And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail."
--Luke 22:31-32a (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on August 27, 2013 of Psalm 148; Luke 22:31-53; Job 12-13.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread was upon them when Jesus and His disciples observed the Passover meal, their last supper together. As they ate, our Lord passed the bread and the wine around to His followers, His friends, leading them in what we now commemorate as Holy Communion. Jesus used these elements as representing His body and His blood, to seal His new covenant with all those who will believe and follow Him. And then He dropped a bombshell: the one who would betray Him that very night was sitting there at the table with them, was among His closest friends, one of the twelve.
This news caused an immediate uproar, with each person present trying to figure out who would do such a thing. As they argued who among them might be this worst person, the dispute changed as to which of them might be considered the greatest, as in contrast to the betrayer. Apparently Jesus didn't listen to very much of this foolishness (Luke gave the entire argument only two verses in his account, verses 23 and 24) before explaining that the one who might be regarded as greatest is the one who serves most. He assures them each will be amply rewarded in heaven.
And then Jesus perhaps somewhat emotionally utters today's focus verses. Although He calls out Simon by name, He is addressing all His disciples with what can be considered both a statement and a warning, to them and to us: Satan is after Jesus' followers. He wants to sift them like wheat, separating the good from the chaff. The devil sees those that follow Jesus as highly valued prizes, then and now, second only to Jesus Himself. The more closely we try to live as our Lord wants us to, the more fervently Satan will tempt us, attack us, trying to turn us from the Way. Satan might want to sift us, but Jesus promises He will separate the wheat from the chaff when He returns to judge the earth, and the chaff will be tossed in the fire along with Satan (please see Luke 3:17 and Matthew 3:12).
Jesus also promises to intercede on our behalf, just as He did for His disciples. He prayed for them, that their faith should not fail. This is His prayer for us to the Father, that our faith remain strong, that we not fall prey to Satan's temptations, so that we can be saved through Him. This exemplifies the intercession He makes on our behalf as illustrated in Hebrews 7:25. How wonderful and glorious it is to have Jesus pray for us. Amen.
Precious Jesus, You know how vulnerable we are to Satan's constant attacks, so You pray to our heavenly Father on our behalf, that our faith may stay steadfast through all the devil's temptations. Like those who walked with You during Your time on earth, we need Your intercession in our lives. Thank You, Jesus, for Your prayers, for holding us up when we grow weary. We want to be Your wheat, Lord. In Your glorious name Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.
This news caused an immediate uproar, with each person present trying to figure out who would do such a thing. As they argued who among them might be this worst person, the dispute changed as to which of them might be considered the greatest, as in contrast to the betrayer. Apparently Jesus didn't listen to very much of this foolishness (Luke gave the entire argument only two verses in his account, verses 23 and 24) before explaining that the one who might be regarded as greatest is the one who serves most. He assures them each will be amply rewarded in heaven.
And then Jesus perhaps somewhat emotionally utters today's focus verses. Although He calls out Simon by name, He is addressing all His disciples with what can be considered both a statement and a warning, to them and to us: Satan is after Jesus' followers. He wants to sift them like wheat, separating the good from the chaff. The devil sees those that follow Jesus as highly valued prizes, then and now, second only to Jesus Himself. The more closely we try to live as our Lord wants us to, the more fervently Satan will tempt us, attack us, trying to turn us from the Way. Satan might want to sift us, but Jesus promises He will separate the wheat from the chaff when He returns to judge the earth, and the chaff will be tossed in the fire along with Satan (please see Luke 3:17 and Matthew 3:12).
Jesus also promises to intercede on our behalf, just as He did for His disciples. He prayed for them, that their faith should not fail. This is His prayer for us to the Father, that our faith remain strong, that we not fall prey to Satan's temptations, so that we can be saved through Him. This exemplifies the intercession He makes on our behalf as illustrated in Hebrews 7:25. How wonderful and glorious it is to have Jesus pray for us. Amen.
Precious Jesus, You know how vulnerable we are to Satan's constant attacks, so You pray to our heavenly Father on our behalf, that our faith may stay steadfast through all the devil's temptations. Like those who walked with You during Your time on earth, we need Your intercession in our lives. Thank You, Jesus, for Your prayers, for holding us up when we grow weary. We want to be Your wheat, Lord. In Your glorious name Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment