This week we have been wrestling with Jesus first prediction of His death and Peter’s reaction in Mark 8:31-33 which says:31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
Jesus quickly responds to Peter’s rebuke and He is very harsh in His response. He turns His back to Peter and looks at the rest of the disciples. They were probably nodding in agreement with what Peter had said the Jesus. Jesus looks at them all and He rebukes Peter. Jesus said; Get thee behind Me, Satan! Literally what that means is: “Get out of my sight you false accuser! You only care for fleshly things and not the things of the Lord!” When Peter tried to talk Jesus out of going to the cross to die, Jesus did not hear Peter but He heard the voice of another speaking. He heard in Peter’s words the voice of Satan. To Peter what he said made perfect sense but to Jesus, the things Peter said revealed that Satan was using Peter to attack the Lord.
Jesus is not calling Peter the devil here but He is pointing out the truth that Peter is speaking the words of Satan. He is telling Peter that He is being used as a tool by the devil. Jesus is not sending Peter away but He is commanding Satan to leave.
Jesus tells Peter here really that the real problem is that he is looking at His ministry through the eyes of men and not through the eyes of God. Most likely all the disciples were looking for power, glory and position but Jesus knew He had to suffer for sin on the cross and that God’s plan involved His death and anyone who opposed that plan was doing the work of Satan!
Keep this in mind; this is the same Peter who in the passage just before this happens called Jesus The Christ, in verse 29. One minute Peter is declaring deep the spiritual truth of who Jesus is and the next moment he is doing the work of the devil! Pretty amazing isn’t it?
Here is how we as human beings think as compared to how God thinks: Men care about the material; God cares about the eternal. Men care about prosperity; God cares about holiness. Men care about power; God cares about purity! Are you concerned with the eternal, about holiness, and about purity or are you concerned with material, prosperity, and power? Look deep into your heart to see! We need to be thinking how God thinks! It changes the whole perspective of life when we think like God and see the world and people through His eyes.
What do you to try to see the world from God’s perspective?
