From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Matthew 16:21-23, NKJV

In my last blog I gave consideration to the question, “What are you thinking about?” This was based on the statements Paul made concerning having our minds set on things above and not on the things of earth. The quote from Matthew is a sobering example of incorrect thinking – of Peter having his mind set on the wrong things as Jesus spoke to His disciples about His coming betrayal, death, and resurrection.

Granted, I must admit that I have no idea how I would have responded to Jesus’ startling revelation. Peter and the others had already committed themselves to Jesus as their Lord, undoubtedly thinking that He would soon establish His kingdom on earth. And now they hear Jesus speaking of His impending death! The two thoughts were totally irreconcilable. How could He possibly be King if the things He revealed were true?

So how does Peter respond? First, note carefully the manner of his response: he actually rebuked Jesus. Can you picture this scene in your mind? One of Jesus’ disciples rebuking his Teacher? One of His servants rebuking his Master? It sounds ridiculous – absolutely absurd – but here it is: Peter rebuked the Lord.

Then, note the contradictory element in Peter’s rebuke. “Far be it from You, Lord.” How could Jesus truly be his Lord if he rebukes Him, refusing to believe what Jesus has now revealed? In that moment, Peter was not submitted to Jesus’ lordship, but to his own selfish, worldly, earthly thinking.

And that is exactly what Jesus says. He tells Peter that his mind is set on the wrong things. He is not thinking about the things of God, but the things of men. In that moment, for a brief blip in time, Peter allows his mind, and his desires, to be focused on a worldly way of assessing the information at hand, and not thinking about his need to be submissive to the Lord’s teaching.

But can we come down excessively on Peter for his outlandish behavior? Can we not see ourselves in his reaction to Jesus’ revelation? Can we not think of times when we have done the same thing as Peter did? I certainly can! Far more times than I would like to consider. There have been those times in which my remark to the Lord in response to something He was leading me to do, or something He had allowed to come into my personal experience was, “No, Lord.”

Even as I type those words, “No, Lord,” I realize how grievously evil they are. I think about the utter audacity of making such a statement. I think of the contradictory nature of combining those words, because it is in saying “No, Lord”, that I show who is really lord: ME! He can’t be my Lord if I refuse to bow to His lordship.

And I can’t bow to His lordship if I constantly practice incorrect thinking. As long as I have my mind set on the things of men, the things of the earth, then I cannot possibly be submissive to Jesus Christ. And please note how Jesus responded to Peter’s ridiculous rebuke:

“Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Matthew 16:23

Ouch! Peter could not have missed the dagger of Jesus’ words of rebuke. “Get behind Me, Satan!” Peter had given himself over, not only to selfish thinking, but to a Satanic mentality. This was nothing short of a spiritual mutiny! You can’t rebuke the Master without being your own master. You can’t dethrone the King without usurping the authority of the King.

This is incorrect thinking – the very type of thinking we are to put off once we have become followers of the Lord. And then, we are to strive to think of things above, and not the things of the earth. May this be the desire of our hearts and minds as we strive to be sincere disciples of our Savior and Lord!

Blessings!