Jesus, The Deliverer
There is one account in Scripture that says so much about sin, Satan, and deliverance we dare not ignore it; it merits our careful consideration.
Let me set the scene for you as we consider exactly what did and did not happen.
The hour had come! There was an air of solemnity in the room where Jesus had gathered his disciples. A song would be sung, but the heaviness would remain. Soon, there would be the blood drops of Gethsemane, the marshalling of the soldiers, the mockery of Jewish justice, and Satan advancing to do his worst.
One has to wonder if there was ever so dramatic a scene in the Bible where Satan, a Christian, and deliverance came into clearer focus? Given the time it happened and to whom it happened, this episode does enlighten.
So let’s review what occurred to see if there are applicable principles for us today.
First, the spotlight shines on Satan and the great harm he wants to do.
Attempting to avert that, Jesus said to Peter, he wants to sift you like wheat. That is, he wants to shred you, destroy you, mercilessly—just as he wants to do to believers today.
Second, would you also notice that Jesus calls Peter, “Simon, Simon”?
The implication being: You’re not like a rock, right now, Peter. You’re weak. You’re vulnerable. Maybe you should check to see if a demon is in you. Maybe you should start renouncing everything bad you’ve ever done, or your family has ever done.
I ask you: Do we see anything like that in the text? No!
Well, why not? Surely, Peter had more preparation than any of us to do something like this. After all, he had actually been with Jesus for three years! He had seen all those miracles firsthand—people healed, demons cast out! He had even seen Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the mountaintop and had walked with Jesus on the sea.
So, given this man’s extensive and impressive spiritual background, he would have done better than any of us with a deliverance ministry, right? Yet, that is not how all this played out.
The real solution (and it was almost totally on the Lord’s side) was found in these words from the Master, “I have prayed for you.”
Notice: past tense, indicating that this had already taken place. Exactly how long ago, we don’t know. But this much we do know: The Lord had strongly interceded for Peter that his faith would fail not, meaning that he would not apostatize and in the end reject Jesus.
And do you think that Jesus was waiting to see if his prayer would be answered? No—and this is so good! —it had already been answered!
That’s why Jesus told Peter in this same verse, “and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32).
Don’t you see? Peter’s protection had already been secured! And not by Peter! And not by some deliverance minister! But by Jesus! Satan wasn’t going to win!
Yes, there would be a fall, but—there would be a restoration! And many years of effective ministry after that! Peter later fulfilled his destiny of strengthening the brethren.
So how was this deliverance won? By the intercession of Jesus!
And did you know that the Lord ever lives to make intercession for us? Hebrews 7:25 declares, “He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God … since He always lives to make intercession for them.” That’s the deliverance! Jesus saves!
And to what extent does he save, you ask? To the uttermost! Theologians talk about the perseverance of the saints, but it’s really the perseverance of the Savior.
William Gurnall, the Puritan writer, observed, “Christ’s presence and employment in heaven lays a strong engagement on God to bring his whole force and power … for his saints’ defense.”
Some may ask, but what about those words, “that your faith fail not”? It sounds like Peter had a role, too. Well, let’s see if that’s true as we recall the rest of the story.
After Peter’s three denials, the dark day of the cross, the resurrection in the morning, the subsequent reassembling of the disciples, and then Jesus appearing to them all, do you recall any faith on Peter’s part? No, not really.
Instead, after all that, Peter had gone back to the old life, back to the old boat, back to the old job—fishing for fish.
Then what happened? Jesus came near. Jesus summoned Peter!
Now, that’s significant, and here’s why.
In the prayer the Lord had taught the disciples, he offered, you remember, this petition, “deliver us from evil.” You should know that in the Greek that word for deliver, rhysai, doesn’t just mean to guard us or to help preserve us; it means to rescue us, to draw us near to God.
And that’s exactly what happened. The Lord came and drew Peter near, rescuing him, restoring him. Jesus had prayed for the deliverance to happen for Peter, and then made sure it did happen.
Yes, there was some faith on Peter’s part in that he did respond and he did repent. However, not too much of this deliverance was attributable to Peter or to anyone else for that matter. It was the guaranteed protection of God that prevented Satan from doing what he wanted to do.
The good news is that same guarantee is in effect for us today. The Shepherd still protects his sheep!
So keep this scene in your mind as you think through what scriptural deliverance does and does not look like.
The psalmist said, “The Lord will keep you from all harm” (Psalm 121:7 NIV).
The book of Jude addresses those “who are loved by God the Father and kept safe by Jesus, the Messiah.” (Jude 1:1 ISV) and closes with the words “to him who is able to keep you from stumbling” (verse 24 NIV).
That’s Old Testament! That’s New Testament! And that’s a truth meant for today!
As we further contemplate God’s role in the believer’s protection from the devil and all his demons, we recall Jesus’ prayer to the Father shortly before he went to the cross.
In John 17:15, Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world” —in other words, don’t remove them, isolate them, hide them in retreat— “but that You should keep them from the evil one.”
The Greek word for “keep” here means to stand guard, to watch carefully, to assure safety.
In verse 11 Jesus prayed for the Father to keep them. In verse 12 he told the Father how he had kept them. And now in this verse Jesus makes the petition again for the Father to keep them.
Question: Do you think the Father honored this request from his Son? You know he did! All whom the Father gave, and all whom Jesus saved, were given from the first day of their salvation complete protection from demon possession.
When Jesus died on the cross, he said, “It is finished.” So was it? According to the Word of God, yes, it was!
Colossians 1:13 says of Jesus: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness.”
All who are Christian have received the greatest freedom possible! For “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
The word “indeed” is emphatic, absolute, unequivocable. No more bondage for the Christian—to sin, to Satan, to demons, to anyone!
Offering further proof of this point, Jesus declared in Mark 3:27, “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.”
So, do we belong to the household of faith? Indeed, we do! According to Galatians 6:10, we are a part of the household of faith!
Therefore, Satan can’t enter this household, because to do so, he would have to bind Jesus. And that’s not going to happen!
In fact, no one can snatch you from the Lord (John 10:28-30) or separate you from the Lord (Romans 8:38, 39). Why? Because you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).
This seal isn’t decorative (a nice aesthetic touch), but declarative (a legal insignia denoting authority).
To open a letter or to enter a property marked by the king’s seal, and to do so without permission, was to court instant death. The seal symbolized the highest protection. To be sealed by the Holy Spirit, then, is to have God’s guarantee, the Almighty’s assurance, that you are safe and secure.
Our salvation supernaturally secured us, and absolutely assured us of our deliverance from demons.
II Peter 2:9 gives credit where it is due when it declares, “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations ….” And the good news is: What he knows, he bestows!
Today’s deliverance ministers claim that by taking an oath, which Peter did, and then verbalizing a curse (Matthew 26:74) like Peter also did, demons will invade, indwell, and dance deliriously over such a one.
But it didn’t happen.
Not to Peter in that day, and not to any believer in these days. All because, Jesus saves!
A.B. Simpson declared, “Salvation saves us from Satan’s power … We are saved from … the serpent and the bonds of sin … and the devil is for us a conquered foe.”
Satan wanted to make Peter a captive forever, but the devil couldn’t do that.
Dr. J.W. Phillips is the author of the book Swatting the Saved, a major, well-researched work (more than 450 pages, almost 700 endnotes) that exposes the ministerial malpractice of deliverance ministries.
