He Didn't Get Mad

I was reading the passage of the "last supper" in Luke Chapter 22. There are so many profound truths found in this little passage, but something different stuck out to me today. In verse 31, Jesus tells Simon (Peter) that Satan has asked to sift him as wheat. Jesus knows that Simon Peter will "turn". In fact, he will deny him three times that very night. This makes the next verse almost comical because Peter tells Jesus that he will go with Him to prison and to death. I say comical simply because I think we promise things when we don't even know what we are talking about...or we don't know the limits to our faith.

What caught me off guard was how Jesus presents this bit of information to Peter. It is pretty much like this: "Simon Peter, you are going to go through a time of testing, but I have prayed for you and your faith will not fail. You will come through this, even though you deny that you even know me, the one True God."

Since Jesus knows how Peter is going to act later on, it is ironic that He doesn't get angry with Peter and scream, "I thought you believed! Can't you represent me better than this? What about all of the time and discipleship I have poured into you? Didn't it do any good? Who is going to proclaim my Name when I am gone? Buck UP! This is the time I need you!" I guess it is amazing to me that He didn't get mad.

Jesus doesn't cower in self pity when he realizes one of his main followers will not be faithful. He has no sense of worth tied up in what others think of him or whether or not they will be true to Him. He knows He is the Father's Son and the Messiah. He doesn't need a posse in order to make Him famous.

I love the fact that verse 31 says, "But I have PRAYED." Satan will do his best to destroy Peter and his witness, but Jesus's authority prevails. His prayer is His WORD, and nothing refutes what He says. Creation came into being based on His words. In Revelation, Jesus is described as having a sharp double-edged sword coming out of His mouth. He does battle with His words. And praise God, Jesus sits at the right hand of His Father at this very moment, saying intercessory prayers on our behalves.

The last part that I noticed was how encouraging Jesus was. He tells Peter that he will fall away, but He doesn't linger there. He immediately jumps to, "WHEN you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." He gives Peter a vision of what his life will look like after the time of testing. Peter will fulfill the vision of "feeding the sheep."