he has desired, but I have prayed; he is a potent assailant, but thou has a powerful assistant.
Observe, 2. The subject matter prayed for, that thy faith fail not; not that thy faith be not assaulted, not that thy faith be not shaken, but that thy faith may not fail by an absolute and total deficiency.
The third particular is the Christian’s duty: When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. When converted, that is, when recovered form thy fall, when restored upon thy repentance to the divine favor. This conversion is not from a state of sin; Peter was converted before; but it was from an act of sin, into which he should lapse and relapse; Strengthen thy brethren; that is, establish others in the faith, from which tou art shamefully fallen thyself.
Now the lessons of instruction from the whole are these:
1. That temptations are like siftings: God sifts to purge away our dust and dross; Satan sifts, not to get out the chaff; but to bolt out the flour; his temptations are levelled against our faith.
2. That Satan has a continual desire to be sifting and winnowing God’s flour; Satan’s own children are all bran, all chaff, these he sifts not: God’s children have flour mixed with bran, good wheat mixed with chaff; these he desires to sift, winnow, and fan; not to separate the bran and dross, but to destroy the flour.
3. That the intercession of Christ gives security, satisfaction, and encouragement to all believers, that though their faith may, by temptations, be shaken and assaulted, yet, that it shall never be finally vanquished and overcome: I have prayed that thy faith fail not.
4. That lapsed Christians, when recovered and restored, ought to endeavor to restore and to recover, to strengthen and establish others: When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But I have prayed for thee,.... Christ prayed for…
But I have prayed for thee,.... Christ prayed for all the apostles; but particularly for Peter, because he was in the greatest danger: whether the prayer Christ refers to was that in Joh 17:1 in which are many passages relating to the preservation, sanctification, final perseverance and glorification of the apostles, as well as of other saints, as in Joh 17:9 and so these words might be spoken a little after that prayer was ended, which was about this same time; or whether it was any other, and only mental, and not vocal, is not certain: however, the petition was,
that thy faith fail not; Satan in his temptations strikes principally at the faith of God's people; that being a grace which gives much glory to God, and in the exercise of which believers have much peace, joy, and comfort; both which he envies and grudges; and it is also a shield which keeps off, and quenches his fiery darts, and is a piece of armour he is sadly harassed with, and therefore endeavours all he can to weaken and destroy it, or wrest it out of their hands: but though, through the power of sin, and the force of temptation, it may fail as to some degree of the steadfastness of it, as to the acting and exercise of it, and as to the sense believers may have of it; yet never as to its principle, it being an irrevocable gift of God's grace; a work of his almighty power; a solid and substantial grace, even the substance of things hoped for; an immortal and incorruptible seed, and of which Christ is the author and finisher; and to nothing more is its security owing, than to the prayers of Christ, which are always heard, and to his powerful mediation, and prevalent intercession; Christ is the advocate of his people; he prays that they might have faith, and then he prays, that it may not fail; and it shall not, notwithstanding all the opposition of hell, and earth, unto it:
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and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren: Peter was now a converted man, and had been for some years; but whereas he would fall by temptation into a very great sin of denying his Lord, and which was attended with such circumstances as made him look like an unconverted, and an unregenerate man; his recovery by the fresh exercise of faith in Christ, and repentance for his sins, is called conversion: and which was not his own act, but owing to the power and efficacy of divine grace; see Jer 31:18. Some versions render it in the imperative, "in time, convert, turn, or return, and strengthen thy brethren"; as the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions: as he afterwards did: for whereas all the disciples forsook Christ, and fled, some one way, and some another, Peter, after his recovery, got them together again, and returned with them to Jerusalem; when they with him assembled together, till the third day Christ was risen: he strengthened their faith in the Messiah, and put them upon filling up the place of Judas, by choosing another apostle; and on the day of "Pentecost" preached a most excellent sermon, which as it was made useful for the conversion of three thousand sinners, was, doubtless, a means of confirming the minds of the disciples; and he has left two exceeding useful epistles for the strengthening of his brethren in all ages of time; the design of which is to establish the saints in faith and holiness, that they may not be drawn aside, and fall from the steadfastness of their faith, either by the lusts of the flesh, or by the persecutions of men, or by the error of the wicked.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Satan hath desired to have you - My apostles,…
Satan hath desired to have you - My apostles, that he might sift you as wheat - Try you to the uttermost.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 31. Simon, Simon] When a name is thus…
Verse 31. Simon, Simon] When a name is thus repeated in the sacred writings, it appears to be always intended as an expression of love, manifested by a warning voice. As if he had said, While thou and the others are contending for supremacy, Satan is endeavouring to destroy you all: but I have prayed for thee, as being in most danger.
Satan hath desired - you] That is, all the apostles, but particularly the three contenders: the plural pronoun, υμας, sufficiently proves that these words were not addressed to Peter alone. Satan had already got one, Judas; he had nearly got another, Peter; and he wished to have all. But we see by this that the devil cannot even tempt a man unless he receive permission. He desires to do all evil; he is permitted only to do some.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Luk 22:31-34. And the Lord said, &c. — To…
Luk 22:31-34. And the Lord said, &c. — To make his disciples humble and watchful, and kindly affectionate one to another, Christ assured them, that Satan was seeking to destroy them all by his temptations. As if he had said, O Simon, Simon, behold Satan — As in the case of Job; (Job 2:4-5;) hath desired to have you — My apostles, εξητησατο υμας, hath required you, or sought you out; or requested permission, as Dr. Campbell translates it; to sift you as wheat — To assault you by furious and violent temptations, or to try you to the uttermost. I must assure thee, therefore, that an hour of terrible trial is just at hand, which will press harder than thou art aware, on thee and all thy companions here. But I — Forseeing the danger to which thou, Peter, wilt be peculiarly exposed, I have graciously prevented thee with my watchful care; and have prayed for thee — For thou wilt be in the greatest danger of all my disciples; in order that thy faith fail not — Altogether. And when thou art converted — Renewed to repentance, or hast returned to thy duty, as επιστρεψας may be rendered; when thou art recovered from thy fall, and confirmed again in faith and holiness; strengthen thy brethren — All that are weak in faith, or shaken in mind by the approaching trial, and ready to relinquish the service they have undertaken. When thou art recovered by the grace of God, do what thou canst to recover others; when thy own faith is strengthened, labour to confirm the faith of others, and to establish them; when thou hast found mercy, encourage others to hope that they also shall find it. And do thine utmost, all the remainder of thy days, by word and deed, to engage all, over whom thou hast any influence, to a steady adherence to my cause in the midst of the greatest difficulties, and especially by setting them an example of eminent faith and fortitude. And he said, Lord, I am ready to go with thee to prison and to death — So Peter thought at this time: and such was his present intention and resolution; but he was not sufficiently acquainted with himself, nor aware of his own weakness. See on Mat 26:33-35. And he saith, I tell thee, Peter — I most assuredly say unto thee; the cock shall not crow this day — Or rather, it shall not be the time of cock-crowing to-day, see on Mar 14:39; before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me — And shalt solemnly disclaim all regard to me. So terrified shalt thou be at the faces of these enemies whom thou now defiest. In other words, notwithstanding thy pretended affection and fortitude, a few hours shall not pass till, in great consternation at the dangers with which I and my disciples shall be threatened, thou shalt basely deny, three several times, that thou art my disciple. Peter therefore had no reason to be elated, though on a former occasion he had confessed Jesus to be the Son of God. And his behaviour in this instance affords a very affecting example of human vanity, in the midst of the greatest weakness.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Simon - Peter. Jesus, foreseeing the danger of Peter,…
Simon - Peter. Jesus, foreseeing the danger of Peter, and knowing that he was about to deny him, took occasion to forewarn him and put him on his guard, and also to furnish him with a solace when he should be brought to repentance.
Satan hath desired - Satan is the prince of evil. One of his works is to try the faith of believers to place temptations and trials in their way, that they may be tested. Thus God gave Job into his hands, that it might be seen whether he would be found faithful, or would apostatize. See the notes at Job 1:7-12. So Satan desired to have Peter in his hands, that he might also try him.
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May sift you as wheat - Grain was agitated or shaken in a kind of fan or sieve. The grain remained in the fan, and the chaff and dust were thrown off. So Christ says that Satan desired to try Peter; to place trials and temptations before him; “to agitate him” to see whether anything of faith would remain, or whether all would not be found to be chaff - mere natural ordor and false professions.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Satan hath desired to have you, that he may…
Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. In these words is expressed both what Satan desired, and what God permitted. Satan desired leave to tempt them, that he might make them fall from their faith in Christ. Almighty God permitted this temptation, this trial, to convince them how weak they were of themselves: he permitted their frailty to be partly overcome, yet so that rising again by his grace, they should be cleansed and purified as wheat when it is sifted: and that shortly after, being strengthened and confirmed by the coming of the Holy Ghost, they might become new men, enabled to stand firm against all the attacks of their greatest adversaries. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Simon, Simon--(See on Luk 10:41).
Simon, Simon--(See on Luk 10:41).
desired to have--rather, "hath obtained you," properly "asked and obtained"; alluding to Job (Job 1:6-12; Job 2:1-6), whom he solicited and obtained that he might sift him as wheat, insinuating as "the accuser of the brethren" (Rev 12:10), that he would find chaff enough in his religion, if indeed there was any wheat at all.
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you--not Peter only, but them all.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain § 125. JESUS FOREWARNS PETER, Luk_22:31-38.
§ 125. JESUS FOREWARNS PETER, Luk_22:31-38.
31. Simon, Simon—Peter had probably had his full share in the contention just mentioned; and our Lord here addresses him with a most solemn emphasis by his old natural name, in distinction from his new name of Peter.
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Hath desired—In the Greek (εζητησατο) has asked that you be surrendered over to him, as Job was surrendered to this same Satan. So Philip of Macedon demanded of the Athenians to surrender his enemy, Demosthenes, over to him. Demosthenes, in relating the fact, adopts the very word here used by our Lord.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 31. Simon, Simon] The repetition of the name gave…
31. Simon, Simon] The repetition of the name gave combined solemnity and tenderness to the appeal (Luk_10:41).
Satan hath desired to have you] Rather, Satan demanded you (plur.), or ‘gained you by asking.’ “Not content with Judas,” Luk_22:3. Bengel.
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that he may sift you] The word siniasai, from sinion, a sieve, occurs here only. Satan, too, has his winnowing fan, that he may get his chaff. Judas has been already winnowed away from the Apostolic band, and now Satan demands Peter (comp. Job_1:9). The warning left a deep impression on Peter’s mind. 1Pe_5:8-9. For the metaphor see Amo_9:9-10.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (31) And the Lord said, Simon, Simon.—The first three…
(31) And the Lord said, Simon, Simon.—The first three Gospels agree in placing the warning to Peter after the institution of the Lord’s Supper. The two-fold utterance of the name, as in the case of Martha (Luk_10:41), is significant of the emphasis of sadness.
Satan hath desired to have you.—Both this verb, and the “I have prayed,” are in the Greek tense which indicates an act thought of as belonging entirely to the past. The Lord speaks as though He had taken part in some scene like that in the opening of Job (Job_1:6-12; Job_2:1-6), or that which had come in vision before the prophet Zechariah (Zec_3:1-5), and had prevailed by His intercession against the Tempter and Accuser.
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That he may sift you as wheat.—The word and the figure are peculiar to St. Luke’s record. The main idea is, however, the same as that of the winnowing fan in Mat_3:12; the word for “sift” implying a like process working on a smaller scale. The word for “you” is plural. The fiery trial by which the wheat was to be separated from the chaff was to embrace the whole company of the disciples as a body. There is a latent encouragement in the very word chosen. They were “to be sifted as wheat.” The good grain was there. They were not altogether as the chaff.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 31-38. The Lord foretells Simon Peter"s fall. He…
Vers. 31-38. The Lord foretells Simon Peter"s fall. He tells She disciples of the hard times coming on them.
And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. The majority of the more ancient authorities omit the words, "and the Lord said." These words were possibly inserted at an early date to obviate the abruptness of this sudden change in the subject-matter of the Lord"s discourse. The more accurate translation would be, "Satan obtained you by asking that he," etc. Bengel comments with not content with Judas. " This saying of Jesus is a very mysterious one; it reveals to us something of what is going on in the unseen world. A similar request was made by the same bitter, powerful the in the case or Job. (Job_1:12) Are we to understand that these are examples of what is constantly going on in that world so close to us, but from which no whisper ever reaches our mortal ears? Such grave thoughts lend especial intensity to those words in the prayer of prayers, where we ask "our Father which is in heaven" to deliver us from evil, or the evil one, as so many of our best scholars prefer to translate apo tou ponhrou . Satan asks that he may test and try the apostles. Judas he had already tempted, and he had won him. Possibly this signal victory emboldened him to proffer this request. We may imagine the evil one arguing thus before the Eternal: "These chosen ones who are appointed to work in the future so tremendous a work in thy Name, are utterly unworthy. Let me just try to lure them away with my lures. Lo, they will surely fall. See, one has already.
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Vers. 31-34. The special word to Simon.
Its solemnity is indicated by the twice- repeated "Simon." Observe, when the warning is given, this is the name used; afterwards (ver. 34), in reply to the disciple"s protestation, "I am ready to go both to prison and to death," the name is changed, "I tell thee, Peter. " How gentle, how pathetic, the irony! Of the Peter, the rock, it is to be said, "The cock shall not crow until thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." Note three points in the word of Christ.
I THE TEMPTATION. To him the personality of the tempter is always real. Real, in respect of his own temptations: "Get thee hence, Satan;" "The prince of this world cometh." Now we are reminded that it is real in respect of the temptations of men. Beware of foolish speaking and jesting in connection with the actual existence of the Satan. "Behold!" says Jesus All is vividly present to him; he would have the agency of the adversary vividly present to his follower. The expression employed is very striking (see the Revised Version, "Satan asked to have you"). The phrase recalls the scene in Job 2. But this is memorable the tempter recognizes the proprietary of the Lord. Of Judas it is said, "Satan entered into him." Of Simon it is said, "He asked to have you." This is one over whom he has no right. He belongs to the Son of God a man given him by the Father. And he makes request that the disciple be sifted. In the margin of the Revised Version it is put as an alternative reading: "He obtained you by asking." All is so suggestive. The Christian Father speaks of the Christians fasting-days. Such days are often part of the experience of God"s people. The sieve, as if with God"s permission, is applied. The tempter obtained the Lord himself by asking, and the sieve was applied to him. It was similarly applied to his apostle; it is similarly applied, in one form or another, to those who are his. God will have his wheat winnowed. Remember, there is the sieve: "Watch and pray.
II THE INTERCESSION. It is spoken of (ver. 32) as past, and as a transaction accomplished in the invisible world. And who knows what transactions are there realized? How blessed is the assurance that "Where high the heavenly temple stands. The house of God, not made with hands, A great High Priest our nature wears, The Guardian of mankind appears"!
I made intercession for thee." Ah! in the day when all secrets are declared, with what marvellous light will this word be illumined! Ye Simons of all ages, thyself, O my soul, what a reflection it is that between the one tempted and the outer darkness there is the intercession of the ever-living and ever-mighty One, who is able to "save to the uttermost"! What is the intercession? Not that the sieve be withdrawn, that the sifting fail? It is needful. Simon would not have been the Peter he became without the sieve and without the discipline. The tempter and the trial are used as discipline. He who world not pray that his own be taken out of the world, will not pray that the Satan-request be refused. No; but he intercedes that the "faith fail not" (ver. 32). The great feature of Simon was his confidence in Christ. Why should he have been selected as the Rock-man, who was so often rash, and who so weakly denied his Master? Through all there was still the faith. He had quicker insight into the secrets of his Master"s power and presence than any of his fellows; he had a higher and fuller perception of and trust in him. Were this to fail, all would fail. And the fruit of the intercession was evidenced in the springing back of his faith nay, in its rising to a still higher measure of knowledge on the ruins of the old self-confidence; there was created the new heart that by-and-by was ready to go to prison and death.
III THE EXHORTATION. Simon will turn again. When the Lord turns, in the day of the trial, and looks on the apostate disciple, there is born a godly sorrow which works repentance not to be repented of. Out of this repentance there comes the earnest, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." And the charge is, "Do thou, when once thou hast turned again, stablish thy brethren" (ver. 32, Revised Version). The most helpful man is he who has himself been tempted, who has passed, not without scars, through the fight of faith. It is the sympathy of the soul that has come through great tribulation that has the delicate touch, the magnetic force, the faculty of establishing the brethren. All discovery of the Lord is to be utilized in the way of strengthening, cheering, building up human souls in the kingdom of God. What we receive we hold in trust for others, and, in giving as we receive, what we have gained becomes doubly ours. "Heaven does with us as we with torches do. Not light them for themselves.
Experience of God and his love is the best teacher. What we learn, even through falls and failures, turns most to the profit of poor human nature. Simon, after the sifting, through the turning again, was the confirmer of the brethren.
Vers. 31, 32 (first part). The worth of man.
These verses afford incidental but valuable evidence of the surpassing worth of the human spirit, and should help us to feel of how much greater account are we ourselves than anything that merely belongs to us. This is brought out by
I THE DESIGNS THAT ARE LAID AGAINST US. It was evidently in a very solemn and earnest strain that Jesus said, "Satan desired to have you plural, that he may sift," etc. The evil one longed with eagerness, and strove with strength, to pass the apostles of Christ through the sieve of temptation, that he might compass their overthrow. And Peter, at a later hour, tells us that that is his attitude and habit in regard to all Christian disciples. (1Pe_5:8) We may take it that:
1. All the unholy intelligences of the spiritual realm are bent on securing our overthrow.
2. In this malign intention they are supported by human agents. And this, not only because evil naturally propagates evil, and because the wicked feel stronger and more secure as they are more numerous, but because they recognize the value of one human spirit and the advantage secured by gaining it to their side. Hence there is a deliberate and determined design often made upon the individual man by the forces of evil. This is a fact by no means to be overlooked. As we go on our heavenward way there may be an ambush laid for us at any point; at any time strong spiritual foes may do their utmost to contrive our fall. The possibilities of evil and of ruin are manifold. We may fall by error and unbelief, by pride, by selfishness, by worldliness and vanity, by intemperance or impurity, by departure in spirit from the fear and love of God. There is room, there is reason, for vigilance on the part of him who believes himself well on the way toward or even nearing the gates of the celestial city.
II THE SOLICITUDE OF OUR SAVIOUR ON OUR BEHALF. "I have prayed for thee." The strain of our Lord"s address, "Simon, Simon," and the fact of his interceding on Peter"s behalf, speak of a tender solicitude on his part for his disciple. Jesus knew well all Peter"s infirmities; but he also knew how ardently he could love, how devotedly he could serve, how much he could be. Hence the intensity of his desire that he would not be overcome. And for this reason we may be sure that our Lord is regarding us all with a Divine interest. He knows the worth of any and every human spirit how much it can know and can enjoy; whom and what it can love; what graces it can illustrate, and what truth adorn; what influence it can instill; what good, and even great, work it can accomplish for God and man. He knows also what sorrow it may bring upon itself, what shame, what ruin; and also what irreparable injury it may do. We need not hesitate, but should accustom ourselves to think that Jesus Christ is regarding us with a very tender interest; is following the choices we are making and the course we are pursuing with holy and loving solicitude; is grieved when he sees us wander from the way of wisdom, rejoices in us and over us when he sees us take the upward path.
III THE REALITY OF OUR HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY. Jesus Christ prayed that Peter"s faith might not fail. And it did not we should naturally expect. But in part it did. It did not utterly break down as that of Judas did, but it failed to keep him loyal in a very trying hour. It did not save him from the act of denial and from the sorrow which succeeded the sin. It did not in any way relieve the apostle of his individual responsibility. He continued to "bear his own burden," as every man must. Not the very highest privilege, not even the intercession of the Lord himself, will relieve us of that. It must rest with us, in the last resort, whether we will strive and win, or whether we wilt yield and be lost. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Satan hath desired to have you
Luk_22:31-34
Satan hath desired to have you
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The temptation of St.
Peter
Our Lord is conversing here with His dear disciples a little before His crucifixion. In the tenderness of His heart, He almost thanks them for their faithful adherence to Him (Luk_22:28-30). And now comes a sudden transition, showing us the strong feeling at work at this time in our Lords breast. He thinks the next moment of the perils these men will have to pass through in their way to those thrones, and gives them abruptly a warning of one of them.
I. We must begin with THIS WARNING.
1. See in it our Lords knowledge of the invisible world. We know nothing of Satan but what we are told. But the Lord Jesus does see him as he goes about and He not only sees him, He can look into his heart and discern the secret purposes and desires of it.
2. See next here the crafty policy of Satan. He hath desired to have you, our Lord says; you especially; you, believers in Me, rather than the Jews or heathen around you; you, My most beloved disciples, etc. Why? Because they stood more in his way than any others.
3. We may see here the limited power of Satan. He cannot touch one of these men without Gods permission.
II. Leaving now the other disciples, let us look at THE EFFECT OF THIS WARNING ON ONE OF THEM, PETER. Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you.
1. Observe, that it excited his love. If mere feeling could have made a martyr, Peter was already prepared to be one.
2. And observe again--this warning did not shake Peters self-confidence. And yet it was given in a manner calculated to shake it. It made no impression on him or a very faint one.
3. And mark again--this warning did not prevent Peters fall.
III. We may come now to another point in the text--THE TENDER MERCY OF OUR LORD TO PETER NOTWITHSTANDING HIS SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND FALL, or rather, in anticipation of his self-sufficiency and fall. I have prayed for thee, He says, that thy faith fail not.
1. We must be struck at once, I think, with the lowliness of this language. Our Lord has been speaking just before in the almost unveiled dignity of the Godhead. He has been manifesting, too, a knowledge of Satan and a knowledge of the human heart such as none but the infinite Jehovah can possess; and yet when His fallen apostle is to be rescued, what does He say? I will rescue him? or, as in Pauls case, My grace is sufficient for him? No; He speaks now as a feeble man; The mighty God only can rescue him. I have prayed for him. What a view does this give us of our Lords humility! And what a view, too, of the awful nature of sin! of the difficulty of extricating even a servant of God out of it!
2. Observe, too, the peculiar tenderness of His love for those who are peculiarly tempted.
3. And there is the intercession of our Lord to be noticed here--its influence on our preservation from sin or recovery from it. Faith lies at the root of every grace. It is that within us which first lays hold of the Lord Jesus, and it is that which keeps hold of Him. It seems the lowest, the poorest, and meanest of all graces, but it is notwithstanding the most active and operative of all; it secretly does the most. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
The sifting of Peter
I. THE CHARACTER OF PETER. The character of Peter is a very marked one. His character stands out in bold prominence and relief, like an object situated on a height, and seen between us and a clear sky. We notice at once his natural sincerity and boldness, his vehemence and self-confidence; his liability to be hurried away by the tide of events and the current of prevailing feeling. We perceive that as a disciple of Christ he is under the guardian care and grace of heaven; but we discover sin lurking within, and bursting forth from time to time as the liquid fire of the volcano breaks out from the mountain whose surface may be covered with the loveliest foliage. His love to Jesus was genuine and sincere--for with all his failings Peter was no hypocrite; yet he not infrequently resists the will of his Master, and at times is positively ashamed of Him. He is zealously affected in every good thing, but his zeal is often unthinking and impetuous, and proceeds from a self confident and self-righteous rather than a humble and trustful spirit of dependence on God; and it comes forth when it should be restrained, and fails when it should flow.
II. TEMPTATION OF PETER BY SATAN. Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. We see that we are to regard our temptations as coming from Satan the tempter, the accuser. He who rebelled against God in heaven seeks to thwart His will on earth. The devil entered into Judas Iscariot, whom he hurried from one crime to another till he laid violent hands on himself. May he not succeed also with his brother apostle? In tempting us Satan takes advantage of two circumstances. He employs the world to seduce us, and he addresses the corruption of the heart. First, he takes advantage of the circumstances in which we are placed, and of the worldly and sinful character of those with whom we mingle. Breathing as we do an infected atmosphere, we are apt to take in malaria which breeds moral disease.
III. THE RECOVERY OF PETER, THROUGH THE PRAYER OF JESUS SUSTAINING HIS FAITH. It is of vast moment that Christians should know wherein lies the secret of their strength. It lies first of all in the intercession of Christ, and secondly in their remaining faith.
1. It does not lie primarily in yourselves--in the liveliness of your feelings or the strength of your resolutions. Purposes formed in our own strength are like the writing upon the sand, which is swept away by the first breath of the tempest or the first swelling of the tide. The believers steadfastness does not lie in himself, but in another. His strength is in the foundation on which he rests, and that foundation is the Rock of Ages. How was it that Peter was restored? The cause was to be found in the work of Christ. I have prayed for thee. He was recovered, not by the meritorious power and efficacy of his own prayers, but by the prayers of Christ. When Peter was brought to repentance he prayed; but there is a previous question--What brought him to repentance? If Christ had not first prayed for him, he had never prayed for himself.
2. There was, however, a secondary power, and this was Peters faith.
IV. THE COMMAND, WHEN THOU ART CONVERTED, STRENGTHEN THY BRETHREN. In this conversion there was much searching. This we learn from the interview with which our Lord favoured Peter after His resurrection. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me? was the question; and Peter could answer. Brethren, according to the sins of which you are conscious, so let your love and zeal now be in the service of God. (J. McCosh, D. D.)
The sifting of life
The figure which Christ here makes use of in order to describe the severe ordeal through which Peter, the most prominent of all the disciples, was to pass, is a very significant one; and we cannot believe that it was used by chance, or without full intention. The sifting of wheat is a most hard and thorough, but a most necessary, process. The wheat, as it has grown, has become associated with the protecting chaff, which it is necessary should be blown away, and with the foreign substances taken from the earth and from the air, which must be separated. Before the wheat is ready for use, it must be sifted or winnowed; no pains must be spared to make the process as thorough as possible. Only an enemy to the wheat, or a disbeliever in its true powers, would desire to spare it such an ordeal. As it falls, after such a process, into the receptacle which has been prepared for it, solid and clean, its value is greatly enhanced. There is now no doubt about its true nature and the work to which it should be put. It carries out all the points of the analogy to notice that Peter is not promised that he shall be saved from the sifting process: no hand is put forth to hold him securely sheltered; no cloud wraps him away from danger. Peter is too valuable to be thus treated. If he is wheat he must be sifted.
I. And so we learn the great lesson from Christ, that DIFFICULTIES ARE AS NECESSARY AND BENEFICIAL FOR THE SOUL AS WINNOWING IS FOR THE WHEAT. The winds of temptation blow, and the poor, lightly-weighted souls are carried away; while the strong ones are stripped of many things in which they trusted, and the true power of principle becomes more evident in their lives. The question of the winnowing floor is always being repeated: Are you wheat or chaff?
1. There is the shifting of change of position, the pouring from vessel to vessel--a process under which the light grains are removed, and which finds its parallel in the change of lifes demands. You are rich, and the question the next day is, Can you stand poverty? or you are poor, and the sudden access of prosperity tests your real ability and weight. Will the one rob you of your spirit, or the other of your humility? If they will, then you have been sifted with the result of proving that you are but chaff. Changes from joy to sorrow or from sorrow to joy, from light to dark or from dark to light--those have revealed the substance of many a man to us; and we have said, I thought that he could stand it better, or we have exclaimed, What a noble man he is! He is just as he was before, not puffed up by his exaltation, not broken by dejection.
2. And there is the sifting of progress: ideas and men all pass through that. New tests are applied, just as ever new sieves, with closer and closer meshes, wait for the falling grain with sharper discrimination at each stage of the process. The truth of one generation or one age of life is sifted before it is accepted by the next. Some accretion, some profitless protecting husk, is cast off, and the substance is more valuable than ever. The man finds, after lifes experience, that not one particle of the truth as to honesty, virtue, and God has proved itself false, although he smiles at the childish conceptions which enshrined it for him, and which long ago passed away; and with each generation Gods truth is made simpler and clearer to the eyes of all.
II. BUT WHAT HAS SATAN TO DO WITH IT? Satan rejoiced at the anticipation of this process and longed to see it begin, because he did not believe that Peter could stand it; he does not believe that any man can, and he longs, therefore, to see men come under the test. At first this sifting seems to give evil the advantage. But the meaning of those words of Christs gradually comes out: Fear not them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. There is an ultimate kernel of life which the sifting cannot touch. It is a reality which defies all the processes of ultimate solution which can be brought against it. That is the belief which makes a man strong to endure temptation, brave to pass through all changes, courageous to march with all progress of ideas. It was to the soul that Christ spoke; on it all His work was based. When He had once seen that soul conscious of itself and of its power in the heart of a man, He was not afraid to let the world sift him, though he might be a man with as many weaknesses and foibles as Simon Peter. Let them be shaken off and blown away, like corrupting substances or infolding chaff. When that was all done the man remained.
III. I think, then, that we can understand that tone of confidence with which Jesus speaks of the trial which is to befall His great disciple. To His eye the conditions are not hopeless. He does not deprecate the struggle, but rather in it anticipates the defeat of Satan. But the tone of confidence is still more sublime when THE MEANS OF STRENGTH AND VICTORY are considered. The whole of the sifting process administered by its great master and confident authority, Satan, is to be brought to bear; and yet Peter will not succumb because Christ has prayer for him that his faith fail not. See how Christ puts Himself against the world. Through that prayer the life of Peter was made strong to bear the ordeal; through that prayer he was able to defy the world and Satan. That prayer told of the relation which He had established between that disciple for whom, and the Father to whom, it was offered. He stood between the two. The subject, the offerer, the receiver of the prayer, were one in their purpose and desire to overcome and baffle Satan. Defeat was impossible. (Arthur Brooks.)
Christs warning to Peter
1. The greatness or nearness of the danger. There are some souls that there is no delaying or dallying with them; but if ye will save them at all, ye must save them quickly; ye must deal roundly and nimbly with them if ever ye intend them any good. The Spirit of God, He speaks quick, and He speaks often, again and again, where He would prevent from danger.
2. The security of the person warned. Peter was not more in danger than he was insensible of his danger.
3. The affection of the Monitor or person that gives the warning; that is also in the doubling of the appellation. It is a sign Christs heart was much in it, and that He bore a singular love and respect to Peter, in that He does thus passionately admonish him. Love is full of solicitude and carefulness for the party beloved. The matter of the admonition or the warning itself.
1. The persons aimed at. They are here said to be you. He spake before to Peter in the singular, Simon, Simon; now it is you, in the plural. To signify thus much unto us; that theres the same condition of all believers as of one. That which befalls one Christian it is incident to all the rest. The reason of it is this--because they all consist of the same natures, and are acted by the same principles.
(1) You believers, rather than other men. Satans aim is especially at such, to get them. As for wielded and ungodly persons, who are yet in their unregenerate condition, he has them already. And there are two considerations especially which do lay ground to this practice in him.
(a) That absolute antipathy and hatred and contrariety which is in him to goodness itself, yea, to God Himself, who is the chiefest good. The devil, because he hates goodness itself, therefore he assaults it wherever he finds it.
(b) It proceeds from that envy and pride which is in him.
(2) You eminent believers rather than other Christians. This is the manner of Satan to cast his sticks most at those trees which are fullest of fruit; where he spies more grace than ordinary, there especially to lay his chiefest assaults. There is a double reason for it which does encourage him to it--First, it is the greater victory; and secondly, it is the greater advantage. He does more, both in it and by it. The use of this to ourselves is--First, to teach Christians not to trust to their own habitual graces nor to the number or measure of them. Secondly, we learn, hence, not to pass uncharitable censures upon the servants of God which are under temptations, as to conclude them therefore to be none of His servants.
(3) You apostles and ministers rather than other eminent believers.
I. The DESIGN itself--Satan hath desired you. As here is Satans restraint, so moreover his malice and boldness of attempt.
1. Here is implied Peters ignorance and present unadvisedness. He was not aware of this attempt of Satan. So is it likewise with many others of Gods servants. Satan does secretly lay siege unto their souls, and they do not discern it. It is a great piece of skill to know indeed when we are tempted, and to be apprehensive that we are under a temptation.
2. We see here also the love of Christ, who helps our ignorance in this particular, and advises us where we are less regardful
3. Here is also, as sometimes, the eminency and conspicuousness of the temptation.
(1) To have you to corrupt you.
(2) This were enough to make us look about us; that Satan would have us to corrupt us, but yet that is not all--he would have us to afflict us too. As Satan would weaken our faith, so also darken our comfort; and as he would draw us into sin, so likewise trouble us and torment us for it.
II. The AMPLIFICATION of it. And to sift or winnow you as wheat.
1. Take it in an ill sense; as Satans intent, so to winnow you, is to shake and remove you. This expression shows the unweariedness of Satan in his attempts upon the godly, and his several courses which he takes with them, to annoy them. He shifts them and he removes them from one temptation to another. But--
2. It may also be taken in a good sense; and so, as expressing to us the event of Satans practices, though beyond his own desire and intention. The winnowing of the corn in the fan, it is not for the hurt of it, but for the good of it. And they fit them also for future service. We see here how also God outwits Satan and destroys his own plots by himself. (J. Horton, D. D.)
Peters sifting
I. THE DISCRIMINATION WHICH OUR LORD MAKES IN PRAYING FOR HIS DISCIPLES. Why single out Simon for this peculiar distinction? Because he was the weakest, the most in danger, the most liable to fall. His rashness and impulsiveness would expose him to the fiercest assaults, and render him least able to resist. Let us learn from this that the easily tempted ones are they to whom Christs sympathy and helpfulness go out in most tender interest.
II. THE NATURE OF THE HELP WHICH CHRIST GAVE TO PETER IN HIS PERIL.
1. Notice the individuality of this intercession. For thee. Each one of us is the object of Christs particular watchfulness and care.
2. Christ made His supplication before the danger came. I have prayed. He did not wait until the disciple was in the snare before He sought help for him.
3. The petition itself. What did Jesus ask for His imperilled disciple? Not that he might escape the trial, for he needed just this experience, not even that he might not fail; but that his faith might not fail, might not suffer an utter and endless eclipse as had that of Judas.
III. THE RESULT OF PETERS SIFTING. Chaff sifted out, pure wheat left.
IV. THROUGH HIS PAINFUL EXPERIENCE, SIMON WAS PREPARED TO BE A MORE HELPFUL MAN. When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. He was to use his new knowledge, gained by his sad and painful experiences, in blessing others. Whatever God does for us, He wants us to do in turn for others. All the lessons He teaches us, He wants us to teach again. (J. R. Miller, D. D.)
The benefits of sifting
There are defects in many Characters which apparently can be removed only by some terrible experiences like those of Peter. This seems to have been true of David. Mingled with all his noble qualities, qualities which made him, when purified, the man after Gods own heart, there were many evil elements of which his nature had to be cleansed; and he also was allowed to fall into Satans hand to be sifted. But from that sifting he came a new man, cleansed and enriched. Many of Davids sweetest songs received their inspiration from the experience of his fall and eclipse, and from the painful chastening he endured. In every matured life, however many the noble qualities, there are also many faults and defects bound up with the good. For example, one has firmness, and firmness is a good quality; but it is yet a very chaffy firmness. Some of it is stubbornness; part is selfish pride; part is most unamiable obstinacy. There is a good element there, but there is also much chaff which must be blown away before it can be noble, Christlike firmness. By and by, when mid-life has come, and when the defects have been sifted out, you will see a firmness stable as a rock, yet gentle as the heart of a little child. It has been cleansed of its chaff in the gusts of trial, and is now pure, golden wheat. Or there is pride in the character. It makes a man arrogant, self-willed, haughty. But pride is not altogether an evil quality. It has in it an element of nobleness. It is the consciousness of dignity, of Divine birthright, of power. As it appears, however, in early years, there is much in it that is offensive and bad. The man must be winnowed until the unlovely qualities are removed, till the arrogance and the selfwill are gone. At length you see the old man, after many experiences of trial and pain, lordly and regal still, but gentle, humble, benevolent, with a sweet spirit, using his noble gifts for lowly service, with his fine hands washing the feet of humble disciples. Pride has not been destroyed; it has been sifted, cleansed, and sanctified. Or take gentleness; even this quality, beautiful as it is, may be very chaffy. It may be weakness; it may be the absence of firmness, mixed up with timidity and want of strong moral principle. The gentleness is golden, but the defects must be got out. Take, once more, what we call temper. A man is easily provoked, swept away by sudden gusts of anger. Now, temper itself is not a bad quality. It is not to be destroyed, as we sometimes say. Without temper a bar of steel becomes like lead. A man without temper is weak and worthless. We are to learn self-control. A strong person is one who has a strong temper under perfect mastery. These are simple illustrations of the sifting which Peter experienced. Every one has, in greater or less degree, to pass through the same processes in some way. Sometimes the separation and cleansing go on quietly and gradually, under the kindly culture of the Spirit. Sometimes afflictions are Gods messengers--sickness, or sorrow, or pain. Sometimes temptation is necessary, thebuffeting of Satan. All of us have in us by nature, even after regeneration, much that is unlovely, much that can never enter heaven, and must in some way be got out of us. In Guidos painting of Michael and the Dragon the archangel stands upon the fallen foe, holding a drawn sword, victorious and supreme; but the monster beneath him yet lives. It cowers and writhes. It dares not lift up its head, but it is not yet slain. This is a symbol of the conquest of grace over the old nature in the best of us. It is not dead, though under our feet; and this old evil must be got out. The process may be tong and painful, but Christ is looking on, and every experience of sifting should leave us a little purer. Thus it is that even our falls, if we are Christs, make us holier. Evil habits conquered become germs of character. An old man sat dreaming one day about his past, regretting his mistakes and follies, and wishing he had never committed them. He made a list on paper of twenty things in his life of which he was ashamed, and was about to seize an imaginary sponge and rub them all out of his biography, thinking how much more beautiful his character would have been if they had not been committed. But to his amazement he found that if there were any golden threads running through his life, they had been wrought there by the regrets felt at wrongs; and that, if he should wipe out these wrong acts, he would destroy at the same time whatever of nobleness or beauty there was in his character. He found that he had got all his best things out of his errors, with the regret and the repenting which followed. There is a deep truth here--that our mistakes and our sins, if we repent of them, will help in the growth and upbuilding of our character. We can make wrong the seed of right and righteousness. We can transmute error into wisdom. We can make sorrows bloom into a thousand forms like fragrant flowers. Our very falls, through the grace and tender love of Christ, become new births to our souls. In the hot fires of penitence we leave the dross, and come forth as pure gold. But we must remember that it is only Christ who can make our sins yield blessing. (J. R. Miller, D. D.)
St. Peters sifting and conversion
1. The secret may be told in a few words. The cause and spring of the most obvious defects in the apostles character was that large and assured confidence in himself which made him so quick to speak, so prompt to act. But, throughout Scripture, as in human nature, self-confidence is opposed to faith or confidence in God. Everywhere, too, we are told that God dwells only in the humble, lowly, contrite heart. So that if God was to take up His abode with Peter, if the impulsive and vehement strength of the man was to be schooled into stedfastness and hallowed by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, in order that, being himself divinely moved and led, he might rightly lead the Apostolic Company during those first critical months in which the foundations of the Church were laid, then, obviously, his self-confidence must be purged out of him, and replaced by the humility with which God delights to dwell. On no other terms could he be fitted for the work to which he was called. And therefore it was that Satan obtained him--obtained, i.e., permission to sift and purge self-trust out of him. If the process was severe, the task and honour for which it prepared him were great; and greatness is not to be achieved on easy terms. It is a cruel spectacle, one of the saddest on which the stars have ever looked down--a brave man turned coward, a true man turned liar, a strong man weeping bitterly over the very sin which of all sins might well have seemed impossible to him! But would anything short of this open and shameful fall, this fracture at his strongest point, have sufficed to purge him of that self-confidence which we have seen to be so potent and so active in him up to the very instant of his fall? And if nothing else would have so suddenly and sharply sifted it out of him, and wrought into him the humility which fitted him to receive the Holy Ghost and to found the Church which Christ was about to redeem with His precious blood, shall we complain of the severity of the process by which he was purged from a dangerous self-trust and made meet for a task so honourable and blessed? Shall we not rather ask that we too may be sifted even by the most searching trials, if we too may thus be made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and be qualified for a Divine service?
2. So far, then, we have seen how Satan obtained Peter, that he might sift him. But if Satan obtained, Christ prayed for him, and even obtained him in a far higher sense; for He obtained that Peter should only be sifted, and that the sifting should issue in his conversion. It is to this second part of the process that we have now to turn our thoughts; for the conversion of the apostle was no less gradual, and no less complete and wonderful, than his fall. Event meets and answers event, false steps are re,rod, broken threads are taken up and worked in, triumphs of faith are set over against failures in faith, denials are retrieved by confessions; the evil in the man is sifted out of him, the good cultivated, consolidated, made permanent; and in and through all this strange and mingled discipline we see the grace of God at work to prepare him for the most honourable service and the highest blessedness. Let us be sure, then, that God has a plan for us no less than for Peter, a plan which dominates all our fugitive impulses, and changeful passions, and broken purposes, and unconnected deeds. Our lives are not the accidental and purposeless fragments they often seem to us to be. God is so disposing them as that we may be sifted from all evil, converted to all goodness, His end for us being that we may become perfect and entire, lacking nothing. (S. Cox, D. D.)
Satans prayer, and Christs
Three parties are before us in these words--three parties to a crisis--the sinner, the sinners friend, and the sinnersfoe. A conflict is revealed to us--a conflict between two of the parties with reference to the third. The conflict is a conflict of prayer. It is by prayer that tile great rivals strive for the mastery. Of the two prayers, that of Satan is first in order. The adversary speaks first, and makes his request. Jesus follows him. The suit of Jesus is founded upon the adversarys demand, and is shaped accordingly. There is the prayer of Satan, and then there is the counter-prayer of our Lord. How fares it with the two requests? The answer is favourable--favourable to both. Is Satans prayer granted? It is. Yes! Satan succeeds in his application, and Peter is banded over to him to be sifted as wheat. It is easy to discover the reason. He might boast that if he had been allowed to subject Peter to the ordeal Jesus would not have been able to carry Peter safely through; and that, if he had been suffered to try, he could have plucked the sheep from the Shepherds hands. It is necessary that Satans defeat be directly and manifestly the work of Christ. The prayers, then, are granted. Let us see what their import is. Satans request is, that he may be allowed to tempt Peter. He expresses his desire to have Peter, that he may sift him as wheat. He would sift him as wheat; that is, in the same way. Wheat is sifted by being shaken up and down. He would sift Peter by the shock and agitation of great and sudden trials. He would sift him as wheat; that is, for the same purpose. Wheat is sifted that it may be known what amount of wheat there is, and what amount of chaff, as well as for other reasons. He would sift Peter, in order to show what measure of genuine faith is in him, and perhaps to show that no true faith is in him, and that Peter himself, with his great professions, is chaff entirely, and not wheat at all! What now is the prayer of Jesus? Does it betray any fear? It might seem to betray fear, if it were that Satans request should be denied. But He prays not that the trial may not come. What, then, does Jesus pray for? I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. His request is that Peters faith may not be wholly or finally overborne. It is that Peter may not have too little faith for the emergency that is at hand to keep him from being an apostate and a castaway. The Saviour has a glorious purpose with reference to the serpent. He means to plant His own foot on the serpent, and to bruise his head. Let us now deduce some lessons from the scene which has been surveyed. These prayers may afford us much instruction.
1. For one thing, we learn somewhat of the malice of the devil. He knows nothing of love or pity.
2. But if the malice of the devil appears, so do the love and compassion of Jesus. The contrast between them is beautiful. The spectacle of Satan praying against Peter and Jesus praying for him brings out in strong relief the kindness of the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. The sympathy of Jesus is also here exemplified.
3. Again, there is a lesson here, that ought not to be lost upon us, respecting the craft and hypocrisy of Satan. In the very presence of God we find him trying to hide his malice under cover of something like a zeal for uprightness and truth. His insinuation is that Peters religion is but a pretence; and he would fain appear as a friend of truth, who is prepared to show this if he is allowed. His motive, forsooth, is less to do harm to Peter than simply to unmask him for the sake of truth, and to prove him to be what he really is. He does not want to corrupt Peters mind; oh, no! He would merely show it to be corrupt already! But there is a lesson, on the other hand, to encourage and comfort us. Jesus is watchful, and Jesus is wise.
4. One lesson more. We may learn the excellence of faith. Mark the testimony of the Saviour Himself: I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. And we have not the testimony of Jesus alone. We have Satans involuntary tribute to this capital grace. It was the faith of the apostle that he was about to assail, and, if possible, to extinguish. Peter had signalized himself by his faith. It was his faith that produced his renowned confession, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. The confession was gall and wormwood to Satan; he could not forget or forgive it; and he denounced, in his rage, and determined to strike at, the faith from which it sprang. He dislikes, and he fears, the faith of Gods people. And not without reason. It is faith that unites us to Christ, and keeps up the communication with His fulness. If the foe can but break that blessed bond of connection, he will have us for his own. (A. Gray.)
Satans power is limited
1. The Bible doctrine of Satans existence is strikingly corroborated by the devilish in society.
2. His existence has been revealed in mercy to us.
3. He has the will to destroy us, but not the power.
4. He is ever active.
5. We are saved from his cruel and hellish hate by the intercession of Christ. (Anon.)
I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not
Christs prayer for Peter
I. The ESSENTIAL FACTS involved in the occurrence.
1. It was an hour full of trial and danger for all the disciples.
2. Peter especially was in danger.
3. Christ prayed, not simply for them all, but for Peter particularly and personally.
4. The specific point in his spiritual condition to which the prayer was directed, was the preservation of his faith.
5. Christ also advised him of all the facts in the case--of the greatness of the peril, the source of it, and the duty of the hour.
II. The PRACTICAL TRUTHS it teaches for all time.
1. Christ really interposes to save His people when in peril.
2. He intercedes for particular persons.
3. Christs intercessions go into effect only through the moral or spiritual state of the disciple.
4. Faith is the special element of the Christians security.
5. Christs prayers, as well as His design and desire, as to each one, look beyond the individual to others. Strengthen thy brethren.
6. Christs intercessions are not in vain, but take effect even when they seem to fail. (M. Valentine, D. D.)
Divine help in temptation
Now, what the Lord said to Peter, He still virtually says to all His people: I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. When Mrs. Winslow was bereaved of an affectionate husband, deprived of fortune, and in a strange land, and friends far away, The enemy, she said, seemed to sift me as wheat. I would steal away and weep in agony, for I lost my hold and confidence in Him who had said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. This buffeting of the adversary, however, was but for a season, for afterwards, through the helpful grace of her Lord, her faith revived, and she was able to say, He is all and everything He said He would be. He is my joy by night and by day, my stay in trouble, my strength in weakness, the lifter-up of my head, my portion for ever. God be praised! God be praised! Not less touching is the recorded conflict and triumph of a young disciple. A Christian mother, not long ago, finding, as she sat beside her dying boy, that Satan had been dealing with him, said, Does he ever trouble you, George? Oh yes; he has been very busy with me, especially when I have been weak, telling me I was too great a sinner and could not be saved. And what did you say? I told him I had a great Saviour; and then he added, I think the tempter is nearly done with me now. Some weeks before his death he had been saying, There is light in the valley; and turning to his mother, he said very solemnly, Ah, it would be a dark valley without a light! On the last day of his life she said to him, Is there light in the valley now, George? Oh, yes, yes! And when further asked, Is Satan done with you now? Well, I think he is almost. He is lurking near, however; but Jesus is nearer. (R. Macdonald, D. D.)
Christs praying for Peter
In this adversative but, there is a threefold antithesis or opposition, which may be here observed and taken notice of by us. First, an opposition of the persons, Christ against Satan. It is the devil that assaults, but it is the Saviour that labours to divert it. And there is a great matter in this--a potent assistant is a great encouragement against a potent assailant. Now, thus is Christ, in comparison of Satan. He has the greater prevalency with Him, especially in approaches to God, and the requests which He makes to Him for His people. The second is, the opposition of actions or performances, praying against desiring. Satan has but desired, yea, but Christ has prayed. But He choses rather here to do it by prayer, that He might hereby sanctify this performance to us, and show us the efficacy of it as to the vanquishing of temptations themselves. The third is, the opposition of success, establishment against circumvention. Satan has desired to have you, but I have so ordered the matter that thy faith shall not fail notwithstanding. His attempts upon thee shall be in vain. Which latter now leads me from the first general part to the second here in the text; to wit, the matter of Christs prayer, or the thing itself requested by Him in these words, That thy faith fail not. For the negative--First, to consider that what it is not. Where we may observe that it is not that Peter might have no temptation befall him; that, one would have thought, had been more suitable. When He had said before Satan hath desired to have you, we might have expected He should have said next, but I have prayed that he shall have nothing to do with you. This it pleases God to suffer and permit upon divers considerations. First, for their greater abasement and humiliation. The servants of God are apt sometimes, where grace is not more watchful in them, to be advanced and lifted up in themselves. Secondly, as to breed humility, so also to breed compassion and tenderness of spirit to others. Christians, as they are apt sometimes to be too well opinionated of themselves; so also to be now and then too harsh and rigorous towards their brethren. Thirdly, God suffers His servants to be tempted for the honour of His own grace in supporting them and keeping them up, and for the confusion likewise of the enemy in his attempts upon them. Let us not, then, have our armour to get when our enemy is coming upon us, but be furnished aforehand; and remember that we trust not to any grace which we have already received, but be still labouring and striving for more. The second is the positive part of it in the words of the text, that thy faith may not fail. To take them absolutely as they lie in themselves, and so they do signify to us the safety of Peters condition; and, together with him, of all other believers. Their faith, it shall not fail. This, it may be made good unto us from sundry considerations.
1. The nature of grace itself which is an abiding principle. Faith is not a thing taken up, as a man would take up some new fashion or custom, but it is a thing rooted and incorporated in us, and goes through the substance of us, it spreads itself through the whole man, and is, as it were, a new creature in us.
2. The covenant of grace, which is an everlasting covenant. I will make an everlasting covenant with them (Jer_32:40).
3. The spirit of grace, which is not only a worker but an establisher and a sealer of this faith in us, and to us (2Co_1:20). That the servants of God they shall have their faith much upheld in such conditions. We have this implied, that a steadfast faith is a singular help in temptation. Now, the efficacy of faith in temptation is discern-able in these particulars--
(1) As it pitches us upon the strength and power of God. That which keeps up a soul in temptation, it is an almighty power, it is a power which is above all the powers of darkness itself.
(2) Faith helps in temptation as it lays hold upon the promises of God.
(3) As it lays hold upon Christ, and pitches us, and fastens us upon Him, we are so far safe and sure in temptation, as Christ has any hold of us and we of Him. When the stability of a Christian is said to depend upon the prayers of Christ, this is exclusive of any virtue or merit of their own. The consideration of this doctrine is very much still for the comfort of believers, as to this particular. They may from hence, in the use of good means, be very confident, and persuaded of their perseverance, because they have Christ praying for them. And there arc two things in this that make for them. The one is, as I said, first, the acceptance which Christ is sure to have with His Father. Secondly, As there is Christs acceptance, so the constancy of His interceding for us. If Christ should only pray for us sometimes we might seem to be no longer upon sure terms, than such times as He prayed for us; but now He ever liveth to make intercession for us. (J. Horton, D. D.)
When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren
Peter helped by his fail to strengthen his brethren
I. On the first view of such a crime as Peters, WE SHOULD SUPPOSE THAT ALL HIS INFLUENCE OVER HIS BRETHREN, ALL HIS ABILITY TO DO GOOD, HIS CAPACITY TO IMPART STRENGTH TO OTHERS, WERE LOST, AND THAT FOR EVER. At the most, he could only hope to be forgiven, and to live as an unnoticed believer, brooding in the shade over his ingratitude and content to take an obscure place during the remainder of his life. For consider in what position he would now be placed.
1. First his own shame would naturally bring with it a sense of weakness, and would furnish a good reason for concentrating his efforts upon himself.
2. His brethren in such a case would naturally lower their opinion of him.
3. His brethren would naturally feel that a man of such glaring sins was not the man to be put foremost in their efforts to do good outside of the Church.
II. But, notwithstanding all this, it may be true, under a system of grace, that THE MANIFESTATION OF CHARACTER WHICH IS MADE BY A PARTICULAR SIN MAY TURN INTO A BLESSING TO HIM WHO IS ALLOWED TO FALL INTO IT. In this case it is not sin, but an outward sin that is the source of good, and this is accomplished, not in the ordinary course of things, but through the grace of the gospel. Of two persons in the same moral condition before the eye of God one may be untempted and so far forth innocent, while the other yields to a temptation, before which the first also would have fallen, had it been allowed to assail him. Now I say in such a case as this the outward sin may under the gospel be made a blessing to him who commits it; nay, more, the blessing may extend beyond himself to all around him. He may become a wiser, better, stronger Christian than he was before.
1. And this will be made apparent, if we consider that in this way he arrives at a better knowledge of his own character and is impressively warned against his own faults.
2. But secondly, a person who is thus recovered from his sins has the practical power derived from a renewed hope of forgiveness.
3. A person in Peters condition appeals to the affections of the Church, and he has a closer hold upon them than if he had never become a kind of representative of Divine grace. (T. D. Woolsey.)
The ministry of a converted man
I. JESUS EMPLOYS CONVERTED SOULS TO DO HIS WORK. The testimony of living men glorifies Christ.
II. A CONVERTED MAN CAN GIVE A REASON FOR HIS FAITH. II workman who has been employed in the manufacture of machinery is best able to explain the principles and manner of its work.
III. A CONVERTED MAN CAN SPEAK CONFIDENTLY.
IV. A CONVERTED MAN SPEAKS WITH SYMPATHY, AS NO ONE ELSE CAN. Learn--
1. The strength of the ministry.
2. Grace is given to be employed for others.
3. We must use means, and be very diligent in the use of them, if we would strengthen our brethren. (Canon Fremantle.)
Second conversion
I. WHAT IS MEANT BY SECOND CONVERSION. It implies that there has been a first conversion; that is, a principle of true piety has been implanted in the bosom, but it has hitherto been there in a weak, imperfect form. The heart has been changed, but the change is superficial and defective. The repentance is sincere, but not deep and thorough. The faith is real, but not strong and controlling. The love is genuine, but inconstant and feeble. And so of all the Christian graces; they exist in him who has had a first conversion, but in an imperfect, partially developed state, weak, unstable, unsymmetrical, and bearing but little fruit in the life. Now the effect of a second conversion is to take the subject out of this low, inadequate, and ineffective state of piety, and raise him higher, and make him more faithful in the Divine life. The antecedents of this change are often very similar to those that precede first conversion. It commences in a serious, scrutinizing view of ones spiritual state and prospects. The subject of this change becomes dissatisfied with his present type of religion. As he passes through this second conversion as I call it, he seems to himself to enter into a new spiritual region. He sees Divine things in a clearer and more affecting light than he ever did before.
II. ITS REALITY AS A MATTER OF EXPERIENCE. The apostles before and after Pentecost. Through the gift of the Spirit they rose to holier love, to a more spiritual faith and hope in Christ, and to a greater consecration to His service. The late Dr. Judson, of the Burmah Baptist Mission, after he had been years in his field of labour, earnestly engaged in his work, and no doubt as a true Christian man, experienced a change in his religious feelings and views which, in all its essential elements, may properly be regarded as a second conversion, and which gave a new impulse and a new power, as well as a greatly increased spirituality, and joy, and hope, to the whole of his subsequent life. The late Judge Reeve, of Litchfield, furnishes another remarkable example illustrating the point now under consideration. For many years after he professed religion he was saris fled to keep up the usual routine of religious observances, but with little of the life and enjoyment of a clear, indwelling spirit of piety. Then he passed through a great and most decided change in his Christian experience and character, in which he felt as if old things had indeed passed away, and all things had become new to him. From that time till the close of his life he enjoyed great nearness to God and peace of mind, and his path became like that of the sun, shining more and more unto the perfect day.
III. WHY A SECOND CONVERSION IS NECESSARY TO PREPARE ONE TO BE TRULY AND EMINENTLY USEFUL IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, or in promoting the spiritual good of others.
1. It is necessary because first conversion is often very superficial. It does indeed change the heart and turn the affections towards God and Divine things; but the whole inner man is far from being subdued to the obedience of Christ. Much land remains yet to be possessed.
2. A second conversion is often necessary to bring the soul into a nearer union and a deeper sympathy with Christ.
3. This second conversion of which I speak, brings those who are the subjects of it to see and feel the miserable condition of such as are out of Christ and perishing in sin.
4. Second conversion qualifies those who are the subjects of it, to do good in the most acceptable and successful manner. It begets a new spirit of humility, tenderness, and love in the soul; gives tone to the voice and look to the eye, imparts an aspect of benevolence and kindness to the whole manner and style of address, and makes it entirely apparent, when attempting to do good to others, to converse with them for example on the subject of personal religion, that you are moved to it by real concern for their salvation. This, beyond anything else, disarms opposition, subdues prejudice, gives access to the heart and conscience, and is well-nigh sure to render your efforts successful.
5. When the heart is deeply imbued with the feelings implied in second conversion, Gods presence maybe expected to be with you, to guide and crown with success your endeavours to do good to others. (J. Hawes, D. D.)
Conversion and strengthening
I. CONVERSION.
1. The essential, primary idea is that of a corporeal turning round, without anything to limit it. But to this original notion, which is inseparable from the word, usage in many cases adds certain accessory notions. One of these is, the idea of turning in a definite direction; that is, towards a certain object. The difference is that between a wheels turning on its axis and a flower turning towards the sun. But in some connections there is a still further accession to the primary idea; so that the words necessarily suggest, not the mere act of turning, nor the act of turning in a definite direction, but the act of turning from one object to another, which are then, of course, presented in direct antithesis to one another. Thus the magnetic needle, if mechanically pointed towards the south, is no sooner set at liberty than it will turn from that point to the north. In this case, however, there is still another accessory motion added to the simple one of turning, namely, that of turning back to a point from which it had be[ore been turned away. And this idea of return or retroversion may, of course, be repeated without limit, and without any further variation of the meaning of the term used, which is still the same, whether the turning back be for the first or second, tenth or hundredth time. All these distinctions or gradations may be traced also in the spiritual uses of the term. As thus applied, conversion is a change of character, that is, of principles and affections, with a corresponding change of outward life. Now, such a change may be conceived of, as a vague, unsettled, frequently repeated revolution of the views and feelings, without any determinate character or end. But the conversion spoken of in Scripture is relieved from this indefiniteness by a constant reference to one specific object to which the convert turns. It is to God that all conversion is described as taking place. But how, in what sense, does man turn to God? The least and lowest that can be supposed to enter into this conception is, a turning to God, as an object of attention or consideration--turning, as it were, for the first time to look at Him, just as we might turn towards any object of sense which had before escaped attention or been out of sight.
2. Sometimes, again, the idea is suggested that we not only turn to God, but turn back to Him. This may at first sight appear inconsistent with the fact just stated, that our first affections are invariably given to the world and to ourselves. But even those who are converted, for the first time, from a state of total alienation, may be said to turn back to God, in reference to the great original apostasy in which we are all implicated. As individuals, we never know God till we are converted. As a race, we have all departed from Him, and conversion is but turning back to Him. But this expression is still more appropriate, even in its strict sense, to the case of those who have already been converted, and are only reclaimed from a partial and temporary alienation, from relapsing into sin, or what is called, in religious phraseology, declension, and, in the Word of God itself, backsliding. That the term conversion may be properly applied to such a secondary restoration, is apparent from the language of the text, where it is used by Christ Himself, of one who is expressly said to have had faith, and faith which did not absolutely fail.
II. Conversion tends to the STRENGTHENING OF OTHERS. In answer to the question, How does conversion tend to this result? the general fact maybe thus resolved into three distinct particulars:
1. It enables men to strengthen others.
2. It obliges men to strengthen others.
3. It disposes men to strengthen others.
The convert is enabled to confirm or rescue others by his knowledge of their character and state. He knows, not only what he sees in them, but what he feels or has felt in himself. He knows the difficulties of the restoration--how much harder it is now to excite hope or confirm faith, how much less effective either warning, or encouragement, or argument is now than it once was--how precarious even the most specious reformation and repentance must be after such deflections. This advantage of experimental knowledge is accompanied, moreover, by a corresponding liveliness of feeling, a more energetic impulse, such as always springs from recent restorations or escapes. Out of this increased ability arises, by a logical and moral necessity, a special obligation. This is only a specific application of a principle which all acknowledge, and which the Word of God explicitly propounds, To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin. It needs not so much to be explained or established, as to be exemplified from real life. The recognition of the principle is there unhesitating and unanimous. He who has been recovered from the power of a desperate disease by a new or unknown remedy, is under a peculiar obligation to apply it, or at least to make it known, to all affected in like manner. Hence the unsparing, universal condemnation of the man who, from mercenary motives, holds in his possession secrets of importance to the health or happiness of others. He who is mercifully saved from shipwreck, often feels especially incumbent on himself the rescue of his fellows. He must do what he can even though he be exhausted; how much more if he is strengthened. The heart must beat in concord with the reason and the conscience. And it does so in the ease of the true convert. (J. A. Alexander, D. D.)
Strengthening the brethren
That the brethren may be weak in faith, in love, in humility, and in some departments of Christian duty, is clearly implied in the command to strengthen them. But this cannot be done by abandoning them. How, then, can it be accomplished?
1. By being always in the place, and punctually discharging the duty which the Lord requires of you, according to your covenant.
2. By the spirituality of those who are turned from any particular course of sinfulness.
3. The brethren may be strengthened by our meekness, and other mild graces.
4. Nor should this work of strengthening the brethren, be a matter of mere contingence. It must be undertaken systematically. Each Christian should adopt a system of doing good, and carry it out in all the branches of a Christian life.
5. He should strengthen them, by meeting with them in circles for prayer.
6. He will also encourage them, by praying for them.
7. He will encourage them by his conversation. (J. Foot, D. D.)
Peter after his restoration
I. First, it is HIS DUTY. He has gone astray, and he has been brought back; what better can he do than to strengthen his brethren?
1. He will thus help to undo the evil which he has wrought. Peter must have staggered his brethren.
2. Besides, how can you better express your gratitude to God than by seeking to strengthen your weak brethren when you have been strengthened yourself?
3. Do you not think, too, that this becomes our duty, because, doubtless, it is a part of the Divine design? Never let us make a mistake by imagining that Gods grace is given to a man simply with an eye to himself.
4. By the way, the very wording of the text seems to suggest the duty: we are to strengthen our brethren. We must do so in order that we may manifest brotherly love, and thus prove our sonship towards God.
5. Let us see to it, dear friends, if we have been restored, that we try to look after our weak brethren, that we may show forth a zeal for the honour and glory of our Lord. When we went astray we dishonoured Christ.
II. Now secondly, HE HAS A QUALIFICATION FOR IT. This Peter is the man who, when he is brought back again, can strengthen his brethren.
1. He can strengthen them by telling them of the bitterness of denying his Master. He went out and wept bitterly.
2. Again, Peter was the man to tell another of the weakness of the flesh, for he could say to him, Do not trust yourself.
3. But he was also qualified to bear his personal witness to the power of his Lords prayer. He could never forget that Jesus had said to him, I have prayed for thee.
4. And could not Peter speak about the love of Jesus to poor wanderers?
5. And could not Peter fully describe the joy of restoration?
III. And now, lastly, the restored believer should strengthen his brethren, because IT WILL BE SUCH A BENEFIT TO HIMSELF. He will derive great personal benefit from endeavouring to cherish and assist the weak ones in the family of God.
1. Brother, do this continually and heartily, for thus you will be made to see your own weakness.
2. But what a comfort it must have been to Peter to have such a charge committed to him!
3. And, brethren, whenever any of you lay yourselves out to strengthen weak Christians, as I pray you may, you will get benefit from what you do in the holy effort. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christs command to Peter
1. Here is an enlargement of personal conversion, to fraternal or brotherly confirmation. He that is converted himself, he must strengthen his brethren. And that in divers respects--
(1) In a way of faithfulness, as closing with that end for which they are converted themselves. The reason why God does bestow such a measure of grace or comfort upon this or that particular Christian, it is not for himself only, but for others, that so they may be so much the better, or comfortabler for his sake.
(2) In away of thankfulness, When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren; upon this account likewise, we cannot better testify our acknowledgments of Gods goodness, in the bestowing of grace or comfort upon our own souls, than by imparting and communicating it to others. True thankfulness, it hath, for the most part, joy with it.
(3) Out of zeal to the glory of God. We should endeavour others conversion, that so God may have more glory by it. The more that sinners are converted, the more is God honoured.
(4) Out of love to ourselves and our own good. The more we strengthen others, the more indeed do we confirm ourselves, whether in grace or comfort. This oil, it increases in the spending; and this bread in the breaking of it. And to him that thus hath, it shall be given. This is done divers ways, as--
(a) By discovering and laying open the flights of sin, and the subtilties of the spiritual enemy.
(b) By quickening and exciting and stirring up one another to good, we do hereby strengthen our brethren. There is nothing does more strengthen men in goodness, than the practice of goodness.
(c) By imparting and communicating of our own experiences, we do hereby likewise strengthen our brethren; when we shall show them what good we ourselves have found by such and such good courses.
This is a means not only to draw on, but to confirm others with us.
To help us, and enable us hereunto, we must labour especially for such graces as are conducing to the practice of it, as--
(1) A spirit of discerning, whereby to judge aright of the case and condition which our brethren are in. It is a great part of skill in a physician, to be able to find out the disease, and to know the just temper and constitution of his patients body; and so is it also for a healer of souls.
(2) A spirit of love and tenderness and condescension. There is a great deal of meekness required in a spiritual strengthener and restorer (Gal_6:2).
(3) A spirit of faith, whereby we do believe ourselves those things which we commend to others.
2. The confinement of brotherly confirmation to personal conversion. He that will strengthen his brethren, he must himself be first of all converted. Peter, till himself be converted, he cannot confirm or strengthen his brethren, whether in comfort or grace. When we say, he cannot do it, this holds good according to the notion of a threefold impossibility which is in it.
(1) In regard of the performance; he cannot strengthen his brethren in this respect, who is himself unconverted. The reason of it is this: because persons in such a condition, they are devoid of those graces which are requisite to such a performance.
(2) Cannot do it, in regard of acceptance; God will not take it so well from him, in his making and pretending to do it; neither is it altogether so satisfactory to men.
(3) Cannot, in regard of success. He that is himself unconverted and unexperienced in his own heart, he cannot speak so profitable to others, and to the good of their souls. Nothing goes to the heart so much as that which comes from it. (J. Horton, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 31–34. Simon, Simon. For the warning to Peter of…
31–34. Simon, Simon. For the warning to Peter of his Denial of the Lord, see Matt. 26:31–35. Compare Mark 14:27–31.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain Mat 26:31-35; Mar 14:27-31; Luk 22:31-38;Joh 13:36-38. N.B. —…
JESUS PREDICTS THE FALL OF PETER AND THE DISPERSION OF THE APOSTLES
Mat 26:31-35; Mar 14:27-31; Luk 22:31-38;Joh 13:36-38. N.B. — They are all still at the supper-table except Judas, who, at nightfall, went away alone — and not alone, for Satan went with him. “Simon Peter says to Him, Lord, whither art Thou going? Jesus responded to him, Whither I go, thou art not able to follow Me now; but shall follow Me hereafter. Peter says to Him, Lord, wherefore am I not able to follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thee.” Peter absolutely and sincerely meant all he said, and yet in a few hours denied Him, illustrating the horrific instability of unsanctified humanity. After Peter received the fiery baptism, he was more than a match for earth and hell, living a hero and dying a martyr. What an admonition is Peter’s case to all to get sanctified!
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Mat 26:31. “Then Jesus says to them, All you will be offended in Me this night. For it has been written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.” (Zec 13:7) The application of this is very plain and simple, as it was fulfilled in Gethsemane about three hours after this utterance. “And after I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.” Jesus had repeatedly predicted to them that He would meet them in Galilee, His native land and that of most of His apostles, whither they all went soon after His resurrection, and He met them on the bank of the Galilean Sea, after a night of toil in dragging their nets through the waters; but then, to their unutterable surprise, pursuant to His mandate, casting the net on the right side of the ship, they caught one hundred and fifty-three large fish. He also met them on one of the mountains of Galilee, not named.
“Peter, responding, said to Him, If all shall be offended in Thee, I will never be offended.” Peter was no hypocrite. He meant all he said; yet before the crowing of the cock that very night, he denied that he knew Him.
Luk 22:31. “The Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan sought after you, to sift you like wheat.” Here the pronoun “you” is humas, the plural number, including not only Peter, but all of the apostles. All the depravity in human nature belongs to Satan, because he put it there in the fall. All sin is the crop of Satan’s own sowing. So long as there is anything in you which Satan can sift out, you are not ready for heaven. Satan could not sift Jesus, because when he came to Him, he found nothing in Him belonging to him. After the apostles were all sanctified at Pentecost, Satan’s sifting was fruitless toil, as the celestial flame had consumed all the chaff, straw, cheat, cockle, and trash, leaving nothing but the pure wheat, ready for the Lord’s mill. “But I prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.” “You” is in the singular number, meaning Peter alone, as the especial subject of the Savior’s prayer in this case, lest he might be gobbled up by Satan. Jesus here tells them, “You will all be offended in Me this night.” This word is from scandalon, “a stumbling-block,” showing that they all ran over a great stumbling-block, which jostled them exceedingly, and Peter, the most sanguine of all, became more seriously upset than any of his comrades. This word, however, does not convey the idea of a total apostasy, but a stumbling and temporary backsliding, the prayer of Jesus prevailing, so that the faith, though terribly tried, did not utterly let go. “And you, having turned, then strengthen your brethren.” “When thou art converted,” E. V., is too strong a rendering of epistrepsas, which simply means “having turned,” being in the active voice; i. e., “Having turned from your backsliding, strengthen your brethren.” Peter was the senior apostle, his house in Capernaum being headquarters of Jesus during the two and a half years of His ministry in Galilee. Therefore he wielded a very potent influence over his brethren, who, of course, being jostled by his backsliding, would need confirmation by his confession and testimony. “And he said to Him, Lord, I am ready to go with Thee to prison, and to death.” Mar 14:30 : “And Jesus says to him, Truly I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crows twice, thou shall deny Me thrice. And he continued to say the more positively, If it may be necessary for me to die along with Thee, I will not deny Thee. And all the others said likewise.” You see how sanguine Peter was, feeling perfectly sure; and yet when the emergency came he failed. A significant illustration of the bold utterances of unsanctified Christians, believing indubitably that they will do just what they say; but signally failing, because they have an indwelling enemy stronger than they.
Luk 22:35-38. “And He said to them, When I sent you out without purse, valise, and sandals, did you lack anything? And they said, Nothing. Then He said to them, But now, let the one having purse take it, likewise also valise; and let every one not having a sword, sell his cloak and purchase one. For I say unto you, that it behooveth that which has been written yet to be fulfilled in Me, And He was numbered with the transgressors [Isa 53:12]; and those things concerning Me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And He said to them, It is sufficient.” While our Savior was with them on the earth, He miraculously fed, clothed, and protected them when it was necessary. Consequently they could go without these provisions, incident to human life, indiscriminately. But now that He is going away to leave them, they must take heed and give the necessary attention to the temporalities essential to their physical support and protection. The Orientals wear two garments — the cheiton, interior, and the himation, exterior. The outer garment they frequently carried while traveling and laid aside when at labor, keeping it for night and storms. Jesus here tells them, if necessary, to sell the himation and buy a sword. I never could understand why He told them to take a sword till I traveled in that country and saw the necessity of carrying weapons. I did not carry any, as I did not know how to use them; but a sanctified preacher in our company carried a revolver, our dragman also being armed with a revolver and a dagger. In some places we were compelled to hire an armed escort to keep the robbers off. “Why were you compelled to do it?” Our guide refused to go without the armed escort. Going round in Jerusalem, men, as a rule, had no visible weapons; but traveling through the country, all we met were armed with guns, swords, or huge clubs, almost as large as an American rifle, and convenient to kill a man with a single stroke. The guide-books advise all travelers to go armed, but not to use their weapons, their utility being that of intimidation, as robbers abound everywhere, who do not content themselves by simply taking your money, but take everything you possess, leaving you utterly destitute of clothing, baggage, etc. In that day there were no firearms, the sword being the most common weapon of defense; also regarded as a badge of itinerancy. You see, when they pointed out these two swords, He said they were sufficient. The presumption is that the sword was a prudential, peace, and safety provision, for the intimidation of robbers and for personal security in case of emergency, as persons openly avowing the absence of all protecting weapons in their peregrinations would soon fall a prey to the robbers. Along the road from Jerusalem down to Jericho, where the traveler (Luke 10) was attacked by the robbers, the Roman Government had a garrison of armed men to protect the travelers, as the robbers were so troublesome.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Peter was the wheat, his self-confidence the chaff. Cf.…
wheat
Peter was the wheat, his self-confidence the chaff. Cf. Mat 13:30; Joh 5:24; Joh 10:23; Rom 6:1; Rom 6:2; 1Jn 1:8; 1Jn 2:1.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Walk to Gethsemane and the Agony.
The Walk to Gethsemane and the Agony.
The warning to Simon:
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v. 31. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat;
v. 32. but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
v. 33. And he said unto Him, Lord, I am ready to go with Thee both into prison and to death.
v. 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.
Jesus had now left the upper room of the supper and was probably on His way to Gethsemane with His disciples. On the way a conversation was begun, in the course of which the Lord gave Peter this emphatic warning. Twice He calls him Simon, his former name, to indicate even in that way the seriousness of the situation. He puts all the affection of His Savior’s love and yet enough distress into His tunnel to make Peter feel the solemnity. Satan had eagerly and earnestly sought them all; he was not satisfied with Judas, but desired other conquests. Even as the wheat, after the first treading out, was winnowed and then shaken in a sieve, to separate the grain from the chaff, just as in the modern fanning-machine, so Satan would take hold of the disciples to sift them by means of afflictions and various temptations. He would make use of God’s permission to the very limit. The Passion of the Lord would bring trial, fear, and terror also upon them, and then the devil would make every attempt to take their faith out of their hearts. All disciples of Christ should remember that in days of trouble and distress their adversary, the devil, will take advantage of the fact and will attempt to devour them. And just in the case of Simon the devil succeeded; for a very little while he conquered. But the Lord adds at once that He has made him the special object of earnest prayer, in order that his faith, which he would lose in the denial, would not be taken away, would not be lost, permanently. But when Peter has then turned from his great sin, he should strengthen his brethren, the other disciples, making them firm in faith and love. Peter, with his usual impetuous rashness, would not have the words of the Master true; he simply would not admit that he, who had received such evidences of the Savior’s love and felt himself so secure, should prove unfaithful. He assured Jesus: Lord, with Thee ready am I to go even into prison and into death. He protected his readiness repeatedly, foolishly depending upon his own strength. But Jesus told him, in turn, that the cock would not crow, the regular time of cock-crowing would not come, Mar 13:35, before he had denied his Master three times. And his denial would be an absolute one, a declining of even personal knowledge of Him. But Peter did not heed the warning. If any Christian depends upon his own strength and ability, he is on the surest way to deny his Savior. Only by constant humility and ceaseless, trustful prayer for the sustaining strength of God can one hope to remain faithful to the end.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Jesus speaks directly to Simon.
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Simon, Simon
Jesus said his name twice to show that what he was about to say to him was very important.
to have you, that he might sift you
The word "you" refers to all of the apostles. Languages that have different forms of "you" should use the plural form. (See: Forms of You)
sift you as wheat
This means that Satan wanted to test the disciples to find something wrong. AT: "test you like someone passes grain through a sieve" (See: Metaphor)
But I have prayed for you
The word "you" here refers specifically to Simon. Languages that have different forms of you should use the singular form. (See: Forms of You)
that your faith may not fail
This can be stated in positive form. AT: "that you will continue to have faith" or "that you will continue to trust me"
After you have turned back again
Here "turned back again" is a metaphor for starting to believe in someone again. AT: "After you start believing in me again" or "After you start serving me again" (See: Metaphor)
strengthen your brothers
"encourage your brothers to be strong in their faith" or "help your brothers believe in me"
your brothers
This refers to the other disciples. AT: "your fellow believers" or "the other disciples"
translationWords
Peter
Satan
winnow
wheat
pray
faith
turn
brother
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 22:31 Regarding Satan, see 4:2; 10:18; 11:15. Satan is…
22:31 Regarding Satan, see 4:2; 10:18; 11:15. Satan is the accuser of God’s people (see Job 1:7; 2:2); he would test Simon Peter and the rest of the apostles. • asked to sift: Wheat was sifted through a sieve to separate the grain from the chaff. It is an image of extreme testing (see Isa 30:28; Amos 9:9). • The NLT’s each of you is precise, because the Greek you is plural, referring to all the disciples. Jesus foresaw Peter’s denial and the trials of the other disciples.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.