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Luke 22:31-38 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2022%3A31-38&version=NLT
I wonder if Peter was being especially vocal in the earlier exchange regarding who would be most important in Heaven. I can’t say for sure, but Jesus does have a message for him alone. Peter has always been the disciple voted Most Likely to Put His Foot in his Mouth. Jesus has just told his disciples that they really don’t yet understand leadership. He has also told them that, in the kingdom of Heaven, they will be given leadership positions. Now he wants Peter to know something specifically. It is this, “You are going to get worse before you get better. But when you do get better, help your friends.” Immediately proving the first half of Jesus’ prediction, Peter tells him he is wrong. Jesus responds, “No pal. It’s happening today.”
Pause with me here, and look closely at verses 31 and 32. Jesus says something that is frankly alarming to Peter. He says Satan has asked to test him. He uses the image of sifting wheat to separate the husk from the kernel which involves grinding it by squashing it between a couple of very large rocks and then giving it a good hard shake. That doesn’t sound at all fun. And Jesus makes it clear that this is going to happen.
So what are we supposed to think about this? Did Satan really go to God and say, “I’d like to put this guy under pressure until he pops”, and then God said, “mmmm okay”? Well, yes. It certainly seems that way. And see, this isn’t all that unusual. Jesus went through a time of testing at the beginning of his ministry. There’s a story about a dude named Job in the old testament who God allowed Satan to test. Just a heads up, that one’s not an easy read.
We see warnings throughout scripture that our enemy the devil (also known as Satan) is just wandering the planet looking for people to destroy. God is not okay with his children being destroyed, BUT there are times when going through a period of testing is a good thing. Human beings are not great at learning things the easy way. We often have to make big mistakes and go through hard times before we are ready to learn some of the things we need to know in order to become the people God designed us to be. So there are times when God allows Satan to put us through things. There is always a purpose. The end goal is always worth the cost, but yes, sometimes God lets us face testing.
And Peter? Well, God had some big jobs for him and he was not remotely qualified just yet. So he was about to go through it. Jesus has come to understand that Peter is going to abandon him, not just abandon him but deny he even knows him. That’s hard on a friendship. So how does Jesus respond? He says, “Peter, I’m praying for you. I’m praying that when (not if) you make a mess of everything, you will hold onto your faith and turn back. Because when (not if) you find the humility to repent you are going to help so many people.” Jesus doesn’t waste a syllable telling Peter how much he sucks for letting him down. He prays for him. Maybe more beautifully, he prays for him knowing who he is going to become. He prays knowing what Peter’s pain, and to a much greater extent his own pain, will accomplish. I linger on this because many of us have moments in our past (and present) where we know we have let Jesus down. We made choices of which we are, quite frankly, ashamed. It can be hard to imagine looking Jesus in the eye after what we have done. Just know that Jesus’ response to our betrayal is to pray for us, to ask the Father to strengthen and help us. Jesus is not in the grudge-keeping business. He is in the business of taking broken things, including you and I, and making them whole and new. Why is he like this? I have no clue. It’s just who he is.
Now.. In response to a chilling warning followed by perhaps the greatest articulation of grace ever recorded, Peter tells Jesus he is mistaken. He is prepared to suffer and even die with Jesus. Jesus tells him that before another day has fully dawned he will deny he even knows him.
He turns back to the group at large to warn them all that the era of popularity is over. They can no longer expect hospitality as they travel and they may even need to protect themselves along the way. An ancient prophecy about the Messiah indicated that he would be considered a revolutionary, treated like an enemy of the state. That time had arrived. Of course, they take that as some kind of call to arms which Jesus quickly quashes with a curt, “That’s enough.”
Can I just reiterate how astonishing Jesus’ behaviour is in this passage? He is the one facing persecution and execution over the next few days. He is facing physical and spiritual agony on a scale we can barely begin to imagine. He is the one about to be betrayed, denied and abandoned by some of his closest friends.
So how is it possible that his focus here is on preparing these men for the days ahead? How is he praying for them, for their strengthening, for their restoration after failure? Who loves this relentlessly? Jesus does, and in case you haven’t connected the dots, he loves you and me this much too. He is entirely invested, literally body and soul, into bringing us into his kingdom. And for some reason, our worthiness is irrelevant. No matter how we have treated him, he is eager to restore the relationship. He loved Peter like that. He loves us like that.
