32.<\/strong> I have prayed for thee<\/em> ] Rather, I made supplication concerning thee, shewing that Peter, the most confident, was at that moment the most imperilled, though Jesus had prayed for them all (Joh 17:9<\/span>; Joh 17:11<\/span>).<\/p>\n that thy faith fail not<\/em> ] The word means ‘fail not utterly<\/em>, or finally.<\/p>\n when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren<\/em> ] Comp. Psa 51:13<\/span>.<\/p>\n So, after the Resurrection, Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep” (Joh 21:17<\/span>). The very word for ‘strengthen’ sank into his heart, and is repeated in his Epistle, 1Pe 5:10<\/span>.‘Converted’ has not here its technical<\/em> meaning but ‘when thou hast turned again.’ It means more, however, than merely vicissim,<\/em> ‘in turn.’ Comp. 1Pe 2:25<\/span>; 2Pe 2:21-22<\/em><\/span> ;<\/em> Mat 13:15<\/span>, &c.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That thy faith fail not – <\/B>The word faith, here, seems to be used in the sense of religion, or attachment to Christ, and the words fail not mean utterly fail or fail altogether – that is, apostatize. It is true that the courage of Peter failed; it is true that he had not that immediate confidence in Jesus and reliance on him which he had before had; but the prayer of Jesus was that he might not altogether apostatize from the faith. God heard Jesus always Joh 11:42<\/span>; it follows, therefore, that every prayer which he ever offered was answered; and it follows, as he asked here for a specific thing, that that thing was granted; and as he prayed that Peters faith might not utterly fail, so it follows that there was no time in which Peter was not really a pious man. Far as he wandered, and grievously as he sinned, yet he well knew that Jesus was the Messiah. He did know the man; and though his fears overcame him and led him to aggravated sin, yet the prayer of Christ was prevalent, and he was brought to true repentance.<\/P> When thou art converted – <\/B>The word converted means turned, changed, recovered. The meaning is, when thou art turned from this sin, when thou art recovered from this heinous offence, then use your experience to warn and strengthen those who are in danger of like sins. A man may be converted or turned from any sin, or any evil course. He is regenerated but once – at the beginning of his Christian life; he may be converted as often as he falls into sin.<\/P> Strengthen thy brethren – <\/B>Confirm them, warn them, encourage them. They are in continual danger, also, of sinning. Use your experience to warn them of their danger, and to comfort and sustain them in their temptations. And from this we learn:<\/P> <\/p>\n The two epistles of Peter, and his whole life, show that he was attentive to this command of Jesus; and in his death he manifested his deep abhorrence of this act of dreadful guilt in denying his blessed Lord, by requesting to be crucified with his head downward, as unworthy to suffer in the same manner that Christ did. Compare the notes at Joh 21:18<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 32. I have prayed for thee<\/B><\/I>] From the natural forwardness and impetuosity of thy own spirit, thou wilt be brought into the most imminent danger; but I have supplicated for thee, that thy<\/I> faith may not utterly fail <\/I>– , from , out<\/I>, and , I fail<\/I>, to fall utterly<\/I> or entirely off<\/I>. Peter’s faith did fail<\/I>, but not utterly<\/I>: he did fall<\/I>, but he did not fall<\/I> off<\/I>, apostatize, or forsake his Master and his cause finally<\/I>, as Judas did. Every body sees, from Peter’s denial of his Lord, that his faith did fail<\/I>, and his great courage too; and yet they read, in the common translation, that Christ prayed that it might not<\/I> fail<\/I>: can they then conceive that our Lord’s prayer was heard? The translation which I have given above removes this embarrassment and apparent contradiction. It was certainly Peter’s advantage that our Lord did pray for him; but it was not so much for his honour that he should stand in need of such a prayer, beyond all others. Lightfoot<\/I>.<\/P> <\/P> When thou art converted<\/B><\/I>] Restored to a sense of thy folly and sin, and to me and my cause – establish these thy brethren<\/I>. All the disciples forsook Jesus and fled, merely through fear of losing their lives; Peter, who continued for a while near<\/I> him, denied his Master with oaths, and repeated this thrice<\/I>: our Lord seems to intimate that, after this fall, Peter would become more cautious and circumspect than ever; and that he should become uncommonly strong in the faith, which was the case; and that, notwithstanding the baseness<\/I> of his past conduct, he should be a proper instrument for strengthening the feeble minded, and supporting the weak. His two epistles to the persecuted Christians show how well he was qualified for this important work.<\/P><\/p>\n 32. But I have prayed<\/B>havebeen doing it already. <\/P> for thee<\/B>as most indanger. (See on Lu 22:61, 62<\/span>.) <\/P> fail not<\/B>that is,entirely; for partially it did fail. <\/P> converted<\/B>brought backafresh as a penitent disciple. <\/P> strengthen,<\/B> &c.thatis, make use of thy bitter experience for the fortifying of thytempted brethren.<\/P><\/p>\n But I have prayed for thee<\/strong>,…. Christ prayed for all the apostles; but particularly for Peter, because he was in the greatest danger: whether the prayer Christ refers to was that in Joh 17:1<\/span> in which are many passages relating to the preservation, sanctification, final perseverance and glorification of the apostles, as well as of other saints, as in Joh 17:9<\/span> and so these words might be spoken a little after that prayer was ended, which was about this same time; or whether it was any other, and only mental, and not vocal, is not certain: however, the petition was,<\/p>\n that thy faith fail not<\/strong>; Satan in his temptations strikes principally at the faith of God’s people; that being a grace which gives much glory to God, and in the exercise of which believers have much peace, joy, and comfort; both which he envies and grudges; and it is also a shield which keeps off, and quenches his fiery darts, and is a piece of armour he is sadly harassed with, and therefore endeavours all he can to weaken and destroy it, or wrest it out of their hands: but though, through the power of sin, and the force of temptation, it may fail as to some degree of the steadfastness of it, as to the acting and exercise of it, and as to the sense believers may have of it; yet never as to its principle, it being an irrevocable gift of God’s grace; a work of his almighty power; a solid and substantial grace, even the substance of things hoped for; an immortal and incorruptible seed, and of which Christ is the author and finisher; and to nothing more is its security owing, than to the prayers of Christ, which are always heard, and to his powerful mediation, and prevalent intercession; Christ is the advocate of his people; he prays that they might have faith, and then he prays, that it may not fail; and it shall not, notwithstanding all the opposition of hell, and earth, unto it:<\/p>\n and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren<\/strong>: Peter was now a converted man, and had been for some years; but whereas he would fall by temptation into a very great sin of denying his Lord, and which was attended with such circumstances as made him look like an unconverted, and an unregenerate man; his recovery by the fresh exercise of faith in Christ, and repentance for his sins, is called conversion: and which was not his own act, but owing to the power and efficacy of divine grace; see Jer 31:18<\/span>. Some versions render it in the imperative, “in time, convert, turn, or return, and strengthen thy brethren”; as the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions: as he afterwards did: for whereas all the disciples forsook Christ, and fled, some one way, and some another, Peter, after his recovery, got them together again, and returned with them to Jerusalem; when they with him assembled together, till the third day Christ was risen: he strengthened their faith in the Messiah, and put them upon filling up the place of Judas, by choosing another apostle; and on the day of “Pentecost” preached a most excellent sermon, which as it was made useful for the conversion of three thousand sinners, was, doubtless, a means of confirming the minds of the disciples; and he has left two exceeding useful epistles for the strengthening of his brethren in all ages of time; the design of which is to establish the saints in faith and holiness, that they may not be drawn aside, and fall from the steadfastness of their faith, either by the lusts of the flesh, or by the persecutions of men, or by the error of the wicked.<\/p>\n That thy faith fail not <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). Second aorist active subjunctive of purpose with <\/SPAN><\/span> after <\/SPAN><\/span> ( I prayed <\/B>) of <\/SPAN><\/span>, old verb. Our word eclipse<\/I> is this word. Evidently Jesus could not keep Satan from attacking Peter. He had already captured Judas. Did he not repeatedly attack Jesus? But he could and did pray for Peter’s faith and his praying won in the end, though Peter stumbled and fell.<\/P> And do thou <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). The words single out Peter sharply.<\/P> Once thou hast turned again <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). First aorist active participle of <\/SPAN><\/span>, common verb to turn to, to return. But the use of this word implied that Peter would fall though he would come back and “strengthen thy brethren.” <\/P> <\/p>\n Prayed [] <\/SPAN><\/span>. See on prayers, ch. 5 33. <\/P> Art converted [] <\/SPAN><\/span>. Converted is simply the Latinized rendering of the word to turn round [] <\/SPAN><\/span>. Rev. renders the aorist participle, denoting a definite act, by once : “when once thou hast turned again.” <\/P> Strengthen [] <\/SPAN><\/span>. See on ch. Luk 16:25<\/span>, and 1Pe 5:10<\/span>. Rev., stablish, which is much better. Strengthen may denote only a temporary effect. The word implies fixedness.<\/P> <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n 1) “But I have prayed for thee,” <\/strong>(ego de edeethen pen sou) “However I have requested concerning you,” and this I requested, of the Father, as He has prayed for all His own, Joh 17:9<\/span>; Joh 17:11<\/span>; Joh 17:15<\/span>; and He still prays for them, Heb 7:25<\/span>; 1Jn 2:1-2<\/span>; Rom 8:27<\/span>.<\/p>\n 2) “That thy faith fall not:” <\/strong>(hina me elipe he pistis sou) “In order that your faith might not fail,” falter or come to a halt, 1Co 15:57-58<\/span>; Gal 6:9<\/span>. The prayers of Jesus for us is more powerful than Satan’s power.<\/p>\n 3) “And when thou art converted,” <\/strong>(kai su pote epi strepsas) “And when you have turned around, changed directions or been converted,” in your attitude for preeminence, and your temptations to deny me.<\/p>\n 4) “Strengthen the brethren.” <\/strong>(sterison tou adelphous sou) “You support the brethren,” strengthen them, help them to spiritual maturity, by word and deed, Joh 21:15-17<\/span>; 1Pe 5:10-12<\/span>; 2Pe 1:10-15<\/span>; 2Pe 3:17<\/span>.<\/p>\n (32) I have prayed for thee.<\/strong>The individualising pronoun is significant as indicating to the Apostle, who was most confident, it may be, of his claim to greatness, that he, of the whole company of the Twelve, was in the greatest danger. In the Greek the other pronoun also is emphatic. It was I<\/em> who prayed for thee. The prayer was answered, and the words that follow assume the answer as certain. In one sense faith did fail when the disciple denied his Lord; but repentance came after it, and a new power was gained through that weakness to make others strong. The word for strengthen does not meet us in the other Gospels, but is used frequently by St. Paul (Rom. 1:11<\/span>; 1Th. 3:2<\/span>, et al.<\/em>),<\/em> and twice by St. Peter himself (1Pe. 5:10<\/span>; 2Pe. 1:12<\/span>).<\/p>\n 32<\/strong>. <\/strong> Prayed that thy faith fail not<\/em> His faith should falter, <\/em> though it did not finally fail. <\/em> His faith doubtless ceased to be justifying, <\/em> though it remained convicting; <\/em> at least so far as to form the basis of a true repentance. <\/p>\n Converted<\/em> From the apostacy. That re-conversion he doubtless needed to save him from damnation. The salvation of an old conversion will not survive a complete apostacy. A new repentance, faith, and conversion are necessary. <\/p>\n Strengthen thy brethren<\/em> Who will have been shaken and enfeebled by thy apostacy. Alford says that the use three times, in Peter’s epistles, of this word strengthened <\/em> is at least remarkable. He who by sin disgraces the cause of Christ, should doubly honour it by a redoubled effort to prevent others from like folly.<\/p>\n “But I made supplication for you, that your faith fail not, and do you, when once you have turned again, establish your brethren.”<\/p>\n Notice the emphatic ‘I’. Jesus stands over against Satan and proves the more powerful. None other could have done this, only the One Who was ‘Stronger than he’ (Luk 11:22<\/span>). And because He has made supplication for Peter all will be well. Peter’s faith, having been battered, will finally stand the test. Furthermore, once he has ‘been turned again’ (or ‘has turned himself again’) and come back to Jesus, he is also to establish his brother disciples, and all the people of God (‘the brethren’). Note how God has a purpose in all that He allows (compare Heb 12:2-13<\/span>). What was to happen to Peter would in the end benefit him, for it would serve to humble him, and it would benefit the people of God as well. This was his preparation for his servant-throne from which he would tend the sheep (Joh 21:15-18<\/span>). In later centuries the leaders of the church would take up the idea of thrones. Men are always looking to exalt themselves. But what they would totally reject was the actual idea of being the servants of all. (They would retain the language but reject its content). It is impossible for anyone to feel that he should be put on a pedestal, and at the same time remain humble.<\/p>\n This need revealed in Peter is found in us all. That is why the writer to the Hebrews points out that He ever lives to make intercession for us (Heb 7:25<\/span>), so that He can save us to the uttermost. For as was true in the case of Peter, (earthly rocks are very vulnerable), without His constant intercession we too would be lost. <\/p>\n 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Ver. 32. But I have prayed<\/strong> ] So the plaster is ready made before the wound be given; for else the patient might perish, as those do that are stung with scorpions, if not presently anointed with oil of scorpions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n That thy faith fail not<\/strong> ] It is our faith that Satan chiefly assaulteth: he knows that nihil retinct qui fidem perdidit.<\/em> (Seneca.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Strengthen thy brethren<\/strong> ] So he doth notably, in both his Epistles, dooming apostates most severely, 2Pe 2:1-22<\/span> . <\/p>\n 32.<\/strong> ] <\/strong> . <\/strong> <\/strong> . <\/strong> <\/strong> ] As Peter was the foremost<\/em> (the rest are here addressed through him), so he was in the greatest danger. It must not be supposed that our Lord’s prayer was not heard, because Peter’s faith did fail<\/em> , in his denial; <\/strong> implies a total extinction<\/em> which Peter’s faith did not suffer<\/em> .<\/p>\n Though the <\/strong> included Judas, he is not included in the prayer:<\/em> see Joh 17:6-12<\/span> . We may notice here, that our Lord speaks of the total failure of even an Apostle’s faith<\/em> , as possible<\/em> .<\/p>\n <\/strong> ] There can, I think, be little doubt that this word is here used in the general N.T. sense, of returning as a penitent<\/em> after sin, turning to God; and not in the almost expletive meaning which it has in such passages as Psa 84:6<\/span> , , (although even here it may have a somewhat similar sense to the above see Joe 2:14<\/span> ; Act 7:42 ).<\/p>\n <\/strong> ] The use of this word and the cognate substantive thrice by Peter in his two epistles<\/em> (see reff.), and in the first passage in a connexion with the mention of Satan’s temptations<\/em> , is remarkable.<\/p>\n Luk 22:32<\/span> . , but I<\/em> have prayed: I<\/em> working against Satan, and successfully. . ., that thy faith may not (utterly) fail or die (Luk 16:9<\/span> ), though it prove weak or inadequate for the moment. Job’s faith underwent eclipse. He did not curse God, but for the time he lost faith in the reality of a Divine government in human affairs. So Peter never ceased to love Jesus, but he was overpowered by fear and the instinct of self-preservation. , having returned (to thy true self). Cf.<\/em> in Mat 18:3<\/span> . The word “converted,” as bearing a technical sense, should be allowed to fall into desuetude in this connection. Many regard as a Hebraism = vicissim<\/em> : do thou in turn<\/em> strengthen by prayer and otherwise thy brethren as I have strengthened thee. So, e.g.<\/em> , Grotius: “Da operam ne in fide deficiant, nempe pro ipsis orans<\/em> , sicut ego pro te oro”. Ingenious but doubtful. : later form for ; for the sense vide<\/em> Act 14:22<\/span> and 1Pe 5:10<\/span> .<\/p>\n Luke<\/p>\n PARTING PROMISES AND WARNINGS<\/p>\n A GREAT FALL AND A GREAT RECOVERY<\/p>\n Luk 22:32 <\/strong> .<\/p>\n Our Lord has just been speaking words of large and cordial praise of the steadfastness with which His friends had continued with Him in His temptations, and it is the very contrast between that continuance and the prevision of the cowardly desertion of the Apostle which occasioned the abrupt transition to this solemn appeal to him, which indicates how the forecast pained Christ’s heart. He does not let the foresight of Peter’s desertion chill His praise of Peter’s past faithfulness as one of the Twelve. He does not let the remembrance of Peter’s faithfulness modify His rebuke for Peter’s intended and future desertion. He speaks to him, with significant and emphatic reiteration of the old name of Simon that suggests weakness, unsanctified and unhelped: ‘Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.’ There<\/em> is a glimpse given, a corner of the curtain being lifted, into a dim region in which faith should not refuse to discern so much light as Christ has given, because superstition has so often fancied that it saw what it only dreamed. But passing from that, the words before us seem to me to suggest a threefold thought of the Intercessor for tempted souls; of the consequent re-illumination of eclipsed faith; and of the larger service for which the discipline of fall and recovery fits him who falls. Let me say a word or two about each of these thoughts.<\/p>\n I. We have the Intercessor for tempted souls.<\/p>\n <\/strong> Notice that majestic ‘but’ with which my text begins, ‘Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat, but<\/em> I have prayed for thee.’ He presents Himself, then, as the Antagonist, the confident and victorious Antagonist, of whatsoever mysterious, malignant might may lie beyond the confines of sense, and He says, ‘My prayer puts the hook in leviathan’s nose, and the malevolent desire to sift, in order that not the chaff but the wheat may disappear, comes all to nothing by the side of My prayer.’<\/p>\n Note the discrimination of the intercession. He ‘hath desired to have you’-that is plural; ‘I have prayed for thee’-that is singular. The man that was in the greatest danger was the man nearest to Christ’s heart, and chiefly the object of Christ’s intercession. So it is always-the tenderest of His words, the sweetest of His consolations, the strongest of His succours, the most pleading and urgent of His petitions, the mightiest gifts of His grace, are given to the weakest, the neediest, the men and women in most sorrow and stress and peril, and they who want Him most always have Him nearest. The thicker the darkness, the brighter His light; the drearier our lives, the richer His presence; the more solitary we are, the larger the gifts of His companionship. Our need is the measure of His prayer. ‘Satan hath desired to have you, but thou, Peter, dost stand in the very focus of the danger, and so on thee<\/em> are focussed, too, the rays of My love and care.’ Be sure, dear friends, that it is always so for us, and that when you want Christ most, Christ is most to you.<\/p>\n Then, I need not touch at any length upon that great subject on which none of us can speak adequately or with full comprehension-viz. our Lord as the Intercessor for us in all our weakness and need. We believe in His continual manhood, we believe that He prayed upon earth, we believe that He prays in heaven. His prayer is no mere utterance of words: it is the presentation of a fact, the bringing ever before the Infinite Divine Mind, as it were, of His great work of sacrifice, as the condition which determines, and the channel through which flows, the gift of sustaining grace from God Himself. And so we may be sure that whensoever there come to any of us trials, difficulties, conflicts, temptations, they are known to our Brother in the skies, and the stormier the gales that threaten us, the closer He wraps His protection round us. We have an Advocate and an Intercessor before the Throne; His prayer is always heard. Oh, brethren! how different our endurance would be, if we vividly believed that Christ was praying for us! How it would take the sting out of sorrow, and blunt the edge of temptation, if we realised that! O for a faith that shall rend the heavens, and rise above the things seen and temporal, and behold the eternal order of the universe, the central Throne, and at the right hand of God, the Intercessor for all who love and trust Him!<\/p>\n II. Notice again the consequent re-illumination of eclipsed faith.<\/p>\n <\/strong>‘I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.’ Did it fail? If we look only at Peter’s denial, we must answer, Yes. If we look at the whole of the future life of the Apostle, we answer, No. Eclipse is not extinction; the momentary untruthfulness to one’s deepest convictions is not the annihilation of these convictions. Christ’s prayer is never vain, and Christ’s prayer was answered just because Peter, though he fell, did not lie in the mud, but staggered to his feet again, and with sore weeping and many an agony of shame, struggled onward, with unconquerable hope, in the path from which, for a moment, he strayed. Better one great outburst like his, the nature of which there is no possibility of mistaking, than the going on, as so many professing Christians do, from year to year, walking in a vain show of godliness, and fancying themselves to be disciples, when all the while they are recreants and apostates. There is more chance of the recovery of a good man that has fallen into some sin, ‘gross as a mountain, open, palpable,’ than there is of the recovery of those who let their religion trickle out of them in drops, and never know that their veins are empty until the heart ceases to beat at all.<\/p>\n Here, then, we have two large lessons from which we may take strength, taught us by this darkening and re-illumination of an eclipsed faith. One is that the sincerest love, the truest desire to follow Jesus, the firmest faith, may be overborne, and the whole set of a life contradicted for a time. Thank God, there is a vast difference between conduct which is inconsistent with being a Christian and conduct which is incompatible with being a Christian. It is dangerous, perhaps, to apply the difference too liberally in judging ourselves; it is imperative to apply it always in judging our fellows. But if it be true that Peter meant, down to the very bottom of his heart, all that he said when he said, ‘I will lay down my life for Thee,’ while yet within a few hours afterwards the sad prophecy of our Lord was fulfilled-’Thou shalt deny Me thrice!’-let us take the lesson, not, indeed, to abate our horror of the sin, but on the one hand to cut the comb of our own self-confidence, and on the other hand to judge with all charity and tenderness the faults of our brethren. ‘Be not high-minded, but fear,’ and when we look into the black gulf into which Peter fell bodily, let us cry, ‘Hold Thou me up and I shall be safe.’<\/p>\n The other lesson is that the deepest fall may be recovered. Our Lord in the words of our text does not definitely prophesy what He subsequently declares in plain terms, the fall of Peter, but He implies it when He says, ‘when thou art converted’-or, as the Revised Version reads it much more accurately, ‘when once thou hast turned again strengthen thy brethren.’ Then, the Apostle’s face had been turned the wrong way for a time, and he needed to turn right-about-face in order to renew the old direction of his life. He came back for two reasons-one because Christ prayed for him, and the other because he ‘turned himself.’ For the only way back is through the valley of weeping and the dark lane of penitence; and whosoever has denied with Peter, or at least grovelled with Peter, or perhaps grovelled much more than Peter, ‘denying the Lord that bought him’ by living as if He was not his Lord, will never come back to the place that Peter again won for himself, but by the road by which Peter went. ‘The Lord turned and looked upon him,’ and Christ’s face, with love and sorrow and reproach in it, taught him his sin, and bowed his heart, ‘and he went out and wept bitterly.’<\/p>\n Peter and Judas both ‘went out’; the one ‘went out and hanged himself,’ because his conviction of his sin was unaccompanied with a faith in his Master’s love, and his repentance was only remorse; and the other ‘went out and wept bitterly,’ and so came back with a clean heart. And on the Resurrection morning he was ready for the message: ‘Go, tell His disciples, and Peter<\/em> , He goeth before you into Galilee.’ And the Lord appeared to him, in that conversation, the existence of which was known, though the particulars were unknown, to the rest; and when ‘He appeared unto Cephas,’ spoke his full forgiveness. There is the road back for all wanderers.<\/p>\n III. The last thought is, the larger service for which such an experience will fit him who falls.<\/p>\n <\/strong>‘Strengthen thy brethren when once thou hast turned again.’ I need not remind you how nobly the Apostle fulfilled this commandment. Satan desired to have him, that he might sift him as wheat; but Satan’s sifting was in order that he might get rid of the wheat and harvest the chaff. His malice worked indirectly the effect opposite to his purpose, and achieved the same result as Christ’s winnowing seeks to accomplish-namely, it got rid of the chaff and kept the wheat. Peter’s vanity was sifted out of him, his self-confidence was sifted out of him, his rash presumption was sifted out of him, his impulsive readiness to blurt out the first thought that came into his head was sifted out of him, and so his unreliableness and changeableness were largely sifted out of him, and he became what Christ said he had in him the makings of being-’Cephas, a rock,’ or, as the Apostle Paul, who was never unwilling to praise the others, said, a man ‘who looked like a pillar.’ He ‘strengthened his brethren,’ and to many generations the story of the Apostle who denied the Lord he loved has ministered comfort. To how many tempted souls, and souls that have yielded to temptation, and souls that, having yielded, are beginning to grope their way back again out of its vulgar delights and surfeiting sweetnesses, and find that there is a desert to be traversed before they can again reach the place where they stood before, has that story ministered hope, as it will minister to the very end! The bone that is broken is stronger, they tell us, at the point of junction, when it heals and grows again, than it ever was before. And it may well be that a faith that has made experience of falling and restoration has learned a depth of self-distrust, a firmness of confidence in Christ, a warmth of grateful love which it would never otherwise have experienced.<\/p>\n The Apostle about whom we have been speaking seems to have carried in his mind and memory an abiding impression from that bitter experience, and in his letter when he was an old man, and all that past was far away, he writes many words which sound like echoes and reminiscences of it. In the last chapter of his epistle, in which he speaks of himself as a witness of the sufferings of Christ, there are numbers of verses which seem to point to what had happened in the Upper Room. ‘Ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.’ Jesus Christ had then said, ‘He that is the greater among you, let him be as the younger.’ Peter says, ‘Be clothed with humility’; he remembers Christ wrapping a towel around Him, girding Himself, and taking the basin. He says, ‘God resisteth the proud,’ and he remembers how proud he had been, with his boast: ‘Though all should . . . yet will not I,’ and how low he fell because he was ‘fool’ enough to ‘trust in his own heart.’ ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, steadfast in the faith.’ ‘The God of all grace stablish, strengthen, settle you.’ He thus strengthened his brethren when he reminded them of the temptation to which he himself had so shamefully succumbed, and when he referred them for all their strength to the source of it all, even God in Christ.<\/p>\n prayed. Greek. deomai. App-134. Not the same word as in verses: Luk 22:40, Luk 22:4, Luk 22:44, Luk 40:46. <\/p>\n for = concerning. Greek. peri. App-104. <\/p>\n thee. Simon. thy faith. Not Simon himself. <\/p>\n not. Greek. me. App-105. <\/p>\n when thou, &c. – thou, when thou hast once turned again. <\/p>\n strengthen = establish. Compare 1Pe 5:10. <\/p>\n 32.] . . ] As Peter was the foremost (the rest are here addressed through him), so he was in the greatest danger. It must not be supposed that our Lords prayer was not heard, because Peters faith did fail, in his denial; implies a total extinction which Peters faith did not suffer.<\/p>\n Though the included Judas, he is not included in the prayer: see Joh 17:6-12. We may notice here, that our Lord speaks of the total failure of even an Apostles faith, as possible.<\/p>\n ] There can, I think, be little doubt that this word is here used in the general N.T. sense, of returning as a penitent after sin, turning to God; and not in the almost expletive meaning which it has in such passages as Psa 84:6, , (although even here it may have a somewhat similar sense to the above-see Joe 2:14; Act 7:42).<\/p>\n ] The use of this word and the cognate substantive thrice by Peter in his two epistles (see reff.), and in the first passage in a connexion with the mention of Satans temptations, is remarkable.<\/p>\n Luk 22:32. ) A striking word. I have prayed, although thou, Peter, wert not aware of what was being done. Jesus prayed for His disciples: therefore Satan was not able by his seeking to get Him to deliver them up (, Luk 22:31, to get Jesus to deliver them up from their spiritual place of safety).- , that thy faith might not fail) He does not say, that thou mightest not be sifted. Even though Satan sifted Peter, yet he did not altogether wrest from him his faith. Satan sought to cause an eclipse[237] of faith in Peter: but the light of faith immediately shone out again in him after the strife [Luk 22:24] and after the subsequent denial. Peter, during that instability on his part, was, notwithstanding, in secret Peter [A rock] truly still: just as James and John, although they had externally a nice and refined manner of speech, were notwithstanding truly the sons of thunder still.-[ , thy faith) which pride is assailing, and which Satan is bringing into jeopardy.-V. g.] ) (Joh 9:13, , a while before was blind) is even used of a short interval of time, as Eustathius shows us. In this passage it conveys an indefinite idea [when (soever) thou art converted, Engl. Ver.], at some time or other, whenever it may be, at a long or short interval hence.- , in thy turn strengthen [confirm]) To make up for the fact that [according as] thy brethren are now put in peril through thee: the verb is to be resolved into an adverb [vicissim, in thy turn. But Engl. Ver. When thou art converted], as the Heb. . Comp. , Act 7:42.[238]-, confirm, strengthen) What I now do to thee, that do thou to those like thee [those liable to fall as thou art], whom thou hast previously weakened (by the fall). Peter did so not long after, Acts 2, 3, 4, and in both of his Epistles, where this very word is often repeated; 1Pe 5:10; 2Pe 1:12; 2Pe 3:17; 2Pe 3:16; 2Pe 2:14. And often one may thus observe the words of Jesus subsequently employed by the apostles.- ) thy brethren, saith Jesus, not our brethren. For the footing on (the manner in) which Peter has his brethren is one thing, that on (in) which the Lord has His brethren is quite another thing. The rest of the apostles were brethren of Peter, Mat 23:8 [One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren]: but inasmuch as these afterwards did not need the confirmation (strengthening) of Peter, it is to be understood of other believers of a feebler sort.<\/p>\n [237] Como , from which eclipse is derived.-E. and T.<\/p>\n [238] Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven. Engl. Vers. Rather, God in His turn, in righteous retribution, gave them up, etc.-E. and T.<\/p>\n art converted <\/p>\n hast turned back again. <\/p>\n I have: Zec 3:2-4, Joh 14:19, Joh 17:9-11, Joh 17:15-21, Rom 5:9, Rom 5:10, Rom 8:32, Rom 8:34, Heb 7:25, 1Pe 1:5, 1Jo 2:1, 1Jo 2:2 <\/p>\n thy faith: Luk 8:13, 2Ti 2:18, Tit 1:1, Heb 12:15, 1Pe 1:1, 1Jo 2:19 <\/p>\n and when: Luk 22:61, Luk 22:62, Mat 18:3, Mat 26:75, Mar 14:72, Mar 16:7, Act 3:19 <\/p>\n strengthen: Psa 32:3-6, Psa 51:12, Psa 51:13, Joh 21:15-17, 2Co 1:4-6, 1Ti 1:13-16, Heb 12:12, Heb 12:13, 1Pe 1:13, 1Pe 5:8-10, 2Pe 1:10-12, 2Pe 3:14, 2Pe 3:17, 2Pe 3:18 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 1Sa 23:16 – strengthened 2Sa 10:11 – General 2Ch 33:16 – commanded Job 1:12 – Behold Job 2:6 – save Job 4:3 – and thou hast Psa 23:3 – restoreth Psa 31:24 – Be of Psa 37:24 – Though Psa 94:18 – My foot Psa 145:14 – upholdeth Ecc 4:10 – if Isa 28:28 – Bread Isa 35:3 – General Isa 42:3 – bruised Dan 10:18 – he Mat 4:3 – the tempter Mat 14:31 – and caught Mat 16:17 – Blessed Mat 23:8 – all Mat 26:31 – All Mar 5:12 – General Mar 14:27 – All Luk 6:42 – cast Luk 22:43 – strengthening Joh 10:28 – neither Joh 20:6 – General Act 1:15 – Peter Act 18:23 – strengthening 1Co 10:13 – who 1Co 13:8 – never 1Co 13:13 – faith Eph 4:12 – perfecting Phi 1:25 – for Col 1:23 – ye continue 1Th 5:14 – comfort 2Ti 2:26 – at Heb 5:2 – is compassed Jam 5:19 – and one 1Pe 5:9 – stedfast 1Pe 5:10 – strengthen Rev 3:2 – strengthen<\/p>\n But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. <\/p>\n [That thy faith fail not.] There seems an emphasis in the word faith. As to the other apostles, indeed, that Christian courage and magnanimity which they ought to have exerted in that difficult time did fail them; but their faith was nothing so near shipwreck as Peter’s faith was. They indeed deserted their Master and fled, Mar 14:50; which they seem to have not done without some connivance from himself, Joh 18:8. But when Peter renounced and abjured his Lord, how near was he becoming an apostate; and his faith from suffering a total shipwreck? Certainly it was Peter’s advantage that Christ prayed for him; but it was not so much for his honour, that he, beyond all others, should stand in need of such a prayer.<\/p>\n Luk 22:32. But I. Emphatic. In the consciousness of greater power than that of Satan and greater faithfulness than that of Peter.<\/p>\n For thee. Peter is now spoken of alone, as in the greatest danger.<\/p>\n That thy faith fail not, i.e., cease altogether. Our Lord prays, not that Peter be not tried, but that his faith should not utterly fail. It was only through this prayer that Peters faith did not fail altogether. An Apostles faith would become extinct, did not Christ intercede for His own.<\/p>\n When once thou hast turned again. Peters sin and repentance are both implied here. Converted(so E. V.) is unfortunate; there is no reference to the experience with which Christian life usually begins. Peter had been converted, in that sense.<\/p>\n Stablish thy brethren. The others were his brethren in weakness; hence the form chosen. Peters prominence is recognized, and the part he should take in the establishment of the Church prophetically intimated.<\/p>\n This is the one and only proof text for the Vatican dogma of papal infallibility (1870), on the assumption that the promise given to Peter applies to all the popes as his successors. But (1) this assumption can never be proved; (2) faith here as usual means personal trust in our Lord, not a system of doctrine to be believed; (3) if the passage proves anything for the popes, it would prove also that they deny their Lord, need conversion, and must strengthen their brethrenwhich is much more than history warrants and papal infallibilists would be willing to admit.<\/p>\n 22:32 {11} But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.<\/p>\n (11) It is through the prayers of Christ that the elect never utterly fall away from the faith: and because of this they should encourage one another on.<\/p>\n Jesus had already counterattacked Satan by praying to God for Peter (singular "you," sou<\/span>) and presumably for all the other disciples (cf. Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25).<\/p>\n "Notice that the Master did not ask that His servant might be freed from trouble. The undergoing of difficulty and hardship is an integral part of the Christian way." [Note: Morris, p. 309.] <\/span><\/p>\n Jesus described Peter’s faith as being stretched to its limit. He was confident that Peter would survive this attack with God’s help. His confidence indicates the superior power of Jesus over Satan in spiritual warfare. When he did turn back (Gr. epistrepho<\/span>) to Jesus, Peter would need to help his brother disciples whose faith Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trials, crucifixion, death, and burial would challenge (cf. Joh 21:15-17; 1Th 3:2; 1Th 3:13; 1Pe 5:10; et al.). Jesus implied that Peter would turn away from Him temporarily. When Peter objected to this assumption, which he considered insulting (Luk 22:33), Jesus said frankly that Peter would deny Him (Luk 22:34). Evidently Jesus singled Peter out from the other disciples, all of whom needed God’s help in withstanding temptation, because of his leading role. He would be able to help the other disciples recover (cf. Act 1:15; et al.).<\/p>\n Peter had a responsibility even though Jesus prayed for him. Prayer and action are not mutually contradictory but complimentary.<\/p>\n But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 32. I have prayed for thee ] Rather, I made supplication concerning thee, shewing that Peter, the most confident, was at that moment the most imperilled, though Jesus had prayed for them all (Joh 17:9; Joh … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 22:32”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
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Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Greek Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"