Jewish people in Jesus’ days were familiar with war and the instruments of war. Their rulers were ruthless and sadly, every almost generation had its share of defeat in the hands of their enemies. Even some of Jesus’ immediate followers were zealots – a group set on venging the Romans. But Jesus had a different kind of war in mind. The one that demanded a new set of equipment invisible to the mere man. He was fighting a spiritual war, in a spiritual sphere.
Simon and his cohorts would later learn the spiritual battle but they had to fail first to capture the magnitude of what they were going to fight upon Jesus’ departure. As he was preparing for the atrocity of the cross, he warned his disciples of the dangers ahead. He broke the news. “You will all desert me.” With their zeal and hatred for the Romans and love for Jesus, they made vows to follow Jesus to their death. Jesus, on the other hand, had seen this movie before. He knew who and what he was fighting. He was aware of Satan and his schemes. He had faced him in the Garden, throughout the history of God’s people and most recently, Satan’s 40 days of temptation in an attempt to destroy the coming of the kingdom failed. So Jesus was ready and had the right mind, tools and skills required to win.
Inspiringly and equally assuring, Jesus took it to another level of love, grace and compassion.
Simon, Simon, how Satan has pursued you, that he might make you part of his harvest. But I have prayed for you. I have prayed that your faith will hold firm and that you will recover from your failure and become a source of strength for your brothers here. Luke 22:31-32 (The Voice)
This kind of love, attention, vision and grace are a higher calling for me. In our modern lingo, we will say Jesus told Peter to fail forward. That his failures will serve and impact others. The focus was no longer about the denial of Jesus or Peter’s struggles but the godly outcome of the failure. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we handled sin with such maturity and humility?”
How did Jesus see all these miles away? Weel, he had a connection with God stronger than whatever Satan had for him. This connection fueled his resolve, enabling him to persevere and trust God’s deliverance. Simon also had the connection but a weaker one or untested at best. In his humanity, Simon was capable, passionate, bold and always ready for battle but he brought the wrong sword for the wrong battle.
Peter was untested, unprepared, and lacking the foresight to grasp the magnitude of the spiritual battle and how Satan had every intention to thwart God’s redemption plan.
Are you fighting the spiritual battle? Do you have the right tools? What sword do you bring to the battle: the sword of self-reliance or sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God? (Ephesians 6:17)