Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts

Luke 22:32

There are 24 footnotes for this reference.

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 89, footnote 17 (Image)

Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus

Ignatius (HTML)

Epistle to the Smyrnæans: Shorter and Longer Versions (HTML)

Chapter VII.—Let us stand aloof from such heretics. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1025 (In-Text, Margin)

... offspring of that spirit who is the author of all evil, who led Adam, by means of his wife, to transgress the commandment, who slew Abel by the hands of Cain, who fought against Job, who was the accuser of Joshua the son of Josedech, who sought to “sift the faith” of the apostles, who stirred up the multitude of the Jews against the Lord, who also now “worketh in the children of disobedience; from whom the Lord Jesus Christ will deliver us, who prayed that the faith of the apostles might not fail,[Luke 22:32] not because He was not able of Himself to preserve it, but because He rejoiced in the pre-eminence of the Father. It is fitting, therefore, that ye should keep aloof from such persons, and neither in private nor in public to talk with them; but to ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, page 422, footnote 8 (Image)

Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria (HTML)

The Stromata, or Miscellanies (HTML)

Book IV. (HTML)
Chapter IX.—Christ’s Sayings Respecting Martyrdom. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2790 (In-Text, Margin)

... know God,” according to the apostle; “but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate.” And these, though they confess nothing but this, will have done at the end one good work. Their witness, then, appears to be the cleansing away of sins with glory. For instance, the Shepherd says: “You will escape the energy of the wild beast, if your heart become pure and blameless.” Also the Lord Himself says: “Satan hath desired to sift you; but I have prayed.”[Luke 22:31-32] Alone, therefore, the Lord, for the purification of the men who plotted against Him and disbelieved Him, “drank the cup;” in imitation of whom the apostles, that they might be in reality Gnostics, and perfect, suffered for the Churches which they ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 117, footnote 4 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Tertullian: Part Fourth. (HTML)

De Fuga in Persecutione. (HTML)

De Fuga in Persecutione. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1139 (In-Text, Margin)

... stretch out your hand against himself.” In short, he would not even have stretched it out, unless afterwards, at his request, the Lord had granted him this permission also, saying, “Behold, I deliver him to you; only preserve his life.” So he asked in the case of the apostles likewise an opportunity to tempt them, having it only by special allowance, since the Lord in the Gospel says to Peter, “Behold, Satan asked that he might sift you as grain; but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not;”[Luke 22:31-32] that is, that the devil should not have power granted him sufficient to endanger his faith. Whence it is manifest that both things belong to God, the shaking of faith as well as the shielding of it, when both are sought from Him—the shaking by the ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 280, footnote 8 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Epistles of Cyprian. (HTML)

From the Roman Clergy to the Carthaginian Clergy, About the Retirement of the Blessed Cyprian. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2133 (In-Text, Margin)

... fulfilling what had been written in the law and the prophets, teaches, saying, “I am the good shepherd, who lay down my life for the sheep. But the hireling, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf scattereth them.” To Simon, too, He speaks thus: “Lovest thou me? He answered, I do love Thee. He saith to him, Feed my sheep.” We know that this saying arose out of the very circumstance of his withdrawal, and the rest of the disciples did likewise.[Luke 22:32]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 286, footnote 14 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Epistles of Cyprian. (HTML)

To the Clergy, Concerning Prayer to God. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2191 (In-Text, Margin)

... teacher of our discipline, and the way of our example, frequently and watchfully prayed, as we read in the Gospel: “He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” And assuredly what He prayed for, He prayed for on our behalf, since He was not a sinner, but bore the sins of others. But He so prayed for us, that in another place we read, “And the Lord said to Peter, Behold, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.”[Luke 22:31-32] But if for us and for our sins He both laboured and watched and prayed, how much more ought we to be instant in prayers; and, first of all, to pray and to entreat the Lord Himself, and then through Him, to make satisfaction to God the Father! We ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 452, footnote 8 (Image)

Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)

Book VI (HTML)

Sec. II.—History and Doctrines of Heresies (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3197 (In-Text, Margin)

... might fail. But our Lord and Master, having brought him to trial, said unto him: “The Lord rebuke thee, O devil; and the Lord, who hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee. Is not this plucked out of the fire as a brand?” And who said then to those that stood by the high priest, “Take away his ragged garments from him;” and added, “Behold, I have taken thine iniquities away from thee;” He will say now, as He said formerly of us when we were assembled together, “I have prayed that your faith may not fail.”[Luke 22:32]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 113, footnote 10 (Image)

Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen

The Diatessaron of Tatian. (HTML)

The Diatessaron. (HTML)

Section XLV. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3112 (In-Text, Margin)

... them, and said, Take [14, 15] and drink of it, all of you. And they drank of it, all of them. And he said unto them, This is my blood, the new covenant, that is shed for many for the [16] forgiveness of sins. I say unto you, I shall not drink henceforth of this, the juice of the vine, until the day in which I drink with you new wine in the kingdom of [17] God. And thus do ye in remembrance of me. And Jesus said unto Simon, Simon, [18] behold, Satan asketh that he may sift you like wheat:[Luke 22:32] but I entreat for thee, that thou lose not thy faith: and do thou, at some time, turn and strengthen thy brethren.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 199, footnote 12 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Work on the Proceedings of Pelagius. (HTML)

The Same Continued. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1719 (In-Text, Margin)

... believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep my deposit against that day”—that is, “my commendation;” for some copies have not the word depositum, but commendatum, which yields a plainer sense. Now, what do we commend to God’s keeping, except the things which we pray Him to preserve for us, and amongst these our very faith? For what else did the Lord procure for the Apostle Peter by His prayer for him, of which He said, “I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not,”[Luke 22:32] than that God would preserve his faith, that it should not fail by giving way to temptation? Therefore, blessed Paul, thou great preacher of grace, I will say it without fear of any man (for who will be less angry with me for so saying than thyself, ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 447, footnote 14 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Treatise on Grace and Free Will. (HTML)

Abstract. (HTML)

Entering into Temptation. Prayer is a Proof of Grace. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3010 (In-Text, Margin)

... grace of God than the acceptance of prayer in any petition? If our Saviour had only said, “Watch that ye enter not into temptation,” He would appear to have done nothing further than admonish man’s will; but since He added the words, “and pray,” He showed that God helps us not to enter into temptation. It is to the free will of man that the words are addressed: “My son, remove not thyself from the chastening of the Lord.” And the Lord said: “I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not.”[Luke 22:32] So that a man is assisted by grace, in order that his will may not be uselessly commanded.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 475, footnote 6 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Treatise on Rebuke and Grace. (HTML)

All Perseverance is God’s Gift. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3274 (In-Text, Margin)

... repentance, and he recover from the snares of the devil;” since to the usefulness of rebuke the apostle has subjoined this decision, saying, as I have above mentioned, “Rebuking with moderation those that think differently, lest at any time God give them repentance.” For if we should say that such a perseverance, so laudable and so blessed, is man’s in such wise as that he has it not from God, we first of all make void that which the Lord says to Peter: “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.”[Luke 22:32] For what did He ask for him, but perseverance to the end? And assuredly, if a man could have this from man, it should not have been asked from God. Then when the apostle says, “Now we pray to God that ye do no evil,” beyond a doubt he prays to God ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 478, footnote 4 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Treatise on Rebuke and Grace. (HTML)

Why Perseverance Should Be Given to One and Not Another is Inscrutable. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3304 (In-Text, Margin)

... should not receive it; and in this case we are both unable to penetrate the unsearchable judgments of God. Or if you say that it pertains to man’s free will—which you defend, not in accordance with God’s grace, but in opposition to it—that any one should persevere in good, or should not persevere, and it is not by the gift of God if he persevere, but by the performance of human will, why will you strive against the words of Him who says, “I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not”?[Luke 22:32] Will you dare to say that even when Christ prayed that Peter’s faith might not fail, it would still have failed if Peter had willed it to fail; that is, if he had been unwilling that it should continue even to the end? As if Peter could in any ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 487, footnote 7 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Treatise on Rebuke and Grace. (HTML)

What is the Nature of the Gift of Perseverance that is Now Given to the Saints. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3375 (In-Text, Margin)

... persevere in a greater good; because although God’s help was not wanting, without which it could not persevere if it would, yet it was not such a help as that by which God would work in man to will. Certainly to the strongest He yielded and permitted to do what He willed; to those that were weak He has reserved that by His own gift they should most invincibly will what is good, and most invincibly refuse to forsake this. Therefore when Christ says, “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not,”[Luke 22:32] we may understand that it was said to him who is built upon the rock. And thus the man of God, not only because he has obtained mercy to be faithful, but also because faith itself does not fail, if he glories, must glory in the Lord.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 45, footnote 2 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. (HTML)

On the Latter Part of Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Contained in the Sixth and Seventh Chapters of Matthew. (HTML)

Chapter IX (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 328 (In-Text, Margin)

... Certainly the Lord Himself says so in the Gospel, to which those heretics, whether they will or no, bend their necks. But if they are puzzled by this circumstance, that Satan asks from God that a righteous man should be tempted; I do not explain how it happened, but I compel them to explain why it is said in the Gospel by the Lord Himself to the disciples, “Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat;” and He says to Peter, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.”[Luke 22:31-32] And when they explain this to me, they explain to themselves at the same time that which they question me about. But if they should not be able to explain this, let them not dare with rashness to blame in any book what they read in the Gospel ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 178, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

The Harmony of the Gospels. (HTML)

Book III (HTML)

Of the Proof of Their Freedom from Any Discrepancies in the Notices Given of the Predictions of Peter’s Denials. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1246 (In-Text, Margin)

... thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter saith unto Him, Lord, why cannot I follow Thee now? I will lay down my life for Thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, until thou deniest me thrice.” John, from whose Gospel I have taken the passage introduced above, is not the only evangelist who details this incident of the prophetic announcement of his own denial to Peter. The other three also record the same thing.[Luke 22:31-34] They do not, however, take one and the same particular point in the discourses [of Christ] as their occasion for proceeding to this narration. For Matthew and Mark both introduce it in a completely parallel order, and at the same stage of their ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 178, footnote 5 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

The Harmony of the Gospels. (HTML)

Book III (HTML)

Of the Proof of Their Freedom from Any Discrepancies in the Notices Given of the Predictions of Peter’s Denials. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1250 (In-Text, Margin)

... how the Lord said, “Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren:” next he proceeds immediately to tell us how Peter replied to this effect: “Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both unto prison and to death;” and then he continues thus: “And He said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.”[Luke 22:31-33] Now, who can fail to perceive that this is an occasion by itself, and that the incident in connection with which Peter was incited to make the presumptuous declaration already referred to is an entirely different one? But, once more, Matthew ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 181, footnote 2 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

The Harmony of the Gospels. (HTML)

Book III (HTML)

Of the Manner in Which It Can Be Shown that No Discrepancies Exist Between Them in the Accounts Which They Give of the Words Which Were Spoken by the Lord, on to the Time of His Leaving the House in Which They Had Supped. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1264 (In-Text, Margin)

... sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing. Then said He unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And He was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And He said unto them, It is enough.”[Luke 22:31-38] Next comes the passage, given both by Matthew and by Mark: “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 454, footnote 9 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)

On the words of the Gospel, Luke xviii. 1,’They ought always to pray, and not to faint,’ etc. And on the two who went up into the temple to pray: and of the little children who were presented unto Christ. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3538 (In-Text, Margin)

... into temptation.” What is to “enter into temptation,” but to depart from faith? For so far temptation advances as faith gives way: and so far temptation gives way, as faith advances. For that you may know, Beloved, more plainly, that the Lord said, “Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation,” as touching faith lest it should fail and perish; He said in the same place of the Gospel, “This night hath Satan desired to sift you as wheat, and I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not.”[Luke 22:31-32] He that defendeth prayeth, and shall not he pray who is in peril? For in the words of the Lord, “when the Son of Man shall come, thinkest thou that He shall find faith on the earth?” He spoke of that faith, which is perfect. For it is scarce found ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 7, page 294, footnote 2 (Image)

Augustine: Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies

Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John. (HTML)

Chapter XII. 37–43. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1085 (In-Text, Margin)

... own wills, while others He hath let fall into carelessness through a contrary excess of distrust. The former say: Why do we ask God not to let us be overcome by temptation, when it is all in our own power? The latter say: Why should we try to live well, when the power to do so is in the hands of God? O Lord, O Father, who art in heaven, lead us not into any of these temptations; but “deliver us from evil!” Listen to the Lord, when He says, “I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not;”[Luke 22:32] that we may never think of our faith as so lying in our free will that it has no need of the divine assistance. Let us listen also to the evangelist, when he says, “He hath given them power to become the sons of God;” that we may not imagine it as ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 516, footnote 4 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm CIV (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 4751 (In-Text, Margin)

... whelps roaring after their prey, do seek their meat from God” (ver. 21). Justly then our Lord, when nigh unto His going down, the very Sun of Righteousness recognising His going down, said to His disciples, as if darkness being about to come, the lion would roam about to seek whom he might devour, that that lion could devour no man, unless with leave: “Simon,” said He, “this night Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.”[Luke 22:31-32] When Peter thrice denied, was he not already between the lion’s teeth?…

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 9, page 213, footnote 1 (Image)

Chrysostom: On the Priesthood, Ascetic Treatises, Select Homilies and Letters, Homilies on the Statutes

Homily on the Paralytic Let Down Through the Roof: and Concerning the Equality of the Divine Father and the Son. (HTML)

Homily on the Paralytic Let Down Through the Roof. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 703 (In-Text, Margin)

... withstand even the most ordinary temptation. And why do I speak of such insignificant and abject beings as we are? For even if one were a Paul, or a Peter, or a James, or a John, yet if he should be deprived of the divine help he would easily be put to shame, overthrown, and laid prostrate. And on behalf of these I will read you the words of Christ Himself: for He saith to Peter “Behold Satan hath asked to have you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.”[Luke 22:31-32] What is the meaning of “sift”? to turn and twist, and shake and stir and shatter, and worry, which is what takes place in the case of things which are winnowed: but I he says have restrained him, knowing that you are not able to endure the trial, ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 9, page 192, footnote 3 (Image)

Hilary of Poitiers, John of Damascus

Title Page (HTML)

De Trinitate or On the Trinity. (HTML)

De Trinitate or On the Trinity. (HTML)
Book X (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1155 (In-Text, Margin)

... Himself says, Father, all things are possible to Thee, yet for man it is impossible to withstand the fear of suffering, and only by trial can faith be proved. Wherefore, as Man He prays for men that the cup may pass away, but as God from God, His will is in unison with the Father’s effectual will. He teaches what He meant by If it is possible, in His words to Peter, Lo, Satan hath sought you that He might sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee that thy faith may not fail[Luke 22:31-32]. The cup of the Lord’s Passion was to be a trial for them all, and He prays the Father for Peter that his faith may not fail: that when he denied through weakness, at least he might not fail of penitential sorrow, for repentance would mean that ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 9, page 192, footnote 7 (Image)

Hilary of Poitiers, John of Damascus

Title Page (HTML)

De Trinitate or On the Trinity. (HTML)

De Trinitate or On the Trinity. (HTML)
Book X (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1159 (In-Text, Margin)

... His Passion, still He repeated His prayer a second and a third time. After that He said, Sleep on now, and take your rest. It is not without the consciousness of some secret reason that He Who had reproached them for their sleep, now bade them sleep on, and take their rest. Luke is thought to have given us the meaning of this command. After He had told us how Satan had sought to sift the Apostles as it were wheat, and how the Lord had been entreated that the faith of Peter might not fail[Luke 22:32], he adds that the Lord prayed earnestly, and then that an angel stood by Him comforting Him, and as the angel stood by Him, He prayed the more earnestly, so that the sweat poured from His body in drops of blood. The Angel was sent, then, to watch ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 269, footnote 8 (Image)

Ambrose: Select Works and Letters

Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)

Exposition of the Christian Faith. (HTML)

Book IV. (HTML)
Chapter V. Continuing the exposition of the disputed passage, which he had begun, Ambrose brings forward four reasons why we affirm that something cannot be, and shows that the first three fail to apply to Christ, and infers that the only reason why the Son can do nothing of Himself is His Unity in Power with the Father. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2383 (In-Text, Margin)

57. Moreover, that thou mayest know that it is after His Manhood that He entreats, and in virtue of His Godhead that He commands, it is written for thee in the Gospel that He said to Peter: “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.”[Luke 22:32] To the same Apostle, again, when on a former occasion he said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” He made answer: “Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock will I build My Church, and I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Could He not, then, strengthen the faith of the man to whom, acting on His own authority, He gave the kingdom, whom He called the ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 327, footnote 11 (Image)

Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian

The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)

The Conferences of John Cassian. Part I. Containing Conferences I-X. (HTML)

Conference III. Conference of Abbot Paphnutius. On the Three Sorts of Renunciations. (HTML)
Chapter XVI. That faith itself must be given us by the Lord. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1267 (In-Text, Margin)

... should be granted from the Lord, saying: “Add to us faith” as they did not imagine that it could be gained by free will, but believed that it would be bestowed by the free gift of God. Lastly the Author of man’s salvation teaches us how feeble and weak and insufficient our faith would be unless it were strengthened by the aid of the Lord, when He says to Peter “Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed to my Father that thy faith fail not.”[Luke 22:31-32] And another finding that this was happening in his own case, and seeing that his faith was being driven by the waves of unbelief on the rocks which would cause a fearful shipwreck, asks of the same Lord an aid to his faith, saying “Lord, help mine ...

Online Dictionary & Commentary of Early Church Beliefs