But I do want to welcome you. We're going to continue our Lent meditations today. So this is at the back end of Luke, chapter 22. And I just want to remind us of where we're at in terms of chronology. We're on Thursday night of Holy Week, Maudy Thursday. Maudy Thursday. Who knows what Maudy Thursday is? I'm looking out, there's so many new faces compared to when we used to do family foundations way back in the day when I taught about Maudy Thursday. Anyone know what maudy means? Just shout it out. Any Latin scholars? No, no Latin scholars. So it's from the Latin maudatum, which means command. So this is Command Thursday, the night when Jesus said, a new commandment I give unto you, love one another as I have loved you. That's John 13, 34. Jesus gives that command to mimic his love right after he washes the disciples' feet at Passover. And we should notice that the context of that love is service, which makes a lot of sense given what we learned last week about biblical greatness. You guys remember that sermon from Levi, right? Levi asked, what does greatness look like? And the answer is it looks like Jesus. And he says, lock your eyes on Jesus and follow his lead. In this text, last week's text, the emphasis is placed on his self-sacrificing service. The greatest among you will be the servant well. That's true, it's a good review too. I hope you try to do that every week. Review the lesson from last week, review the sermon. That's always good to have that in the front burner. All these things are linked together. But this week we're continuing on with that narrative of Thursday night. And man, what a busy day. We're reading Richard Scarry's busy day books all the time. This was busier than Richard Scarry's busy day. Washing the disciples' feet, the Passover, the institution of the Lord's Supper, Jesus speaking of being the true vine, being the good shepherd. giving the promise of the Holy Spirit, giving the new commandment, praying the high priestly prayer, sweating like blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples falling asleep exhausted, leaving him utterly alone, his betrayal, his arrest, his trial before the Jews. Lots going on. And during Holy Week, if we're not careful, we miss the meditation of Thursday night. We can just miss it completely. We're kind of zeroing in on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but we miss all that happened on Thursday. And that's part of what this Lent series is about. Life is busy, especially here in the West. We're always running to the next urgent thing. But today we're gonna hit the hermeneutical handbrake and we're gonna hit pause and we're gonna settle down again into this Lenten text and meditate on Thursday night. So hopefully you've found Luke 22, we're in verses 31 to 38. Please turn with me there now. Jesus is saying, Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. But I prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you've turned again, strengthen your brothers. And Peter said to him, Lord, I'm ready to go with you to both prison and death. And Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day until you deny me three times that you know me. And then Jesus said to them, when I sent you out with no money bag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything? They said, nothing. And he said to them, but now let the one who has a money bag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one, for I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, and that he was numbered with the transgressors. For what is written about me has its fulfillment. And they said, look, Lord, we have two swords. And Jesus said to them, it's enough. This is the word of the Lord. In this short account, we hear Jesus offering two sobering warnings to his disciples, followed by four comforting truths, and so we're going to go over those. Even though originally given to the disciples these warnings and comforts, they don't just apply to the Twelve, but they apply to us today. As Jesus addresses his disciples that Thursday night long ago, he's looking at us too. And so we'll take the warnings on first. The first warning would be that Satan will sift every true believer. Listen to what Jesus says. He says, Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to have you. A couple of things that we should pick up on here, that word demand sounds a little funny in our ears. Maybe your Bible translation is something different. I have no idea what the Greek is. I'm not going to try to pronounce it. But Strong's Dictionary gives us a little hand and says what that word demand means. And I've lost my place here. I'm sorry. I'm going to back up. That's coming later on the sermon. I've lost it. I apologize. First thing I want you to notice is the you in that phrase. Satan has demanded to have you. That you is a plural, okay? It's like you all, or as Levi's gonna be saying down south, y'all, or youse guys. The warning applies to everyone that's sitting at the table at the Last Supper here, okay? Matthew, John, all of them, Bartholomew, even the ones that we can't remember, those disciples. And as I've just said, these same warnings apply to us. Secondly, I want you to notice how deeply personal Jesus' words are. He says, Simon, Simon. I imagine Jesus fixing his eyes intently on Peter. He's leaning across the table. R.C. Sproul says here, when Jesus addressed Peter, repeating his name, which we've noted previously is an indication of affection and intimacy, we can almost feel the pain in his voice as he says, Simon, Simon. And I can imagine Jesus saying the same thing about us, desiring to look us in the eyes, imploring warning, saying, watch out, brother, take heed, sister. A tempter's coming, sin crouches at the door. Be ready, steel yourself, put on your armor. For the love of me, be warned. You have a spiritual enemy who will sift you. We endanger ourselves if we forget that we have an ever-present enemy. Remember from Job, Satan answers God and he says, God says, well, where have you been? Satan says, well, I'm going to and fro among the earth, from walking back and forth on it. He's looking around, he's here, he's observing, testing, Satan has been granted access to the world, and if we forget that, we do so at our peril. He goes to and fro within the limits that God has signed, looking for ways to destroy, damage, shame, test, tempt, and discourage the believer. Listen to what Peter says about Satan. Be sober-minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Peter has been in that lion's mouth. And so that warning is pretty urgent. And we need to hear that warning. We need to remember. I think there's two ditches we fall into when we think about the devil. One, that he has no influence. That's a ditch. And the other is that he's all powerful. That's another bad ditch. We won't address those. But what Jesus is trying to get us to see here in the text is be ready, be warned. You're going to be sifted. Jesus wants the disciples to see that. Later that night, that enemy does indeed actively sift Peter, and what does he find? He finds fear, denial, hopelessness, and sin. In Judas, the enemy's sifting revealed the dark and sinful heart that was destined for damnation. This sifting image is used by Jesus as a testing by trial metaphor, like winnowing chaff from wheat or refining gold from dross. What appears to be in view here is that Satan, the accuser, desires to see, is Peter gonna walk the walk? It's almost like the test on the mountain with Abraham, isn't it? Abraham's got the dagger up and he's about to let go and then God says, stop, stop. For now, I know. Trials, satanic tempting, sifting, it has this revealing function, right? And Satan uses this, he wants to use it to expose, to humiliate, and to discourage us, and Jesus is warning us. Secondly, we're told that the result of this sifting, that spiritual battles will come. The disciples are about to enter a season of spiritual battles. Spiritual battles come, and to paraphrase Smash Mouth, and hopefully somebody, I know one of you guys is gonna have this song in their head for the rest of the sermon, I apologize, but like, the trials start coming and they don't start, they don't stop coming. You better get dressed so you hit the ground running. It doesn't make sense just to live for fun. Your head don't get smart and your soul gets numb. There's so much to do, so much to say, so let's keep our hands folded in prayer, yo. You'll never shine trying on your own, so you'd better get hitting that prayer phone. Hey now, you're not an all-star, get your game on and pray. Hey now, struggle's coming, now you know it, get that. Okay, sorry, I don't have the rhyme for it, and I should've wore the green shirt like Shrek, but hey, that's the point. Struggles are coming, and that's, we need to see that. The disciples are seeing trials, they're being warned. Jesus says, in comparison to the first time I sent you out, everything was hunky-dory. Now, it's gonna be different. You should expect persecution and threat. Verse 36 says, and he said to them, I sent you out without money bag, knapsack, sandals. Did you lack anything? No, nothing, Lord. But now I say, let the one who has a money bag take it and likewise a knapsack. And if you don't have a sword, get one. Jesus is heralding a change in the weather. Hard times are a coming, Jesus says. He says you used to need nothing. You could walk barefoot on the beach. Didn't have to bring your bag. But now you'd better get ready. You better get your shoes on. Get your camping kit, your weapons for spiritual battle. Some are inclined to use this verse as a justification for bearing arms, and I get that, but if this is your proof text, you better have something else in your back pocket. Because if a literal translation or interpretation were in view here, why would Jesus tell them to get swords only to forbid their use later on that night? That's the consensus of the commentaries that I read. Calvin is a bit harsh, but ultimately right. We'll read this one together. I feel like I should be reading this in Old British or something, but he's actually French. I don't do a good French accent, so I'm just going to read it normally. Lord, lo, here are two swords. It was truly shameful and stupid ignorance that the disciples, after having been so often informed about bearing the cross, imagine that they must fight with swords of iron. It's uncertain whether they mean they're well-prepared against their enemies with two swords or complain that they're ill-provided with arms, but it is at least evident that they were so stupid as to not to think of a spiritual enemy R.C. Sproul, a little more charitable, a little modern guy. Jesus is warning them that everything's about to change. That's the crux of this verse. Everything's about to change. Whereas they were once welcomed everywhere they went, the world is about to turn on them because of hatred of him. Jesus says, it's enough. Not because two swords are enough, but saying enough, enough of this ridiculous talk of mortal warfare. My passion, says Jesus, is a spiritual battle. Thursday night is a spiritual battle. It's sifting time. As if they can fight their way out of this satanic assault with swords. It sounds foolish where we sit, right? We say, oh, those dumb disciples. I don't know. But this is what nailed me all week, right? Like I get to read this and think about it and preach to myself. This is my big takeaway. We gotta remember that disciples are not buffoons. They're honest, godly men seeking the Lord. They left everything because they thought Jesus was the Messiah. They're human. And often the writers of the Gospels really accentuate their sins. They make plain their shortcomings. We're inclined to minimize them. But this is what I got out of the text. I asked myself, how often have I entered into a spiritual battle, whether, you know, a trial at work, an elder care issue, difficult time with my family, a big decision, and I walk in there with my intellect alone. How often do we engage in problem-solving mode instead of activating prayer mode? So often the Christian will push so hard with their might and their will and their effort and their intellect, and they forget to pray. When we only come to prayer as a last resort, we're just like the disciples asking, hey, Lord, are two enough? No, not enough. No, the battle before the disciples is a spiritual battle and it needs spiritual weapons. And they're coming for every believer. Jesus says in the Beatitudes, blessed are you when others revile, persecute you. utter all kinds of evil against you falsely. Later on, Jesus says that on Thursday night, he says, but I've said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. Take heart, I've overcome the world. And if we're still not getting it, Peter says, beloved, don't be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice so far and you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. Or James, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials. You might be saying, Gary, well, you've got the Bible clip going there pretty strongly. Why so many quotes? Isn't that breaking some kind of rule? No, we're in church. We should hear a lot of scripture. Not breaking a rule. But I throw this out there because we all believe on some level this lie that God's preferred people, we get an out from testing, right? Think about it. We all think that, well, you know, if God loves me, he'll spare me X. If God loves me, I won't go through Y. Really? Is that what the Bible tells us? No, we don't get an out of trial. We get something much, much, much better. We get the God of all comfort when we're sifted. And so now we're going to switch gears a bit and we're going to look at those four comforting truths that we find in our passage. Number one, we find that Jesus has been there. He doesn't ask us to go where he hasn't. In verse 37, Jesus quotes Isaiah 53, saying that he will fulfill the scripture where the Messiah was numbered with the transgressors. The disciples, when they heard that, should immediately have flip to, hey, wait a second, that's Isaiah 52 and 53. And they'd be thinking about smitten, stricken, and afflicted, right? And so we gotta flip there too. Let's see the context of that verse. Just like Jesus is saying, serve as I have served, love as I have loved, he is telling us to undergo trial as I am undergoing trial. and from where we sit 2,000 years later from how he's undergone trial. Isaiah 53, for he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look on him, no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, as one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised. And we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried away our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. And upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, we're healed. That was preached 600 years before Jesus, and it's a very clear description of Thursday night, of what Jesus is about to go through. King Jesus, when he tells you that you're going to undergo sifting and trial, is not asking you to walk where he refuses to go. He's been there. He knows how difficult it is. This reference to Isaiah, he's telling the disciples plainly, you're gonna be sifted just like I'm gonna be sifted. But take heart because I'm going to overcome. We ought to feel the comfort that we have a God who condescends, right? We're not like the Muslims where God is so inaffable, so sublime that he has nothing to do with his creation. No, he rolls up his sleeves. He loves, he gets right down in the trenches with us. He's been there, he knows what we're made of. And he knows, therefore, how to help us. That should be comfort. Our second comfort that we notice in the text is that Satan's leash is short and it's in the Father's hands. Look at the text. Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat. Here's the strongest thing. Sorry, I got ahead of myself a little while ago. That word demand means to ask or to beg for oneself or to ask that one would be given up to. It's one of these words that's used in negotiations. Satan has to ask the Father for access to Peter. He doesn't just get it. Just like with Job, Satan has no power apart from what God allows. The accuser has to approach God and be granted permission. That should be comfort to us. It's the same here. Leon Morris notes, in passing, we notice that Satan has no rights here. He may ask, but it's God who's supreme. So it follows that the trials and the testings that come to God's people are only those that he allows." Hear that? Satan only has power to the extent that God allows. The testings that come to God's people are only those that the Father allows. Elsewhere, The Apostle Paul makes the same principle really clear and puts a little pastoral note that I think we need to hear. He says, no temptation has seized you. That is not common to man, but God is faithful and just. He'll not let you be tempted beyond your ability. That's the leash. But with that temptation, he'll provide the way of escape so that you may stand up under it and bear it. I've memorized it a little different than the way it's there. You'll be able to endure it. Now we have to choose that escape, mind you, right? But God provides it. God's sovereign, and the devil can't do anything without his permission. Whereas the devil would sift to expose and destroy, God sifts to reveal and strengthen and equip. In sifting, we're tempted to believe that God doesn't love us, or that he's abandoned us, I mean, we only see trial as rejection. But is that true? Was Peter rejected? No. In this trial that Jesus is warning about, we see evidence that God hasn't given him up to Satan for destruction or damnation. Not at all. In fact, Peter's right in the dead center of Christ's view here as he warns him. He says, I prayed for you. Jesus won't lose them. I mean, trials are hard. They are uncomfortable, crushing. They're terrible. Like just this week, I was weeping with a Christian that's under trial. These are, they're hard. But they're not evidence of God's rejection. And they don't always correlate with his displeasure. It's not always punishment. Maybe a contemporary example is Toby Mac. Who knows Toby Mac, right? Great Krishnar, he's been around forever. His son died at 21. Anybody know why? Yeah, drug overdose, fentanyl, after his very first concert. I can't imagine what went through Toby Mac and his wife's mind. Right, like here he's devoted his entire adult life to ministry through music, right? And, he sings, why would you give and then take him away, suddenly end? Couldn't you let it fade? It's a good question. I can imagine him saying, why God, I've worked so hard for you, why? And there is no pat answer. But there is some truth that we can apply to this tragedy, this trial that the McKean family is still going through, even though this was three years ago. John Piper says, in every situation and circumstance of your life, God is always doing a thousand different things that you cannot see and that you don't know. That's true, that is true. You know, maybe God took Truett before his sin took him too far. Now his soul is secure in heaven. Maybe the McKean's family trial has more to do with eternal good than an earthly agenda or preference of a mom and dad. It's still a terrible thing. We live in a sin-soaked world. That trial must have been unimaginably painful, and still is. As believers, we have to remember that God's playing the long game. He's doing a thousand things we don't see. How many people are comforted by his continuing ministry, right? What kind of access does he have now to other people? One of the collaborations he does on that track is with Sheryl Crow. I didn't think she was a Christian. What kind of credibility does he have with her now, having walked that walk, right? How many other souls are gonna be secured because of this tragedy? I think this is a modern day example of what Joseph went through, right? Under trial and prison for the crime of rape. Forgotten about, rotting in jail for years. But God's working even when we don't see that he's working. You know what man intends for evil or what Satan intends for evil? God intends for good. He's doing, a thousand different things that we don't see. Now, sometimes trials are that dramatic. I can't think of a more dramatic trial, but I think sometimes trials are more benign. You know, seeing a lot of young moms in the audience, it's, these are hard times, man, right? I remember I said I wouldn't name them, but you'll know who it is anyway. Fourth child. Just born. Lovely, right? And I am forcibly made chief of the Department of Anesthesia. I don't want to. It's 15 extra hours a week, plus the usual clinical duties. I said we got four kids, right? At this point. There's a lot of stuff going on. And she gets colic. And she cries, and she cries. And I don't know, as a desperate parent, you do anything, you subscribe to any sort of theory, any superstition, you're all over it. The last time she stopped, I convinced myself that she could stop only if I did lunges. And then, to top it all off, Sarah gets head lice. And so I have to shave all the boys. They come out looking like scary little monsters. And we didn't shave her, obviously. And I couldn't shave my wife. I did shave myself. And so after the call it cry, the crying curve from seven to 11, the witching hour, finally get this child that feels like they're demon possessed to sleep, and then I have to pick through the hair, and like, it was a trial, it was hard, right? And sometimes trials are a bit more benign. But you know what? Even in that funny story, Satan is working. By providence, not by chance, the book The Screwtape Letters was lying out on my dresser or whatever this week. And if you haven't read it, it's a scary read. Basically, you know, C.S. Lewis writes a book about how the correspondence between demons and how they're tempting and trying to sway us, sift us, discourage us. I think the thing I get out of that book is just how patient Satan is. And he's content just to meddle with you if he can't destroy you. He'll just try to trip you, right? He'll just try to make you feel bad. He's got a really low bar for success, and he's very patient. And you can imagine the seeds that get sown in that trial that Sarah and I went through. Gary didn't do the dishes. No, I worked so hard all week. Why do I got to make supper? What's that planting, right? Like little seeds of resentment, little seeds of distrust, little seeds of, oh, I'm working harder than so-and-so, right? Trials come like that too. They're not always dramatic. And Satan is right there. He will use any opportunity. Okay? So be ready, be on guard. Jesus is warning us. But he's also comforting us. Because even though we don't see Satan when he's working, we also don't see God when he's working in these trials. And he's doing a thousand different things. Thirdly, I want us to notice that we have a king who prays for us. I mean, this is the central comfort of this whole passage, right? But, I have prayed for you. That your faith may not fail. This is the ultimate comfort for every believer under trial. I'm gonna quote Isaiah 40. I think I do this 50% of the sermons I give, and I apologize, you've heard it before. But there's a reason why I do that. What's the first words of Isaiah 40? Comfort. Comfort my people, right? We have a God who, Praise for his people. Listen to what Isaiah tells us about God. This is God speaking. This is Yahweh speaking. To whom will you compare me that I should be like him, says the Holy One? Lift your up eyes on high and see. Who created all of these? The stars. The stars in the heaven. He who brings their host out by number and calls them each by name. He knows every star's name in every galaxy. And by the greatness of his might and because of his strong power, not one is missing. So why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, that my way is hidden from the Lord, that my right is disregarded by my God? How can we say that? I mean, God knows every star and every planet and every galaxy. I mean, we got 100 billion stars just in the Milky Way alone. Do you think he knows what you're going through? Yeah, do you think he's listening? He's not napping. This is the doctrine of prayer that we hold to. That our prayers are infused with the Holy Spirit. It's groanings when they are formed on our lips. That they then reach the ear of Christ. who's sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty in heaven. And Jesus is gonna purify, and he's gonna amplify our prayers, and he's gonna speak them into the loving Father's ear. We have a God who prays for us. The author of Hebrews telling us about Jesus says this, consequently, he's able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. Know it, the God of the universe is praying for you right now in your trial. No matter how big, no matter how small, no matter if they're the size of Montreal, he's praying for you. even before your trial, right? That's what we see in the text. But I prayed for you, Peter, you're about to be sifted. He's intent, intimate, knowingly praying on your behalf. He's leaning across the table right now and he's saying, Simon, Simon, Gary, Gary. He's saying your name. So how can we complain that he doesn't know our ways? That's a beautiful, beautiful comfort. I wanted to end there, but Levi pointed out that there's one other comfort that we need to speak about today, and that's that, lastly, he holds up the stumbling and returns the backslidden. That's a comfort. Just knowing that Jesus prays for us should comfort and energize a real believer in their walk. but it also ought to give comfort to those who are stumbling or falling in their walk. But I prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. That's what Jesus says to Peter. Notice a couple things here. First, one of the greatest disciples, the one who led the early church, the one who preached and 3,000 were saved, the one who just walked down the street and people were healed because a shadow hit him, that guy, Last week we learned that that guy's gonna be sittin' on a throne judging the tribes of Israel. That guy, Peter, he failed. What does he do? He denies the Lord, he fails. He fails his sifting. So we need to see that all believers are gonna fail at some point. None of us are perfect. And does that disqualify us? Does that mean it's over? Is that the end? Is God gonna wash his hands of us at that point? No, no, and that is comfort, okay? So it begs the question, is that somebody in this auditorium is there right now? It's late Thursday night, metaphorically speaking, and you've just been around the campfire, and three times said, no, I don't know him, and then all of a sudden you hear, Cock-a-doodle-doo. And your soul is crushed right now because you've let the Lord down. You've failed. You are miserable. You suck. And Satan is turning up the volume on that statement, right? Is that where you are right now? I know I've been there before. This is par for the course, guys. You gotta confront your thinking then with the word of the Lord. My favorite Psalm, Psalm 145 says, the Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench. It's from Matthew, quoting Isaiah. We gotta notice that Peter's not forever disqualified because of his failure, and neither are we. In fact, Christ tells Peter in advance that this failure that he's going to experience is actually gonna help his brothers and sisters out. When you've turned again, strengthen your brothers. Leon Morris makes a comment here. He says, he who's been through deep waters has the experience that enables him to be of help to others. Think about that example of Toby Mack. Think about that example of Gawi and Sawa run down. Maybe we can be of help to young moms and dads out there who are struggling. Here's a good piece of advice. Don't do what Sarah and I did. Get a babysitter. Get a date. Don't do it alone. That's good advice. But I want to circle back to to our text. The stumbling implies that you failed. It implies a backslidden-ness. And again, a room this size, there's got to be somebody here who's in this position, backsliding, failing, not really caring about it though, maybe not content to play with that sin still. I'm asking the question, the text is asking the question, Jesus is leaning across the table, repeating your names, asking the question, how are you denying Christ in your walk today? Do you have unforgiveness? Do you want revenge? Is it the way you're acting towards your spouse or your boss? Are you taking cash deals on the side? Tax time's coming. Is that all above up and up? How are you, how am I, how are we denying Christ in the way that we live? I don't know. God hasn't given me that gift of spiritual discernment that I can just point at you and say, whoa. Okay, but you do, and you're here in this. So look, today is decision day. I mean, why else do we come to church? If you come in to see me, oh my gosh, you got a sad, sad life, right? No, we come to hear God's word, we come to be changed. So don't stay where you are. If you're discouraged in sin, don't stay there. If you're numb to your sin, wake up. It's okay to stumble. That's what Jesus is also telling us in this text. It's okay. It's even forgivable to fall, the best believers do. But the Lord upholds all who are stumbling. And what a comfort. So just as we close, I hope that we're chastened and comforted. I hope that we're chastened, that we know that spiritual battles are guaranteed, I hope that we're chastened to prepare for His battle appropriately. We're not reaching for our own two swords, like yours truly, in our own strength. And I pray that we're comforted. I hope we're comforted to know that our King, Jesus Christ, has walked this way. He knows what we need. That the accuser, he's got a leash, his influence is limited. That we have a King who prays for us. What a comfort. Now we have a king who lifts those who are stumbling. That's good comfort. And that's the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.