Church Fathers Commentary Luke 22:31-34

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: but I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not; and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, until thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." — Luke 22:31-34 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: To prevent the eleven from becoming boastful and attributing it to their own strength that they, almost alone among so many thousands of the Jews, were said to have remained with our Lord in His temptations, He shows them that if they had not been protected by their Master's help, they would have been beaten down by the same storm as the rest.

Therefore, it follows, And the Lord said to Simon, Simon, behold Satan has desired you, that he may sift you as wheat. That is, he has longed to tempt and shake you, just as one who cleanses wheat by winnowing. In this, He teaches that no one's faith is tested unless God permits it.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Now this was said to Peter because he was bolder than the rest and might feel proud because of the things which Christ had promised.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Or, it was to show that since human beings are as nothing (in regard to human nature and the tendency of our minds to fall), it is not fitting that they should wish to be above their brethren. Therefore, passing by all the others, He comes to Peter, who was the chief among them, saying, But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not.

St. John Chrysostom: Now He did not say, ‘I have granted,’ but I have prayed. For He speaks humbly as He approaches His Passion, so that He might reveal His human nature. For He who had spoken not in supplication but with authority, Upon this rock I will build my Church, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom, how could He need prayer to steady one agitated soul? He does not say, “I have prayed that you would not deny,” but that you would not abandon your faith.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For although you are shaken for a time, you still hold a seed of faith stored up. Though the spirit has shed its leaves in temptation, the root is firm. Satan seeks to harm you because he is envious of my love for you, but even though I have prayed for you, you will fall.

Therefore, it follows, And when you are converted, strengthen your brethren. It is as if He says, “After you have wept and repented for denying Me, strengthen your brethren, for I have appointed you to be the head of the Apostles.” This is fitting for you who are with Me, the strength and rock of the Church.

And this must be understood not only of the Apostles who were then living, but of all the faithful who were to come, until the end of the world. This was so that no believer might despair, seeing that Peter, though an Apostle, denied his Lord, yet afterward through repentance obtained the high privilege of being the Ruler of the world.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Marvel, then, at the great abundance of divine forbearance: so that He would not cause a disciple to despair, He granted pardon before the crime was even committed, and restored him again to his apostolic rank, saying, Strengthen your brethren.

The Venerable Bede: It is as if to say, “Just as I, by prayer, protected your faith so that it would not fail, so you must remember to support the weaker brethren, so that they do not despair of pardon.”

St. Ambrose of Milan: Beware, then, of boasting; beware of the world. He who said, Master, we have left all, and followed you, is commanded to strengthen his own brethren.

The Venerable Bede: Because the Lord said He had prayed for Peter’s faith, Peter, aware of his present affection and fervent faith but unaware of his coming fall, did not believe he could in any way fall from Christ. As it follows, And he said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Indeed, he burns with too much love and promises what is impossible for him. But as soon as he heard from the Truth that he was to be tempted, he should have no longer been so confident. Now the Lord, seeing that Peter spoke boastfully, reveals the nature of his temptation—namely, that he would deny Him: I tell you, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that you thrice deny, etc.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Now Peter, although earnest in spirit, was still weak in the flesh and is revealed to be on the verge of denying his Lord, for he could not equal the constancy of the divine will. Our Lord’s Passion has rivals, but no equal.

Theophylact of Ohrid: From this we draw a great doctrine: that human resolve is not sufficient without divine support. For Peter, with all his zeal, was nevertheless overthrown by the enemy when forsaken by God.

St. Basil the Great: We must know, then, that God sometimes allows a rash person to fall as a remedy for previous self-confidence. But although the rash person seems to have committed the same offense as other people, there is a significant difference.

The one has sinned because of certain secret assaults and almost against his will, while the others sin having no care for themselves or for God, and knowing no distinction between sin and virtuous actions. The rash person, needing assistance in this very thing in which he has sinned, ought to receive reproof. But the others, who have destroyed all the good in their soul, must be afflicted, warned, rebuked, or punished, until they acknowledge that God is a just Judge, and tremble.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Now, what is said here concerning Peter's foretold denial is contained in all the Gospels, but the writers do not all relate it at the same point in the discourse. Matthew and Mark add it after our Lord had departed from the house where He had eaten the Passover, but Luke and John place it before He went out from there.

We may easily understand that either the first two writers were recounting the event out of chronological order, or the other two were anticipating it. However, what is more striking is that not only the words but even the sentences of our Lord—and the context in which a troubled Peter made that boast of dying either for or with our Lord—are reported so differently. This variation rather compels us to believe that he made his boast three times at different points in our Lord's discourse, and that he was answered three times by our Lord that before the cock crowed he would deny Him three times.