Do you realize how much you owe to the intercession of Jesus Christ on your behalf? In this message we discover how crucial it is that we have a great High Priest who intercedes for us at the right hand of God. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
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“But I Have Prayed For You”
Luke 22:31-38
Do you understand how much we owe to the intercession of Jesus Christ on our behalf? We all understand that Christ died for us, and for that we are truly grateful. But do you understand that He is still ministering on your behalf – not on earth, but in heaven. Yes, His work to accomplish our redemption was finished when He died and rose again. But, His work to bring us safely to heaven is still going on at the right hand of God. If you have never thought of this much before, I hope you will do so this morning.
Let’s examine the context of our passage this morning, by looking briefly at verses 35-38. The words you need to notice are “but now” in verse 36. Jesus was telling His disciples that when He sent them out in Luke 9 to preach the kingdom of God, heal the sick, and cast out demons, they didn’t take anything except the clothes on their backs. Well, did they lack anything? Did they starve? No, God provided everything they needed through others. At that time in Jesus’ ministry, the crowds were very supportive and appreciative towards Him and His disciples, and were willing to take them into their homes and make sure they had a place to sleep and food to eat. Well, all that’s about to change. Instead of the disciples being sent into a warm and appreciative world that will take care of their needs, they are going to be sent into a hostile world which will persecute and even kill them. If they arrest Me, they will arrest you. If they treat Me like a common criminal, they will do the same for you. So, Jesus is telling them that it would be wise for them to think ahead and make provision for their needs. They need to support themselves and protect themselves.
Now, when Jesus mentioned buying a sword, I believe He was speaking figuratively. He wasn’t instructing them to actually go out and buy swords to fight with. He was telling them to prepare themselves for lack as 49-51), when the officials came out to arrest Jesus, His disciples asked, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” One of them (Peter) cut off the high priest’s right ear. Jesus answered, “Stop! No more of this.” Over in Matthew 26:52, Jesus says, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.” No, Jesus wasn’t literally advocating that His disciples buy a bunch of swords to fight off their enemies with. He was simply telling them that everything was about to change, and they needed to expect and prepare for privation and danger in their mission to bring the gospel to every creature.
Jesus was about to be arrested, beaten, humiliated, scourged and crucified. And it was in this kind of a changing, hostile environment that Jesus speaks to Simon Peter about Satan coming to sift him like wheat.
This morning we are going to focus primarily on verses 31-34, and there are three characters in
our text: Satan, Peter, and Christ. This morning we are going to look at:
Satan’s Destructive Desire – Peter’s Brash Boast – Christ’s Prevailing Prayers
1. Satan’s Destructive Desire
He is Real. That’s the first thing we need to see about Satan. Jesus told Simon Peter that a real, personal being, named Satan was going to do something to him. Jesus had no doubts about the reality of Satan. Our problem is that too often we doubt his existence. That’s a grave mistake. Satan is just as real as God, or Christ, or the Holy Spirit, or holy angels, or you or me. If we assume the devil is just the figment of someone’s overactive imagination, we will not be prepared for his attacks.
He is Destructive. Jesus told Simon that Satan had demanded permission to sift him like wheat. When wheat is sifted the grain is run through a sieve where the head is taken apart, and the hull is separated from the kernel. Satan wanted to tear Peter apart. He wanted to destroy him. And even more specifically, Satan was going after Peter’s faith. Satan wanted to destroy his faith. We know that because in verse 32 Jesus says, “but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.”
Now, the fact that Satan is destructive surely shouldn’t surprise us! Jesus referred to the devil as “the ruler of this world”, a murderer, and a liar. Peter refers to him as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. In the book of Revelation he is referred to as the accuser of the brethren. Jesus said that he snatches away the word of God from those who hear it, sows tares among the wheat, stirs up persecutions against Christ’s church, and foments divisions. He is actively seeking to do as much mischief, and bring about as much destruction as he possibly can. He would like to destroy you, and will do as much harm to you as he possibly can.
Application. Therefore, my friends, you should expect his attacks. Don’t think it a strange thing if you experience spiritual attacks coming against you. Satan doesn’t need to attack the people in the world. He’s only really interested in those who are in God’s kingdom. And the area of your life that he will zero in on, is your faith. He wants to undermine your faith. He wants to cause you to doubt God’s Word, and then to abandon it. He wants you to make shipwreck of your faith. He knows that the stronger your faith is, the more comfort and joy you will have in the Lord, and the less susceptible you will be to his pernicious influences. Guard your faith at all costs. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ, so read and meditate on God’s Word daily.
He is Limited. What I mean by this, is that Satan is subservient to God and His will. He can’t do anything he wants. If he could, he would have destroyed Christ’s church a long time ago. We know that he is limited, because he had to “demand permission” to sift Peter like wheat. He couldn’t just go and do it. He had to get permission. That tells us that Satan is not sovereign. God is sovereign. Satan can only do what God allows Him to do, period! Satan is God’s devil. God has holy and wise purposes for allowing Satan to do certain things. But God does not permit him to do anything he wants. Satan is like a dog on a long leash. He can only go as far as the leash extends, and no further.
We see this also in the life of Job. The Lord said to Satan, “have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8). Well, Satan said, “He only serves You, because he is rich and comfortable. If you take away his riches, family, and comforts, he’ll curse You to your face.” So, God gave Satan permission to attack Job, but He would not allow him to kill him. There we see it again. Satan can do a lot of destructive things, but he can only go as far as God allows him to go, and no further.
Application. My friends, we should take great comfort from this! If Satan can only do to me what God allows, then God has a wise and holy reason for allowing it. I can trust that God is working all things together for good in my life, even if I experience pain, and suffering, and turmoil.
2. Peter’s Brash Boast
He is Self-Confident. Jesus told Peter that Satan was going to sift him like wheat. He was going to try to take you apart, and remove your faith from you. Satan was going to do a number on Peter. So, how does Peter respond? Does he say, “Oh Lord, please protect me! Please strengthen me! Help me against his attacks!” No, he replies in verse 33, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” Basically Peter was saying, “Lord, I’ve got this covered. There’s nothing that Satan can do that will hinder my faith in the least. He can throw anything at me that he wants, but I’m not going to flounder or fall. In fact, I don’t care what happens to me – prison or death – I will never deny You!” But Jesus tells him, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.” Peter, you think you will never deny Me, but before morning comes you will have denied Me three times!
In Matthew 26:33, Peter told the Lord, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” Remember that the disciples had just been arguing about who was the greatest. No doubt, Peter believes that he is the greatest. It comes out right here. Even though all the other disciples may fall away, he will never fall away!
What was Peter’s problem? He is self-confident. You know, many people tell us that we should be self-confident. However, I don’t believe the Christian should be self-confident. I believe he should be God-confident. Our confidence does not reside in our own power or ability or wisdom. Our confidence is in God’s power, ability and wisdom! Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” When you think you stand, that you are good, that you’ve got this covered, watch out! That’s the time when you will fall. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 7, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.” My friends, when you have a cocky, brash, overconfident spirit, you are setting yourself up for a fall. Watch out!
He is Blind. Peter is blind to the fickleness of his own heart. Notice how Jesus refers to him in verse 31, “Simon, Simon.” Simon was Peter’s old name. It means “wavering.” When Jesus met Peter, he was like shifting sand. Jesus gave him a new name, Peter, which means “Rock.” Jesus was going to transform “shifting sand” into a “rock”! But Jesus addresses Peter as Simon, Simon. He says his name twice for emphasis. Peter, remember, that in your flesh you are shifting sand. Don’t get cocky and brash. Don’t think you stand. Depend on God and His grace.
But Peter was blind to his own heart condition. But you know, that is easy to do. Jeremiah 17:9 says “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it.” According to the Bible our heart is more deceitful than all else and desperately sick. You should never trust your heart! It will lie to you. It will deceive you. It tells you that everything’s good, when it is just setting your up for a fall. You know, we all have blind spots in our lives. Peter had a huge one. Peter didn’t see his own weakness and vulnerability to denying Christ. He really believed that he would go to prison or death before ever denying Christ, but he was wrong. We all have blind spots in our own lives. There are weaknesses and sins in our life that we just don’t see. We really think that we are better than we are!
He is Proud. It is clear that Peter thought pretty highly of himself. He had no doubts about his loyalty and devotion and courage. He was ready to die for Jesus! Paul says in Romans 12:3, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” Oh, brothers and sisters, we need to beware of pride creeping into our lives. Pride is sin and it is ugly.
Application. My friends, if you think you are some kind of spiritual marine, and that you’ve got it all together, you are deluded! Peter was the leader of the 12. The other disciples must have looked up to him as their spokesman and leader. He’s the rock! Yet their rock, was unstable and vacillating as shifting sand. Their rock failed Jesus Christ in a huge way. Peter denied Christ, not to some big, burly Roman soldier, but to a servant girl! He did it within the space of a few hours. And, he did it not once, not twice, but three times! And Luke 22:59 says that there was about an hour between his denials. That gave him time to stop, pause, and think about what he had just done. And then he did it again! This is massive failure on the part of Peter. If Peter, the leading disciple of the twelve could experience such massive failure on his part, don’t you know that you and I can easily do the same thing?!
We need to ask the Lord to shed His light on our lives. We all have blind spots. We don’t see certain sins and failures, because we are prone to think better about ourselves than we really are. I encourage you to pray that the Lord would take the blinders off, and help you to see those areas of your life that you need to grow in. If you are brave, ask your spouse what he/she thinks are the areas you need to grow in. Then go to the Lord, and pray about those issues. That is the kind of prayer the Lord delights to answer!
3. Christ’s Prevailing Prayers
We have seen Satan’s destructive desires and Peter’s brash boast. What a recipe for disaster! Satan wants to destroy Peter, and Peter believes he is indestructible. Peter is not on his guard, because he doesn’t believe he can fall. It seems like nothing can stop Peter from walking right into that sieve in which Satan will sift and destroy him. How in the world can Peter ever make it out of this thing alive? Does Peter have the power in himself to overcome this violent sifting of Satan? Absolutely not! Peter is “shifting sand”, which he will prove in just a few hours. No, Peter is going to need something apart from himself if he is to keep his faith intact after this terrible night. Notice Jesus’ response, “but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Let’s look at this statement of Christ.
Jesus Prays Specifically. It’s important to note that the first “you” in verse 31, is plural, and the second “you” in verse 32 is singular. Now, we don’t have a word in English that means “you plural.” In the south they have a word. It is “y’all”. That’s what Jesus was saying in verse 31. “Satan has demanded permission to sift y’all like wheat; but I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail. Jesus knew that, although all the disciples were going to be sifted, Peter was going to be sifted the most violently and intensely of all. So, Jesus prayed for all His disciples, but especially for Peter. Notice that Jesus’ prayers were specific. He prayed for Peter by name.
It is a great comfort to me that I have a great High Priest in heaven today, who prays for each of His elect personally. This great High Priest is also the Good Shepherd, and He knows His own, and calls them by name. Are you a genuine believer in Christ? If so, then He knows you specifically and personally by name, and intercedes for you personally before God’s throne.
Go over to John 17 with me for a moment. Here we have Christ’s high priestly prayer that He prayed the night before He was crucified. In it, we have a sample of how He prays now, having raised from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God. Now, in this prayer I want you to notice who He is praying for. Look at John 17:9, “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours.” Jesus specifically says that He does not pray on behalf of the world. Rather, He only prays for those that the Father has given Him. So, who are these people the Father has given Him. John 6:37 says they are the ones who are going to come to Christ, and never be cast out. John 6:39 says they are the ones who will never be lost. John 10:26-29 tells us that they are not the goats who do not believe, but His sheep who hear His voice, follow Jesus, are given eternal life, and will never be snatched out of His hand. John 17:2 tells us that they are the ones that Jesus gives eternal life to. Who are these people? They are God’s elect. God chose them and gave them to Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. Jesus came into the world as God’s Shepherd to save these sheep and keep them unto eternal life. Jesus isn’t praying for everyone in the world. He is praying only for the ones God gave Him. Jesus prays specifically. If you are a true Christian, take courage. He prays for you!
Jesus Prays Purposefully. What exactly was Jesus praying for Peter about? Well, He tells us in verse 32. “But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.” Now, what do you think Peter was hoping Jesus was going to say? “I have prayed for you that God would protect you from Satan’s attack.” However, that’s not what Jesus said. Satan demanded permission to sift Peter, and God let him! Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean that God will not allow Satan to attack you. We have to come to grips with that truth.
Now, Peter’s faith did suffer a major blow that night. But his faith was not entirely extinguished. The word here means that Peter’s faith would not be eclipsed. He would not make final and total shipwreck of his faith. Though his faith would be hit hard, it would recover. And, of course, that’s exactly what happened, isn’t it? Luke 22:62 tells us that when the Lord looked at Peter, Peter went out and wept bitterly. Here is true repentance in Peter’s soul. Judas was remorseful, but he went out and hanged himself. Peter was remorseful, and he wept bitterly. And, of course, in due time, the Lord would fully restore Peter and give him the awesome task of preaching on the Day of Pentecost and seeing 3,000 people converted! No, the candle of Peter’s faith was not extinguished. It just burned low. But why wasn’t Peter’s faith extinguished? Was it that Peter was just so strong spiritually, that he willed his faith to revive? That’s laughable! No, it was entirely owing to Jesus’ prayers for him. “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.”
Brothers and sisters, did you know that Jesus Christ is praying something very similar for you today at the right hand of God? Take a look again at His high priestly prayer in John 17, and let’s see what is the substance of His prayers. John 17:11, “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.” John 17:15, “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” What is the substance of Jesus’ prayers? He’s praying that the Father would keep His sheep. Keep them in Your name. Keep them from the evil one. May they be with Me to see My glory. And how is God going to keep them. Verse 17. He’s going to sanctify them. He’s going to make them holy. He’s going to purge them of sin, and work His grace in their hearts. Isn’t it wonderful to know that Jesus is praying specifically for you that God would keep you and sanctify you and show you Jesus’ glory?!
Jesus Prays Effectually. What do I mean by “effectually”? I mean that His prayers are answered. Because Jesus always prays in the will of God, God is always delighted to answer the prayers He prays. Notice the exact wording of verse 32, “but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, WHEN once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Notice that Jesus said when once you have turned again, not if you turn again. It was a foregone conclusion that Peter was going to turn again. He was going to repent of denying Christ. He was going to be restored to full fellowship with the Father. Why? Because of Jesus’ prayers. Christ’s prayers are always effectual.
Jesus is your and my great High Priest today. Listen to how the apostle Paul puts it in Romans 8:33-34, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Why can’t a true believer be condemned? Because Christ died for him! Christ rose for him! And Christ also continues to intercede for him!
Listen to how the author of Hebrews puts this truth in Hebrews 7:25, “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Why will we be saved forever? Because He always lives to make intercession for us. What would happen if Christ stopped making intercession for us? We have no assurance that we would be saved forever. Have you ever realized how much is riding on Christ’s intercessory ministry for you? Sure He died to save you. Sure He rose to apply His saving benefits to your life. But He also continues to intercede for you that you will not fall away. What is my greatest obstacle to persevering in faith to the end? Me! Brian is my greatest obstacle. I would not trust the best 15 minutes of my Christian life to get me into heaven. Even in my best works there are things that I need to repent of. I need to repent even of my repentance. My perseverance can not be based on my spiritual strength. Even my perseverance in faith is owing to Jesus’ gracious intercession for me!
Conclusion
Let me leave you with a couple of practical applications.
First, notice that Jesus used Peter in spite of his horrible failures. He told him, “When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” You are going to fail me miserably. But you will turn again. When that happens, strengthen your brothers. And Peter did strengthen his brothers. In fact, he wrote an epistle that was intended to strengthen Christians as they faced suffering. Isn’t a comforting thought to know that Jesus knew about Peter’s failure, and chose him anyway?Christian, the Lord knows all about your sins and failures, and He chose you anyway! He will use you in His service in spite of your sins and failures. God doesn’t use perfect people, because there aren’t any! Take courage. The Lord will use you in spite of yourself.
Second, friends, salvation from beginning to end is a sovereign work of Divine grace. Listen to the words of the old hymns, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.” “Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect plea; A great High Priest whose name is love; Who ever lives and pleads for me; My name is graven on His hands; My name is written on His heart; I know that while in heav’n He stands; No tongue can bid me thence depart; No tongue can bid me thence depart.”
Why is our salvation secure? It is because God is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2). It is because He who began a good work in us will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. It is because faithful is He who calls us, and He also will bring it to pass. It is because He is able to keep us from stumbling and to make us stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy!
I call upon you to thank and praise and worship the Lord Jesus for His High Priestly intercession for you. Thank Him that He will pray that God would keep you to the very end. Don’t depend on yourself. Depend on Him and give Him all the glory!
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