“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” But he said to Him,”Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”
Luke 22:31-34
Notice how Jesus starts this prediction of Peter’s denial off with Simon, Simon.
Note both the reduplication of his name and the choice of names used.
I have already dealt with this concept of reduplication in Gem 951 where we encountered the reduplication of Martha’s name in Luke 10:41.
But note Jesus’ reaction. Note the repetition. “Martha, Martha”. I am sure in the script for the play, it would read in brackets (said with compassion and understanding). There are a number of variations across the existing copies and versions we have of the Bible text. Let me give you my summation of them. “Martha, dear Martha”. “Dear, dear Martha”. “Martha, Martha my dear”. There is no hint of castigation in Jesus comments. He has compassion for her, given her choice and given her feelings as a result of her choice. But the fact remains, there is one thing worth choosing in all this and Mary has chosen it. It will not be taken from her, either by you Martha or by anyone else. Certainly not by Father God, because her choice and reaction is totally in accord with His will.
The same sense of compassion comes through with the reduplication of Simon’s name here. “Simon, Simon, satan has asked permission to sift you.” Put in other words, which match the Martha incident – “Simon, dear Simon, satan has asked to have access to you, in order to sieve you like wheat.” Did you note the change in the use of names in this passage? In verse 31, Jesus goes back to using Peter’s original name of Simon, not the new name He has given him. Whereas in verse 34 He switches back to the use of “Peter”.
Now, why would Jesus do that? Why go back to using Peter’s original name and not use the new name that He Himself has given to him? I will leave the question with you for a couple of days and address it again in the next Gem. Maybe such usage would leave Peter somewhat schizophrenic. Rather than him not knowing whether he was Arthur or Martha, in this case he is left bewildered between Simon and Peter. Who am I again? Exactly! Who are you Peter?
Remember I told you in the last Gem: the clear message is that all the disciples would forsake Him.
Both Matthew and Mark include all the disciples in this denial. Well, not a denial of words but a denial by their actions. Peter will express it in words but they all will essentially deny Christ too, by running away. There is no difference. They are all “tarred with the same brush”. Remember, Luke is writing to all God lovers.
Note the following elements.
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
What is hidden in the text in Greek is masked by the use of the English pronoun “you”. What is hidden in the text in Greek is masked by the use of the English pronoun “you”. “You” stands for both the 2nd person singular pronoun and the 2nd person plural pronoun.
I will leave you now to ponder the significance of all I have told you in today’s Gem. I will pull the threads together in the following Gems but first will give you the opportunity of putting it together for yourself.
Temptation not only places a demand on your faith, but also reveals the depth of it!
Anon
Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask, act! Action will delineate and define you.
Thomas Jefferson
Everyone has problems. No one gets a free pass. Live Up to your Potential instead of Down to your Problems!
Rick Godwin
I pray for you, dear reader, that your faith may not fail; and that when you have turned (repented) again, you will strengthen your brothers.
Ian Vail
We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
Lucretius