Satan The Sifter

It took me a while to figure out the many ramifications of his misplaced statement, but it finally came to me. We were discussing the concept of how Satan can influence our thoughts, and how we must take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. And Peter was one of the examples we were discussing. The story was cited where Jesus said to Peter, just prior to his arrest and trial, “Satan has asked to sift you, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail” (Lk 22:31-32).

The comment was made, then, “That’s interesting, because Peter did go ahead and deny Jesus three times. So the prayer of Jesus was not answered.” I immediately challenged the presumption that Peter’s failure was what Jesus had prayed for. I said, “The temptation to fear and cowardice, and the ensuing failure of denying Jesus three times was not the sifting of Satan which Jesus prayed about. Jesus knew Peter would fail, and even told him so. We all fail him. What Jesus was concerned about was that Satan would move in immediately after and begin to mess with Peter’s emotions and thoughts, bringing on shame, guilt, despair, hopelessness, self-loathing, and possibly getting Peter to consider going out and killing himself, as Judas did.” After all, Satan’s ultimate goal is to deceive and destroy. (I Pet 5:8)

Satan the sifter wanted to separate Peter from Jesus, to tear down the trust relationship and cause his faith to fail him. Three full years of discipleship were put to the test that night. The failure of denying Christ was only the catalyst, not the test. The true test was whether Peter trusted Jesus to love him, to forgive him, to restore him. Or would he feel that his failure was cause for despair, believe Satan’s lie, and revert back to hopeless self-condemnation. And to what end would that lead him? However far Satan could take him. That’s why Jesus prayed for him.

As the story of Peter progresses, he does deny his Lord three times, just as Jesus said he would. And after the third time he remembers what Jesus had said. The guilt was immediate, and overwhelming. But Jesus’ prayer was answered. How? By Peter looking at his Lord, and Jesus looking back at him. God arranged for that prayer to be answered by putting the two of them in eye contact. Eye to eye, heart to heart, at the most critical point of Satan’s sifting.

What was communicated in the look of Jesus to Peter. Did Jesus look condemningly at him? Did his eyes say to Peter, “I told you so! You let me down.” No, not at all. Jesus communicated love, forgiveness, repentance, acceptance, restoration. He would not let Peter’s faith fail, the trust relationship was still intact, and it would carry Peter through.

Peter went out and wept bitterly. I am sure that he was terribly ashamed and so very sorry for denying Jesus. That was part of the tears. That was the bitter part. But I think that most of the weeping was the cleansing work of love. It was repentance completing its work, the repentance which Jesus initiated with his look of love. It was an unbridled celebration of grace.

Jesus was far more concerned over Peter’s response after the failure than He was about the failure itself. But the man who sees the failure as the key problem does not understand the heart of God. Jesus doesn’t keep record of failures, he waits lovingly to look at us eye to eye, in grace, so that forgiveness and repentance can restore the relationship. He wants trust to grow deeper through love so that we stand stronger.