Satan has demanded to sift you men like wheat; but I have prayed for you

Luke 22:14-34 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When the hour came, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood. ²¹ But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. ²² For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” ²³ And they began to debate among themselves which one of them it was who was going to do this.

²⁴ And a dispute also developed among them as to which one of them was regarded as being the greatest. ²⁵ And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ ²⁶ But it is not this way for you; rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

²⁸ “You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials; ²⁹ and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you ³⁰ that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

³¹ “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you men like wheat; ³² but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” ³³ But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death!” ³⁴ But He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”

In today’s text it says:  He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood.”  A long time before that night, Isaiah prophesied about Christ, saying in Isaiah 53:4-6:  Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.  Jesus fulfilled the prophecy, giving His body and shedding His blood for our sins. It was not only though so that we could be forgiven. We are also redeemed from sin. We are no longer subject to the consequences of sin, if we walk in the promise of the new covenant.

Jesus didn’t though only fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah. He also fulfilled over three hundred messianic prophesies in the Bible, proving that He is the Christ and verifying the accuracy of scripture. Additionally in Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus says:  “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”  To walk in the promise of the new covenant, we cannot relax the commandments of God’s old covenant. They are still valid. Jesus fulfilled the consequences of sin for us. If we choose to continue in sin, we nullify the terms of the new covenant. In John 14:15-24 Jesus says:  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him… If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.”  

In the text it says:  “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift you men like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death!” But He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”  We all, like Simon, are sifted by the temptations of the devil. If we love God, the sifting is for our good, removing the chaff from the wheat, because like Simon, Jesus not only died for us, but continues to pray for us.  Romans 8:28-30 says:  We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.  The sifting may be done by Satan, but God will cause it to work for our good. Because of the cross and the intercession of Christ, we are conformed to the image of Christ, justified by Him and glorified in Him. Like Simon, we are called to strengthen others. In Acts 1:8 Jesus says:  “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You for all that You have fulfilled for me, forgiveness, redemption, restoration and healing. May Your word and Your will also be fulfilled in me and through me, by the power of the Holy Spirit as an answer to the intercession of Christ.  Amen.