And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Lk 22:31–32)
What does it mean, ‘to sift as wheat’? To sift is to shake violently in order to separate what is desirable from undesirable. This is how wheat is separated from the chaff. Sifting wheat is a metaphor for Judgement. Satan wants to prove that at least some of the disciples will fail under sever testing through a crisis of fear.
Although Jesus knew the disciples would stumble, He also knew they would recover. This is why Jesus told Peter, “and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” During our current crisis of fear, we are also called to return to Jesus and strengthen one another. TEXT PDF | AUDIO
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