Holy Week (Thursday) - ‘A Denier and A Prayer’

Welcome back to Thursday of our Holy Week study. We're going to be in Luke 22.

Interestingly, you might think that all the pressure that's getting put on Jesus,

if you were reading this for the first time and you didn't know how the story

ended, how he would be responding to said pressure,

just remember that he is under more pressure than any human has ever felt because

he is the only human who has ever had a sinless life. to be intact.

He's the only human that has ever endured every temptation, every glancing blow,

every deceiver that comes his way, every threat that comes his way,

and has met that with perfect righteousness.

And yet as Jesus nears his death, his crucifixion, his murder at the hands of

evil men, as Peter says, he says his desire is to eat this supper with them.

At this supper, there is a dispute that arises. Luke records this in Luke 22, 24.

A dispute also arose among them, that's the disciples, as to which of them was

to be regarded as the greatest.

Even now the disciples have in their mind that Jesus is about to take the throne,

the humanly throne, and they are arguing as to who will be the greatest,

who will be Jesus' right-hand man.

Jesus goes on to explain to them, that's not what he came to do.

That's not what he's about.

He says, as he finishes this, he says, You are those who have stayed with me

in my trials, and I assign to you,

as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom that you may eat and drink at my table,

in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

What an incredible thing to hear.

You will sit on the thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

Now, what could follow that?

What kind of speech can you follow up with? You will sit on thrones in the kingdom.

You will judge the 12 tribes of Israel. The very next verse,

this is verse 31 in Luke 22.

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat.

I think this is often true in our lives as Christians.

We can come off these incredibly high spiritual moments, moments where we feel

like the Lord has looked deep into our soul and spoke into our hearts an incredible

amount of encouragement,

an incredible amount of love and grace and mercy, an empowering experience to

say, man, I am going to go accomplish whatever it is God puts in front of me. I'm going to do it.

And I think Jesus knows this. And as he looks at Peter, he wants him to know,

listen, Satan is going to have you and sift you like wheat.

Jesus says, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.

And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.

And Peter said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with you, both to prison and to death.

This is Peter's folly as it is ours.

Jesus is honest with Peter. He says, Satan himself would have you.

And what is Peter's response?

Bring him on. Bring him on.

This is Peter's M.O. He's going to soon cut off ears as they come to take Jesus.

He's always been the one to stand up. He's always been the one to say what he feels needed to be said.

And in many ways that's commendable. But Jesus is still trying to teach Peter,

you are not strong enough to save yourself.

You are not strong enough to take on your foes.

Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day until you

deny three times that you know me.

This ends up being incredibly true. In Luke 22, 61, it says,

the Lord turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the saying of the

Lord, how he said to him, before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.

Jesus is getting ready to be crucified. He looks at Peter, and all it takes

is a look for Peter to remember, I'm a deserter. I'm a denier.

I did exactly what Jesus said I would do, and I did the exact opposite of what I said I would do.

Where does that leave us? Two things. First, know that about yourself.

Know that in and of yourself, Satan and his demons would sift you like wheat.

This phrase here in the Greek, a couple things. Number one, this is a sifting.

This is to literally shake you to your bones.

This also here in verse 31 of Luke 22, this you is plural.

In the Greek, this is very obvious. So Jesus is talking to Peter,

but he's talking to the room.

He's looking at Peter and talking to every one of his disciples saying, Satan would have you.

Peter will go on to write that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

How can Peter write that? Because he knows what it's like for Satan to devour him.

Now, what is it that saves Peter? Is it some incredible act of penance that he is going to commit?

Is it a changed life? Is it a song sung or a sacrifice offered or money given?

A church service attendance record? No.

The Bible gives us one reason that Peter is not consumed by the lion that is Satan.

Verse 32, But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail,

and when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.

This is Peter's only hope, and this is our only hope, that the Son of God, the man Jesus Christ,

who lived a perfect life and died a perfect death on a cross,

spilled his blood and broke his body for our sins, and rose again three days

later is praying for us. He prays for you.

Jesus prays in John 17, 15, I do not ask that you take them,

the disciples, out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

In other words, Jesus is not saying, remove them from this place so that all

of their hardships and all of their struggles and all of the devil's schemes

and devices would be gone.

No, he leaves them there, and his prayer is that you would keep them from the evil one.

But we know that sometimes the evil one wins. We know that we're sinners.

We know that we fall short. We know that like Peter,

we deny the Lord, maybe not with our mouths, but with our actions,

with our thoughts, with bitterness that takes over our hearts at family members

or at friends, with anger that overwhelms us at work or as we're driving down the road.

With unjust anger at people who have done us wrong.

So what do we find? What is Jesus' response? Again, He prays for you.

Romans 8.34, who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died.

More than that, who was raised? Who is at the right hand of God?

Who is indeed interceding for us?

Hebrews 7.25 says, Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost, to the nth degree.

Jesus is able to save to the nth degree in your life, to cleanse every sin,

big, small, or otherwise. He

is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.

Why? since he always lives to make intercession for them.

The picture is that Jesus is raised from the grave, that he is alive today at

the right hand of the Father, and he is interceding for his saints.

As he interceded for Peter at the Last Supper, that he would pray and say,

God, would you not let Satan completely devour him?

Why is Peter, Peter, and Judas, Judas?

The Bible's answer to that question is that Jesus prays for Peter. He prays for Peter.

Why are you a Christian and not someone else?

Why have you not fallen away? Why have you not sinned your way out of salvation?

Why have you not denied your way out of salvation?

Why have you not done something to cost you your salvation?

How can Paul say in Philippians with confidence that he who began a good work

in you will complete it? How can he do that?

Because they believe that Jesus lives to intercede for his saints,

because Jesus prays for you.

Jesus prays for me. That is why we will make it.

That is why we will persevere. That is why those Satan will win some battles

and we will fall sometimes in ways that we never dreamed that we could.

Sometimes we will commit sins that we never thought possible for us.

Find ourselves in situations feeling certain ways, thinking certain ways,

acting certain ways that we would have looked Jesus in the eyes just as Peter

and said, I will never do that.

I will never act that way. I will never do those things.

And yet, Jesus knows our frame, and he knows that Satan would sift us like wheat.

And what does he do in response? He prays for us. He prays for you.

This is the disposition of Jesus as he is walking towards his cross.

Pray that that's encouraging for you today. As you go about your lives,

as you do what it is that God has called you to do, the things that you have been asked to do,

whether it's raising kids or working a job or going to school or maybe you're

retired and you've got all kinds of things you could do, whatever it is you do,

I pray that we are reminded daily that Christ Jesus is praying for us,

and therefore we can be confident,

we can be secure and we can chase wholeheartedly after God not because of something

we've done but because of something that's been done for us.