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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk_22:31-34
31"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." 33But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" 34And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me."
Luk_22:31 "Simon, Simon" The doubling of a name was a way of gently chiding (cf. Luk_6:46; Luk_10:41; Luk_22:31; Act_9:4; Act_22:7; Act_26:14). Notice Jesus calls him Simon and not Peter (rock). He will be anything but a rock in the next few hours.
NASB "Satan has demanded permission to sift all of you like wheat"
NKJV "Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat"
NRSV "Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat"
TEV "Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff"
NJB "Satan has got his wish to sift all of you like wheat"
The "you" is plural. This means all of the disciples. This sounds much like Job_1:12; Job_2:6. Satan must ask God's permission before he acts. The TEV and NJB catch the connotation of the verb exaiteô (here an aorist middle indicative) as it was used in the papyri (Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, p. 221).
Sifting was a process of (1) shaking grain through a strainer to remove dirt and small stones and other impurities before preparing it to eat or (2) separating the grain from the chaff by winnowing. Here it is metaphorical of a time of testing/separation.
Luk_22:32 "but I have prayed for you" The pronoun egô is fronted, implying "I myself." Jesus prayed specifically for Peter. Jesus prayed for His disciples then and now in John 17. Jesus continues to pray for all believers (cf. Heb_7:25; Heb_9:24; 1Jn_2:1). This same verb is used in Luk_21:36 for believers praying and keeping watch.
▣ "that your faith may not fail" This is a sobering thought (see Special Topic at Luk_6:46). Peter will deny any knowledge of Jesus three times, with an oath! But Peter repents and reestablishes his relationship by faith (Judas does not).
If the strong leader of the Apostolic group is open to Satanic attack and failure, why not the rest of Jesus' followers (past and present)?
▣ "when once you have turned again" Even in the midst of temptation, Jesus strengthens Peter by this statement. I believe John 21 is Peter's official reinstatement as leader of the Apostolic group after his denial. Amazingly, he will preach the first Christian sermon at Pentecost in Acts 2!
Luk_22:33 This verse clearly shows the struggle of the will. Peter truly wanted to follow and serve his Lord, but there is a terrible conflict in the fallen human heart (cf. Eph_6:10-19). Self, self-interest, and self-preservation become ultimate issues (cf. Romans 7). Peter was willing to die for Jesus at the arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, but not at the fire outside the high priest's home (cf. Mat_26:41; Mar_14:38).
Luk_22:34 "the rooster will not crow" The time of the crowing (before 3 a.m.) and the number of crowings (cf. Mar_14:30) are examples of Jesus' supernatural knowledge.
▣ "that you know Me" The verb "know" is a perfect active infinitive denoting a past act come to a settled state of being. The Hebrew connotation of "know" is not facts about, but intimate personal relationship (cf. Gen_4:1; Jer_1:5). Peter was asserting that he had never had a personal relationship with Jesus!