Luke 22:31-38

Butler's Comments

SECTION 2

Care (Luke 22:31-38)

31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren. 33And he said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death. 34He said, I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you three times deny that you know me.

35 And he said to them, When I sent you out with no purse or bag or sandals, did you lack anything? They said, Nothing. 36He said to them, But now, let him who has a purse take it, and likewise a bag. And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one. 37For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, -And he was reckoned with transgressors-'; for what is written about me has its fulfillment. 38And they said, Look, Lord, here are two swords. And he said to them, It is enough.

Luke 22:31-34 Advised: What John's gospel records (John 13:31-38) precedes Jesus-' warning to Peter here. So, also, do the texts in Matthew 26:31-33 and Mark 14:27-29. These three texts document the overconfident braggadocio of Peter. John's gospel indicates Jesus begins to talk about His imminent humiliation on the cross in the enigmatic statement, Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, Where I am going you cannot come. Then Jesus gave the new commandment that all His disciples should love one another with the same kind of love He displayed so the world would know they are His disciples (John 13:34-35). But Peter was not listening intently to that. He was still thinking about going wherever Jesus was. He was determined and confident that he could follow Jesus anywhere Jesus would go. In the Matthew and Mark texts Jesus quotes the messianic passage in Zechariah 13:7 about the Shepherd being smitten and the sheep scattering, as a warning to Peter and the other disciples, that when the time comes for Him to be humiliated, they will all scatter. Peter boastingly says, Even though they all fall away, because of you, I will never fall away (Matthew 26:33; Mark 14:29). Yes, Peter was no coward when it came to physical combat. He later proved that in Gethsemane when he whipped out his sword and took a swipe at one of the mob come to arrest Jesus (Luke 22:49-50; John 18:10). And our text here in Luke 22:33 documents the fact that Peter was willing to go with Jesus to prison and to death. But there is a great deal of difference in fighting proudly for an earthly ambition than being willing to suffer humiliation and apparent failure for a spiritual goal! None of the disciples wanted to go with Him when, later, it appeared that He had failed to set up His kingdom and was willing to be humiliated like a common criminal on a cross. Jesus predicted they would all fall away that very night, and the gospel writers used the Greek word skandalisthesesthe from which the English word, scandalized, originates. The disciples were not frightened by the mob which came to arrest Jesusthey would have fought for Him until they died had He only asked them to do so. But they were scandalized by His acquiescence, His humility, and His submission to be unjustly slandered and slain with a criminal's executioncrucifixion. They were scandalized by what they considered His failure to be able to carry through with the establishment of the kingdom He had so often promised to set up.

So Jesus warns them all. They are all much too confident in the flesh. Jesus said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you all, that he might winnow you like wheat.. The Greek pronoun in Luke 22:31 is plural, showing that Jesus is warning them of Satan's designs on them all. But in Luke 22:32 the pronoun is singular indicating that Jesus is focusing on Peter because he was in special danger, being the most impetuous of them all.

The Greek verb exetesato is aorist and intensive. It is translated demand in the RSV, however, Vine says the Greek word punthanomai is usually translated demand (see Matthew 2:4; Acts 21:33). The word exetesato means to examine, seek out by intense inquiry, search out or ask intently. G. Campbell Morgan says, What He (Jesus) said about this is most arresting. -Satan hath obtained you by asking.-' That is the real force of the Greek verb. It is not merely that Satan had asked; he had obtained them by asking. It certainly is a clear indication that Satan is always under God's sovereign power. Satan can have nothing unless God gives it to him. Satan cannot winnow until he is given permissionhe must ask. Satan is always bound to some degree by the very fact that he is creature and not Creator. There is only one Almighty and that is Jehovah and His Son.

Satan wanted to winnow the apostles like the farmer winnows his wheat. When a farmer winnowed his wheat in those days he took some kind of a shoveling instrument and threw the threshed grain roughly into the air, measure by measure, and let the wind blow upon it to separate the good grain from the chaff. It was a purifying process, much like putting gold or silver into a crucible to purify it and test it. Jesus winnows men by the truth hoping to sift all impurity and chaff away. Satan asks to winnow men by falsehood hoping to sift all the good wheat away so that only the chaff is left.
Jesus encouraged the apostles by saying, I have prayed for you.. The Greek word translated prayed is edeethen, from the verb, deo, which means, to bind. In other words, Jesus is saying, I have asked the Father for you, as your Bondmanyour Surety. I have asked the Father that you be bound to me. Jesus prayed that their faith would not fail, especially Peter's faith, for Peter would be the one needed to strengthen and establish his brethren. Jesus knew Peter's faith would not fail, but that it would simply need redirection, turning. The Greek word epistrepsas is an aorist participle and might be translated, having turned. confirm your brethren. Peter believed wholeheartedly in Jesus, but he needed that heart-rooted faith redirected toward the spiritual and heavenly goals of Christ. After the resurrection and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, Peter did direct that deep faith toward spiritual matters and he did strengthen his brethren! Jesus plainly predicts that, in spite of Peter's courageous commitment to die physically for his Lord, before morning comes (before the cock crows) he will disown (Gr. aparnese) or deny knowing Jesus three times. Peter is not willing to die spiritually for Christ. Jesus knew Peter's heart thenlater, Peter saw it too (cf. Luke 22:54-62).

Luke 22:35-38 Armed: This was an evening of amazing statements by the Lord. But the next statement was one of the most amazing ever to fall from the lips of Jesus! He reminded the apostles of the time He had sent them out to do the work of the kingdom without money bags or sandals and they had lacked for nothing (Matthew 10:1-42; Luke 9:1-6; Mark 6:7-13). For that job, they had everything which was sufficient. Now, He had another job for them. It was an urgent one. He commanded them, Let any one of you who has a purse, take it immediately, or a bagand anyone of you who does not have a swordtake his outer cloak immediately and sell it and buy a sword. The Greek verbs arato and polesato (take and sell) are aorist imperative and suggest that He commanded them to take and sell immediately.

The mission Jesus had for His apostles here was to protect Him against the mob that He knows had gathered and would want to seize Him for murder on the spot. Jesus knew He was going to die. He accepted the will of God, but He also knew it was God's will that He die in a particular way (crucifixion) and at a particular time. He would not surrender to the violence of a mob. Jesus was no pacifist. He always stood for law and order (see comments on Luke 20:19-26). Jesus told the apostles to make haste, even if they must sell their coats (so necessary for keeping warm), to purchase some swords to defend Himself and them against the disorderly, anarchistic mob of Jerusalem's rabble, agitated by the murderous priesthood, coming to do violence to Him. Some have suggested that Jesus ordered the apostles to get swords to defend themselves against the persecution that came their way as they went to preach the gospel. They certainly did not carry swords as they later went out to evangelize. But very shortly they faced uncontrolled hostility and mob mentality. He and they were in peril of life and limb from a lawless mob which looked upon Jesus and His followers as transgressors and insurrectionists. They needed some weapons to defend themselves. Two swords were enough for defense, but not enough to start a war. Jesus did not intend them to use swords to fight for His release, (see John 18:10-11). We certainly cannot interpret Jesus-' instructions here to be sanctioning vigilante action or armed aggression. Neither does He intend by this to advocate spreading the gospel by the power of the sword (as Mohammed advocated). When the apostles told Jesus they already had two swords among them, He said, That is enough. One of these two swords appeared in the hand of Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane. He drew it and cut off the right ear of the high priest's servant. There Jesus told Peter his action was wrong (see comments, Luke 22:50-51).