Comment on a Lectionary Reading: Matthew 16.21–28

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Matthew 16.21–28


Jesus, here, explains to His friends, the Twelve, what is going to happen, what must happen. And Peter responds. I think that it’s helpful to understand that Peter responds as a friend. He has deep affection for Jesus and, as a result, makes it clear that he doesn’t want anything like what Jesus has described to happen to Him. Now listen to what Jesus says in response.

Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

Wow! Jesus is pretty blunt here. You might even say that He is being harsh. ‘Get behind me, Satan’?!?

Why would Jesus speak in this way to someone who is trying to be a friend? Here is one reason. Peter is acting as Satan’s mouthpiece here, to tempt Jesus away from the Cross. Jesus doesn’t need that. Being faithful to His calling to die will be hard enough without any friends adding to that difficulty.

To be sure, Peter doesn’t want to serve Satan. But that’s what he is doing. Why? Jesus identifies the problem. Peter’s thinking is off. He’s thinking in the same way that the rest of humanity would think.

For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

Jesus calls for more than that from him.

Now, let’s go a little further to see why Peter thinks in the way that he does. Listen to something Jesus says after His resurrection.

“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:25–27

Peter’s thinking about what was to happen to Jesus was off because he did not believe Moses and the prophets. They were quite clear about the necessity of Jesus’ suffering the Cross and the resurrection that followed. And just as Jesus expected those two on the road to Emmaus to know this, He expected Peter to know it, too.

Peter thought like everyone else because he didn’t know (and believe) his Bible. It was out of this failure that Peter spoke to Jesus as a tool of Satan. And Jesus chewed out him for his error.

Here’s one take away for you to consider. How are you doing at getting to know your Bible better? Do you really think that you know it well enough? Are you able to think accurately as a disciple or do you want Jesus to chew you out too because you think about life in the same way that everyone else does? How you think determines how you live. There’s something here to pray about.