What does it mean that Satan wanted to sift Peter as wheat (Luke 22:31)?

Peter had learnt (John 13) what was necessary in order to have communion with the Lord. Recalling the blessings which had been unfolded to him since the beginning of his career, it would seem as if the circle were complete, and there remained nothing more to learn. But there was one thing without which all these blessings would be of no effect — the knowledge of and judgment of the flesh, and of its absolute incapacity before God; and this we have in Luke 22:31. Satan had desired to have the poor disciples that he might sift them as wheat. As in Job's case, the enemy had presented himself before God to accuse them. Availing himself of the moment favourable to his designs, when the Lord would be taken away from them, and they would be externally unprotected, he had asked to put them into the sieve, in the certainty that nothing would remain which God could accept. In this way he thought to wrest them from Christ, but he was mistaken. No doubt nothing of man would remain in the sieve; but what God had wrought in the disciples must remain. In his enmity Satan forgot that if he had all power over the flesh, he had none with regard to God and what came from Him. God granted his request because He had purposes of grace and love towards Peter and the disciples, as He had of old towards Job. Peter was to be left in the enemy's hands that he might learn himself. Such dealing was needful for his blessing.

But the Lord was watching over His poor erring servant. He never lost sight of him for a single moment, He had His eye upon the whole process. The devil would have smashed the vessel in hopeless fragments if he could. But he could not. He was but an instrument in the divine hand to do a work for Peter which Peter had failed to do for himself. "Simon, Simon, behold Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted (or restored), strengthen thy brethren."

Here we are permitted to see the root of the matter. Peter needed to be sifted, and Satan was employed to do the work — just as in the case of Job, and the man in 1 Cor. 5. It seems very wonderful, very mysterious, very solemn, that Satan should be so used. Yet so it is. God uses him "for the destruction of the flesh." He cannot touch the spirit. That is eternally safe. But it is terrible work to get into Satan's sieve. Peter found it so, and so did Job, and so did that erring Corinthian.

The Lord Jesus told Peter that Satan had desired to have "you" (a plural word), that is, all the disciples, that he might sift them as wheat. To sift wheat is to remove the chaff from the kernels. The disciples were "wheat," but needed fleshly "chaff" removed from them. Certainly all the disciples were deeply tried that night: in fact all "forsook Him and fled" (Mt.26:56). But it is Peter alone to whom He says, "I have prayed for you (singular) that your faith should not fail." The King James Version reads, "I have prayed for thee," which is singular. Modern English uses the word "you" for either singular or plural, but the original is singular. A special need was present, which the Lord fully discerned, though Peter did not. Yet it is good to observe that the eleven (Judas having gone out) were wheat from which of was necessary that the chaff should be separated through their experience of failure. The Lord Jesus, as the faithful Advocate, prayed for Peter before his fall. Certainly then Peter's faith did not fail, though he failed. Indeed, his faith in Christ was more strengthened by this experience that taught him to have "no confidence in the flesh" (Phil.3:3), and after that he was fitted to "strengthen his brethren" (v.32).

But at that moment Peter's self-confidence was so strong that he virtually said the Lord was in error by telling Him that he was ready to accompany Him to prison and to death. His denial later was sadly shameful, yet his self-confidence was worse evil than his denial because it was the root cause of his denial. The Lord had the last word, however, telling Peter firmly that the rooster would not crow until Peter had three times denied that he knew Him.

The New Testament reference is to the apostle Peter. He was the most outstanding of the apostles, always named first in the lists of the apostles, yet with a weakness well known to our Lord, and in view of the great service he would ultimately render, this needed to be dealt with. Once again we see Satan used in the matter, and the Lord allowing him to attack His servant. We read, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren," Luke 22:31-32. May we ever remember that no matter what Satan desires, not one hair of our heads can he touch without divine permission. Both Job and Simon are seen in the hands of Satan for a time, but in each case Satan could go only as far as divine wisdom allowed him. So whilst Satan was allowed to lead Simon into a temptation, and caused him to fail in it, all he really succeeded in doing was to destroy Simon's self-confidence; he could not destroy his faith. Thank God he never will be able to destroy the faith of any saint of God, however severe the trial may be through which he may be allowed to pass.

The first step was the Lord's prayer for Peter. Before ever Peter had failed, the Lord had said in view of his denial, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee" (Luke 22:31-32). We do well to mark that for which the Lord prayed. He did not pray that Peter might not enter into temptation, that Satan might not sift him, nor even that he might not fail. The sifting, the temptation, the fall, were all necessary to bring to light the natural self-confidence of Peter. But the Lord prays that, when Peter fails, his faith may not fail. The effect of sin is to destroy confidence in God: but if confidence in God's grace is gone, how can the soul ever be brought back to the Lord? The devil would fain lure us into sin in the hope of destroying our faith, and driving us to despair. This the Lord will not allow. The devil's sifting was behind Peter's failure; but the Lord's prayer was behind Peter's faith, and the devil could not get behind the Lord's prayer. The devil hounds Judas on to betray the Lord but, having no faith, Judas is driven to despair and destruction. Peter denies the Lord, but his faith remains and he is drawn to repentance and restoration.

The second step in Peter's restoration was the Lord's warning (Luke 22:34). Will it not be found that no saint ever fell without having been first warned? Filled with self-confidence we may pay little or no heed to the warning; but in some form or another there will be a warning. How direct it was in the case of Peter; for the Lord said, "I tell thee … that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest Me".

Look at Job. There is not one like him upon the earth, a perfect and upright man. That is God's testimony. Why put such an one through those sorrows which are the very type of suffering to this day? Alas! Job nourished and cherished this perfectness of his, as hundreds now their Christian perfection, as they style it. Therefore, "Behold, he is in thine hand." Satan had asked the same thing concerning Simon Peter; a lesson for perfectionists to the end of time, but a lesson for many more besides. "Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired" — it is "demanded," rather — "to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." Mark that "demand." It is as wheat he demands them, for he is the sifter of God's wheat. This applies to all the disciples; but there is one in special need among them, and him the Lord singles out from among the rest: "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not." How tender that anticipation of the trial before Simon Peter, yet no prayer that he may escape it; it was necessary that he should be exposed to it, and that, too, with the certainty of breaking down. How solemn that warning! And how different yet the Lord's judgment of the matter to ours. In ours, that terrible denial in the high priest's palace would be the thing most thought of. In His it was the laying bare only of the state which necessitated it.

And yet, although I could not describe it, I am pretty certain of what did take place between a Master so perfect in grace, so full of deep, true love, and His erring servant, now a penitent, broken-down man, who had learned by terribly bitter experience where his own self-confidence could carry him. Peter, I am sure, got again in his soul the sense: "I am loved by Him. Spite of all my sin, spite of all the shame I have brought on His name, there is nothing in His heart but love." You know the Lord had warned him and said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (Luke 22:31-32). Notice, Satan sifted him just because he was wheat. Perhaps you have sometimes wondered whether there was any wheat there at all. If there were no wheat there would be no sifting. Satan never sifts mere chaff. It is because there was wheat, and that he was the subject of sovereign and divine grace, that the enemy sought to trip him up. And he will do the same with any of us, if there be not watchfulness and self-judgment.

In the kingdom of God there will be a table and a throne. The table is the symbol of personal family intimacy; the throne is the public display of glory. By a little word like that (v. 30), what a volume the Lord conveys to our hearts! We get the sanctuary of the family, and the outer places where the dignities of the throne will be displayed and shared. Now He turns to them, and they had earned it. If He never withdraws tenderness, He never withdraws discipline. The use of the rod never for a moment stills the pulses of the heart. "Simon, Simon," says the Lord, "behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." He had sifted Christ as wheat. Why did Satan get into Judas but that he might sift Christ? and now he desired to sift the disciples.

You see this introduces Peter in a very special way. From the very beginning the Lord had appointed him head of the apostles, apostle of the circumcision. He was primate of the apostolic college. When all the disciples took to their heels, Peter lingered about. He failed terribly. His courage failed; everything failed but his faith in Christ, thanks to this intercession. The next time he saw the Lord, he rushed into the water to get to Him. Then, when he was converted, he could stand before councils; they could not make him a coward. So, when he was converted, he strengthened his brethren. We find the opening chapters of Acts verifying this. He was sifted; he failed in all but in faith; he was strengthened and he strengthened his brethren.

Satan desires to have us that he may sift us as wheat by means of the flesh. Jesus announces it to His disciples, and prays especially for Peter, in whom the flesh was strong.

(2) In the next lesson there is shown a ministry which is not of love, and yet love reigns in it: the sifting of God's wheat by a skilful, but not a friendly hand. "Satan has demanded to have you," says the Lord; "that he may sift you as wheat." It is in that character the accuser of the brethren, as with Job of old, would test their pretension; and he found that it was no light thing to be in Satan's sieve. For Simon the Lord has to pray that his faith, sore tried as it is, may not fail; it is in danger, it would seem, of fatal lapse. Nay, he has really turned aside; he must be "turned back"; but then with a gain, for he is now able, spite of the weakness he has shown; to strengthen others: "when thou hast turned back, strengthen thy brethren."

Would it not seem as if, after all, Satan had nearly succeeded? too nearly, surely, for Peter to claim a victory. His faith has not altogether failed, but that is due only to the intercession of Another: he has in fact a terrible fall. What gain can there be in all this? how can he have learned how to strengthen others, — himself just proved so feeble! and what did Satan's sieve accomplish? or did it accomplish anything? if not, why was it permitted?