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

Answer

At the Last Supper, Jesus warned Simon Peter that a test of faith was coming: “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat” «And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: », (Luke 22:31, NKJV). The outspoken disciple seemed to be in the same predicament as Job when Satan sought to put him to the test (Job 1—2). Satan wanted to “sift Peter as wheat,” which means that he wished to shake Peter’s faith so forcefully that he would fall, proving that God’s faithful servant was lacking.

It was not just Peter who was in danger, though. The word for “you” in Luke 22:31 is plural. Jesus was speaking to Peter, informing him that Satan had his sights set on all the disciples. Some translations, such as the Berean Study Bible, specify the whole group: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.”

The name Satan means “adversary” or “accuser.” He accuses God’s people of doing wrong (Zechariah 3:1;Revelation 12:10). As Peter would later testify, the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” «Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: », (1 Peter 5:8).

Sift as wheat is a metaphor that could also be expressed as “shake someone apart” or “break a person down.” Amos 9:9 gives us a similar image of God shaking Israel: “For I will give the command and will shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost” (NLT).

In biblical times, wheat or other grain was.Sifted through a sieve or large strainer, the grain was separated from the dirt and other impurities that clung to it during the threshing process when shaken violently.

In sifting Peter and the other disciples like wheat, Satan’s aim was to crush them and undermine their faith. Indeed, the adversary seeks to shatter the faith of every believer. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). However, Jesus reassured Peter, “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32, NLT). Peter’s subsequent leadership in the early church demonstrated that the Lord’s prayer for him was answered.

Jesus did not promise to spare Peter from his imminent trial. On the contrary, He foretold that Peter would fail by denying Christ three times. “And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me” (Luke 22:34). Trials are inevitable in the Christian journey. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” as the missionaries in Acts 14:22 proclaimed. God utilizes these trials for our benefit, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28), refining our character and fortifying our faith.

1 Peter 1:6-7; James 1:2-4,12, and to make us more like Jesus “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”, (Romans 8:29).

Whenever we do experience a test, Jesus is with us to strengthen us and intercede for us (Philippians 4:13; Romans 8:26-39). In challenging times, it’s reassuring to remember that Satan’s power to sift Peter as wheat was limited by Christ’s intercession. When Satan comes after us, we should remember that Jesus Christ always lives to intercede for us “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”, (Hebrews 7:25).

Jesus was confident that Simon Peter would get back up again and go on to strengthen the other disciples. Another reason the Lord allows us to suffer through experiences of testing is so we can learn how to help others grow in faith: “Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer” “And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.”, (2 Corinthians 1:6, NLT).

Before Peter’s threefold denial, he was overconfident, trusting in his own strength “And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.”

, (Luke 22:33). But after being sifted like wheat, Peter learned that failure is possible because the flesh is weak (see Mark 14:38). Now that he understood how easy it is to fall, Peter would have compassion and mercy for others while helping them avoid the same mistake.

Our true faith and perseverance are revealed not in a walk of sinless perfection but in repentance and restoration. We get up and keep going, like Peter, after we fall. When Satan comes to sift us as wheat, we have an advocate, Jesus Christ, who intercedes for us: “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” (John 17:9, 11, 15). He will protect us so that the devil can never destroy our faith and hope (John 10:27-28; Hebrews 7:25). Jesus Christ began a good work in us, and He is faithful to complete it: “being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6).