Why did Jesus say to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”?

Response

The phrase “Get behind me, Satan,” spoken by Jesus to Peter, is documented in Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33. This statement may seem severe and uncharacteristic of Jesus, especially when directed at Peter, one of His most loyal followers. Why did Jesus utter these words? What had Peter done to warrant such a strong reprimand? Unbeknownst to him, Peter was unknowingly echoing the words of Satan.

Jesus had just disclosed to His disciples, for the first time, His plan: to journey to Jerusalem to endure suffering, death, and resurrection (Matthew 16:21;Mark 8:31). Contrary to their expectations, Jesus clarified that His purpose was not to establish an earthly Messianic kingdom at that moment. The disciples were unprepared for this new revelation of the Messiah’s mission. While Peter grasped His message, he struggled to reconcile his vision of a triumphant Messiah with the suffering and death foretold by Jesus. Consequently, Peter “began to rebuke Him” for His seemingly fatalistic outlook.

Unintentionally, Peter was echoing the sentiments of Satan. Similar to the adversary of Jesus, Peter’s focus was not on God’s will—His ways, His plans, and His intentions (Colossians 3:2;Isaiah 55:8-9). Instead, his thoughts were centered on worldly matters, earthly values, and human perspectives. Jesus emphasized that the path of the cross was God’s divine purpose, the blueprint for the redemption of humanity. Peter’s reaction likely resonated with the other disciples, although Peter, as usual, was the first to speak. Inadvertently, Peter was being influenced by Satan, believing he was safeguarding Jesus. Satan had infiltrated his thoughts.Closely tempted Jesus in the wilderness to divert Him from the cross, from fulfilling the grand design of the Father and the Son (Mark 1:12-13). Innocently, Peter was doing the same thing. He had not yet grasped Jesus’ true Messianic purpose.

Although Peter had just moments before declared Jesus as the Christ, he turned from God’s perspective and viewed the situation from man’s perspective, which brought about the stern rebuke: “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus went on to explain: “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” «But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. », (Mark 8:33).

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 him back on track. May our focus always be on God and His plans, that we may never experience a similar rebuke from our Lord.