“So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” (Matthew 16:22-23)
Have you ever cringed when you hear certain words coming out of someone’s mouth, especially someone you respect a lot? I am sure Jesus’ disciples all shuddered at the moment when Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter was the most devoted follower and a friend of Jesus. C’mon, Jesus, why would you call your friend “Satan”? It surely made me cringe!
I have been tempted many times to say exactly that though.
Yesterday, I was publicly humiliated in the parking lot of a shopping center in Great Neck. It took me a LONG time to straighten my minivan to pull into a spot between two painted white lines. There were actually three adjacent spaces available, but I just couldn’t properly pull into any one of them. I struggled. I backed up, I pulled back in, I backed up again to pull back in, just to end up where I was. I was frustrated and I wondered why I would be so terrible at parking, in a lot! (If you ask me to parallel park on a street… I am a pro.) I noticed there was a car waiting for me. I rolled down my window to apologize to the lady in that car. Suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere and he started to yell at me. “Make up your mind, lady! You have three spaces; pick one, JUST PICK ONE!” He was really worked up. Calmly I told him I have a hard time with my steering wheel, but he only got angrier. He yelled and yelled at me again. I was in disbelief.
That was the moment for me. “Get behind me, Satan!” I wanted to say. But I was no Jesus and he was no friend of mine. Sigh. It was just a nuisance living the mundane life in New York, amongst the many angry people.
I digressed slightly. I took an opportunity to vent.
Where were we? Okay, why would Jesus call Peter “Satan.” Let us not forget Jesus was also 100% man when he walked the earth. He’s got emotions and feelings just like us. He mustered up enough courage to tell his friends what was about to happen to him. He would suffer at the hands of his enemies, he would be killed, and he added that he’d also be raised from the dead. I think before Jesus got to the part about his rising from the dead, Peter already made up his mind. We know how it is. A lot of times we are very quick to judge and even quicker to speak. Peter probably thought, “This is crazy. This is not my plan for you, Jesus. I must speak some senses into you.” Peter took Jesus aside, holding nothing back, he began to rebuke him. I am sure Peter was not gentle with his words. Don’t be fooled by the King James Version that reads, “Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee.” I have encountered people with Peter’s personality. When they go off, they really go off. So Peter went off on Jesus, on and on he ranted.
Is it any surprise that Jesus would now turn around and say to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You’re an offense to me. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Jesus was not really talking to Peter, I think. Peter was still Peter, a strong-willed, slightly arrogant man, with a big, warm heart. He just did not understand his friend. Perhaps Jesus was addressing the force of darkness, a force that was on the verge of dissolution, a force that wanted to devour Him and knew it couldn’t.
Jesus was a dangerous man with a mission. So great was His vision that all hell broke loose to stop Him, even though his most devoted friend, the same friend that would later betray Him, three times.
Hence we have a very powerful story in history. Jesus did die at the hands of his enemies, and He did arise from the dead. After He arose, he restored Peter three times and gave him a mission to change the world.
Don’t ever stop loving even in adversity.
“Angry man, I don’t know who you are and why you would lose control of your temper over parking. But I forgive you. Let us make New York great again.”