Because Jesus was born, like every other child, into a human family, and grew up influenced by his parents, his schoolmates, and other people in his life, it’s easy to forget for a moment that he wasn’t like any other child. Yes, he was fully human, but he was also fully divine, the Son of God, the moment of his birth. As he grew up and completed his young adult years, he was in close communication with his heavenly father. There are so many scripture references in which he told people who he was.
Remember when, as a young boy, Jesus was lost for days during the annual trip to Jerusalem for Passover, and finally they found him in the temple. His parents were frantic looking for him, and he just said, “Why wouldn’t you think I was in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:41)
Remember when Jesus returned to his hometown, Nazareth, and he read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in his local synagogue. Verse 29 of Luke chapter 4 says, Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
This gives me the shudders. He knew why he was there on earth, and he and God were in sync about how his work would be accomplished. Remember all those times Jesus left the clamor and hub bub of his daily ministry to walk away and pray? He was reconnecting with God to make sure he knew the plan.
But despite Jesus’ certainty of the end goal of his ministry – crucifixion and resurrection – his disciples and followers had a difficult time understanding it. Jesus often spoke in parables and left the symbolic stories up to their interpretation. Or even when he told them directly, “I’m going to be crucified and I will rise again on the third day,” they didn’t want to accept it. They were in the throes of daily activity, and they couldn’t lift their heads up to see the big picture.
Matthew 16:21-23 reads, From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Wow.
Take a moment and put yourself in Peter’s shoes. I’m sure he was devastated by this harsh rebuke. Peter and Jesus had a history, and they were very close. Simon Peter was one of the first men Jesus selected to follow him, and Simon dropped everything in his life to do what Jesus asked him. Jesus had just said this to Simon in verse 17 of that same chapter: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah … for I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church … I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…”
So, Peter could be thought of as “the Number One Disciple,” the ONE of all of them Jesus chose to be the rock to build his church upon. Why then, did he command, “Get behind me, Satan” to Peter, one of his most devout followers? It seems harsh and out of character for Jesus.
It could be that the plan Jesus had revealed to them was starkly different than what they thought they had been doing with him all along. Contrary to their expectations of Him, Jesus explained that He had not come to establish an earthly Messianic kingdom at that time. The disciples were not prepared for this new revelation of the Messiah’s purpose. Though Peter understood His words, he simply could not reconcile his (and certainly all Jews’) long-held view of the conquering Messiah with the suffering and death Jesus spoke of. So, Peter “began to rebuke Him” (verse 22) for having such a fatalistic mindset.
It could also be that Peter had grown to love Jesus so much and had always considered himself a protector of the Messiah, that if this crazy plan were to come true, it would mean that he (Peter) had failed to protect Jesus. And he personally couldn’t bear to witness the death and destruction of Jesus after how close they’d become.
Think of someone you love very deeply – maybe a son, daughter, or even a parent. If that person tells you something horrific that is going to happen to them, your first impulse would be to deny it. “No, sweetheart, you’re not going to fail out of school! You’re going to be fine!” (even though their GPA had slipped below the acceptable mark.)
“Mom, no, you don’t need to have that surgery that will require weeks or months of recovery. You’re going to be fine!” (even though the test results showed surgery was the last possible option.)
It’s denial, right? By insisting that this person you love more than anything doesn’t need to go through a painful experience, maybe you can make it so. Maybe that’s why Peter said what he did. Either ignorance of the plan or denying the pain and suffering his Lord would have to go through, he wasn’t onboard.
Jesus’s extreme response to Peter’s denial made it absolutely clear that Peter was wrong and that he’d better get onboard quickly. Jesus didn’t put a soft loving arm on his shoulder and thank him for his concern and say, “Thank you for trying to save me from this, but it’s not going to work, buddy.” No, he shouted at Peter and called him the worst name that ever existed – Satan! And not only was Peter just not onboard, he was acting as a stumbling block to Jesus following the will of his father. If Peter didn’t understand and accept what Jesus was doing, Jesus would be better off without him!
Did Peter want to stay in oblivious denial? Or did he want to join Jesus and support him in the unimaginable plan Jesus had been walking toward all along? Peter was not setting his mind on the things of God—His ways, His plans, and His purposes. Instead, his mind was set on the things of man, the things of the world and its earthly values. Jesus was saying that the way of the cross was God’s will, the plan of redemption for all mankind.
Of course, we’ll be seeing more of Peter and the choices he makes after Jesus has been arrested. But that will be for another day. I think what we can learn from Peter holding strong to not believing Jesus’ declaration of the will of God is this: at the time, Jesus’ stern reprimand did not make sense to Peter. However, Jesus’ indictment presents a profound message for us.
We can easily see that Peter had the wrong perspective of God’s plan for Christ’s suffering and death. But we must also see how easily we can become an unwitting spokesperson for Satan. This is especially true when we lose sight of God’s plan for us. This comes about when our focus is on our careers, our possessions, our security, and the things of the world rather than upon sacrifice and service and the proclaiming of God’s message. When Peter’s focus shifted to his own desires and plans, Jesus rebuked him to get back on track. May our focus always be on God and His plans that we may never experience a similar rebuke from our Lord.
(My thanks to the website GotQuestions “Why Did Jesus Say to Peter, Get Behind Me Satan? for insights on this topic.
Let’s pray: God, sometimes we have to face unwelcome news in our lives as Christians. Sometimes we think that our way of handling a situation is preferable to your way. Help us to always keep our focus on you and draw you into our lives so we understand what you would have us do. Help us never to be that unwitting spokesperson for Satan, our enemy. Amen.
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