June 22 2025

Sunday June 22

Luke 22:31-34

Satan Wants Us to Fail

31 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." 33 But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."

34 Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."

Welcome to Pastor's Chat. Today, we're continuing in Luke chapter 22. The Lord has been in the upper room with His disciples, sharing the Passover supper. As we'll see tomorrow, He also instituted the Lord's Supper for future generations like you and me. Now, the Lord is leaving the upper room with His disciples and heading to Gethsemane. Judas has already left, as Jesus had just told the disciples that one of them would betray Him. Now, the Lord speaks to Peter in verses 31-34.

It is interesting that this word of warning followed the dispute over who was the greatest! Imagine how the disciples must have felt when they heard that not only would one of their number betray Him, but that their spokesman and leader would publicly deny Him! If a strong man like Peter was going to fail the Lord, what hope was there for the rest of them?

The word you in Luke 22:31 is plural; Satan asked to have all the disciples so he might sift them like wheat. These men had been with Jesus in His trials (Luke 22:28), and He would not forsake them in their trials. This was both a warning and an encouragement to Peter and the other men, and our Lord's prayers were answered. Peter's courage failed but not his faith; he was restored to fellowship with Christ and was greatly used to strengthen God's people.

Jesus not only reveals that Judas will betray Him, but He also tells Peter that he will deny Him. This is a significant passage of Scripture. Here is Peter, the spokesman for the disciples, the strong leader, as seen throughout the Gospels and the early chapters of Acts, boldly proclaimed his faith, saying that even if everyone else denies Jesus, he would not.

Several key points emerge here. First, Jesus said, "I have prayed for you," noting that Satan sought permission to sift all the disciples as wheat, to cause them to fail. Satan is after every one of us, wanting us to be ineffective as leaders and to deny knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. He would toss us like wheat to be blown away with the chaff, rendering us ineffective in our witness, though not losing our salvation.

Peter responds with confidence, saying, "Though all others forsake You, I won’t—I’ll die with You." But Peter didn’t know himself as well as he thought. The book of Jeremiah tells us “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it”? (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus didn’t pray that Peter would not fail but that his faith would not fail. Satan tempts us at our strongest points. Peter’s strength was his courage, yet he lost it, though he did not lose his faith because the Lord prayed for him. Jesus told him, "When you have turned around, strengthen your brethren."

Peter’s bold statement reveals his pride and self-confidence, implying he understood why others might forsake Jesus but believed he never would. Yet, as the Lord predicted, Peter not only forsook Him but denied Him three times. It all began with Peter’s pride and overconfidence in himself. Again, Peter didn’t know himself as well as he thought. Satan wants us to fail and often tempts us at our strongest points. Abraham’s strength was his faith, yet he faltered, going to Egypt and lying about his wife, Sarah. Moses, the meekest man on earth, lost his temper with rebellious Israel and forfeited his entry into the Holy Land.

We must be careful, but remember that Satan cannot tempt us without permission, as seen with Job. We need to remember that our Lord is praying for us, and He will see us through. And when we turn back from our failure, we have the opportunity to strengthen our brethren, just as Peter did. The main way we can “strengthen our fellow believers”, is to pray for them like the Lord. And not pray they won’t fail, or not have trouble or persecution, but pray that their faith will not fail when they falter and stumble.

 God bless!