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"But
I Have Prayed for You"
Luke 22:31-38
Introduction
Last week we learned how Jesus expects us to handle sin and temptation.
"Pray," said Jesus, "that you will not fall into
temptation." In this life and on this earth we are to respond to
temptation by prayer. Today we learn what happens in heaven when we are
tempted – we are given, so to speak, a peek at what happens behind
the scenes.
I. What Satan Asks For
At the beginning of our Scripture reading we are told of a high-level
conference between God and Satan. (Lk 22:31) "Simon, Simon, Satan has
asked to sift you as wheat."
This kind of conference
should be nothing new to those who know the book of Job. In the book of
Job we see God "bragging" about Job's faith and we see Satan
challenging both God and the sincerity of Job's faith. This should serve
as a reminder to us that God always wants us to succeed while Satan
always wants us to fall and fail. God wants to deliver us and Satan wants
to destroy us.
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat." The Greek
is far more emphatic than the English here. "Simon, Simon, Satan has
demanded to sift you as wheat."
That word "sift" is interesting. It implies the use of a sieve.
After the harvest was brought to the threshing floor, the farmers of Israel had to separate the wheat from the chaff, or
the wheat from rocks and sticks and other foreign matter, or corn from
little bits of sand. Part of the procedure involved a process known as
sifting. The farmer put the wheat or corn into a sieve. By means of a
shaking process, the smaller objects – the kernels of wheat, for
instance – were worked to the bottom of the sieve and fell through
the mesh onto a prepared place on the ground. From here the cleaned wheat
was collected into containers, while the chaff and other rubbish still in
the sieve was discarded. Essential to this
sifting, sorting process was the shaking of the sieve.
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat." Satan
wants to place Peter in a sieve and sift him as wheat. He wants to shake
him, throw him around, give him a rough time.
Satan wants to sift Peter – he wants to demonstrate that Peter is
chaff, a piece of foreign matter, something that does not belong. Satan
wants to show Peter as a false believer. He wants to collect evidence
that proves Peter is a fake. Satan has decided that Simon Peter must fall
into temptation, that he must have a mighty big fall like Humpty Dumpty,
that he must come crashing down.
I want you to note the name Jesus uses for the evil one. The Bible knows various
names for him, but the most common are "Devil" and
"Satan." Each name of the evil one has its own meaning. The one
used here is "Satan," a word that means "Adversary."
Satan is the great Opponent, the great Accuser, the
great Adversary. The evil one as "Satan" accuses God's children
before the throne of God. As with Job he looks for evidence to condemn
God's own before God so that God will reject them and send them to hell
on account of their sins and weaknesses. In our Bible reading we see that
Satan's mission is to demonstrate to God that Peter is not sincere in his
love and zeal for God; he wants to collect evidence to prove to God that
Peter is not worthy to be God's child; he wants to prove that Peter does
not have what it takes to be a follower of Jesus. Satan wants to show God
that Peter cannot be of any use to Him, that he is too sinful to have a
place and a task in God's kingdom.
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat." The word
"you" is plural. So Satan is asking for, demanding, not only
Peter but the other disciples as well. You might wonder why Satan demands
Peter and the other disciples. The reason is simple and basic –
because they are the leaders. Satan always starts off at the top. If he
can make the leader fall, if he can make the leader go astray, if he can
make the leader sin, then it is far easier to wreck the work of the
church. That's why so many pastors are tempted to commit adultery or to
have the sin of pride or to be willful and refuse to listen to advice –
that is Satan at work trying to destroy the church and kingdom of Christ. Satan goes after all leaders – whether
it be pastors, elders, deacons, teachers, or
parents. He wants them to fall so that those under them will be like
sheep without a shepherd – lost and weak and helpless.
"Simon, Simon,
Satan has asked to sift you as wheat." "Simon, Simon, Satan has
demanded to sift you as wheat." Notice, Satan "has asked."
Notice, Satan "has demanded." Implied here is a very comforting
doctrine involving the sovereignty and providence of God. Satan needs to
ask – even if it is a demand – before he can touch any of
God's children. Remember how Satan couldn't touch Job without God'
permission? We see the same thing here: he can't touch Peter and the
other disciples without God's blessing. Here is a reminder that God is
sovereign, God is in control. He sets the boundaries, the limits, the
borders for Satan. Satan can go only so far and no further. Satan can
only do what God permits or allows him to do.
What was true for Job and Peter and the other disciples is also true for
you and me and any loved one who belongs to God. We are in God's hand,
first of all, and not Satan's. God has the final word in our life, not
Satan. God has the final say over what happens to your loved one, not
Satan. God has the final say because God is sovereign, not Satan!
II. What Jesus Asks For
In the shadow of the cross and the grave Jesus lets the disciples know
what is going on behind the scenes. He tells His disciples about Satan's
terrible demand before the throne of Almighty God. But that is not all
that He tells them. He also says, "But I have prayed for you
..."
Do you remember Job's complaint when he was being tested and tried and
sifted by Satan? The Lord God gave Satan permission to do dreadful things
to Job – so Job lost his camels, his herds, his servants, his
children, his health. Job complained that in all of this he had no
Redeemer, no Mediator, to argue his case before God and to defend him
from the devil's attacks.
Nor
is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both. (NKJV;
Job 9:33)
But in Luke 22 there is
a Mediator, One Who stands between God and the disciples as they face the
devil's attacks. This Mediator says, "But I have prayed for you
..."
What did Jesus pray? Luke doesn't tell us – but John does in
chapter 17:
(Jn 17:11) Holy Father,
protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me ...
That's it, folks. When
it comes right down to it, that's what Jesus prayed for: protect them,
preserve them, guard them. Jesus knows what
Satan wants to do. Jesus knows Satan's plan to stop the work of Jesus by
stopping the work of the disciples. Jesus knows that the disciples will
be sifted as wheat. So He prays: Father, hold on to them; Father,
preserve them; Father, guard and protect them!
Guess what? The Book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus in heaven does the
same for you and me as we also face the devil's attacks.
...
[Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him,
because he always lives to intercede for them. (Heb 7:25)
Jesus prays for us,
right now, in heaven! He prays for each one of us by name. He prays for
us as we struggle with temptation. He prays:
Father, there is Mike
struggling with lust. Help him to stay strong.
Father, Mary needs Your power as she fights anger.
Father, David is about to fall into temptation. Don't let him be
destroyed.
Father, give Alice the courage to do right.
What an awesome thought
– that the Son of God prays for us.
Jesus prays for us as we face temptation. What comfort and what strength
we get from this. We know that the Father always listens to the prayers
of His Son, His only begotten Son, the Son He loves. So the prayers of
the Lord Jesus on our behalf are powerful and effective.
Jesus' prayers are not only powerful and effective but they are also
omniscient. Jesus knows in advance everything that we will be going
through. He knew that with Peter. He knew all about the denials, the
lies, the cursing. He knew all about the bitter tears after the rooster
crowed three times. Jesus saw it all and knew it all beforehand: the
pride, the reckless boasting, the shameful denials, the
broken heart. He knew it all before any of it had happened. So He knew
exactly what Peter needed. So He knew exactly what to pray for and about.
I want you to notice exactly what Jesus prays for. Jesus does not pray, "Father, do not
allow Satan to sift your children." That's not what Jesus prays for. Instead, He asks that God keep us,
hold us, preserve us, guard us, and protect us! Or, as our Scripture
reading puts it, "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith
may not fail." Jesus does not ask God to spare us from being sifted;
He asks only that our faith will not fail as we are sifted. Jesus doesn't
even pray that we do not stumble and fall and sin – because He
knows we will stumble and fall and sin just as He knew Peter would deny
Him three times. No, Jesus doesn't pray that Peter might not sin and He
doesn't pray that we do not sin. Rather, He prays that we and Peter might
hold on to the faith in the face of temptation and trial.
III. A Theological Problem
I am sure you see a theological problem here. Jesus knew about Peter's
fall beforehand, and even predicted it, but did nothing to prevent it.
But if Jesus knew beforehand what would happen, why didn't he pray for
God to deny Satan's request? Why does God and Jesus allow Peter and the other disciples
and us to be sifted by Satan? If God knows about our failures even
before we fail, why doesn't He stop us? Why does He allow, why doesn't He
stop, Satan's sifting?
The best possible answer comes from the book of James. We read these
words:
Consider
it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, (3)
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
(4) Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)
When we are tested we
become mature. That's what God wants. That's what Jesus prays for. Though
God wants us to be like little children, He doesn't want us to be
childish. He wants us to be mature in the faith, grown up in the faith,
developed in the faith, complete in the faith. That's God's goal. That's
God's desire. That's Christ's prayer!
What exactly happens to us when we face trials of many
kind, when we stumble and fall but do not lose the faith?
First, we come to know our sin and sinful nature. We see our need
for the Savior Who died for us and gave His life for us.
Second, we are stripped of all pride. We realize we cannot stand
on our own for even a moment. We realize we are not better than anyone
else. Think of Peter. He crowed that he was more courageous than the
other disciples – that he was willing to
go to prison and death. Peter was humbled after the rooster crowed and
wept bitterly.
Third, we become totally dependent upon God. We realize we need
Him, His grace, His mercy, His strength, His power, His Spirit, His
prayers. We realize we are in His hands. We realize we need Him every
hour. We realize we have a contribution to make in the church and kingdom
only through Him.
Fourth, we become prepared for greater work in the church and
kingdom. In some way we can't begin to understand, Peter had to fall so
God could raise him up again. Think of it this way: the falling part was
Peter's doing; the raising part was God's doing to prepare Peter for
great and wondrous things in the church and kingdom. In the lives of His
children God uses our worst moments to prepare us for the work He wants
us to do.
God often uses humble and broken people to accomplish great things. To
prove this let me name the fallen saints used by the Lord:
-Abraham
who lied two times about Sarai being his sister
rather than his wife
-Jacob who stole his brother's birthright by deceit
-Tamar who played the prostitute
-Moses who murdered an Egyptian
-David who was an adulterer and a murderer
-Paul who persecuted the church
-Peter who denied knowing the Lord
For each and everyone of these saints, the testing of their faith,
the sifting by Satan, helped prepare them do the Lord's work.
Conclusion
When we face temptation we are to pray. But standing alongside of us as
we pray is a Mediator, a Redeemer – Jesus Christ the Lord. He Who
went to the cross for us, He Who suffered and died for us, prays for us
when Satan attacks us.
That's what happens in heaven when Satan attacks us on earth. Jesus is
praying for you even now. Isn't that wonderful and comforting and
glorious to know?!
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