In the previous conversation, Peter declared Jesus to be the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus told him that he could only have this insight through the revelation of God, the Father. In the next exchange between Peter and Jesus, we find that Satan is also able to reveal thoughts—wrong thoughts—to humans.
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of 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, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (Matthew 16:21-23).
I am not able to get into the mind of Peter and understand why he talked to Jesus the way he did. As I think about my own motives, here are some possible ways of responding to Jesus’ announcement of His impending conviction, death, and resurrection.
In the first century, what happened to a leader was applied to their followers, too. John 18 records Jesus before the high priest and how he asked Him about His disciples. Jesus refused to answer the question, fulfilling the prayer before His arrest:
“While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled” ( John 17:12 ).
If I viewed the Messiah solely as a conquering king, much like Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man, I would probably ask for a position of power, too, just like James and John did (Matthew 20:21). The concept of a Suffering Servant found in Isaiah 53 was so far removed from popular Messianic expectations that Jesus had to continuously explain His true role to the disciples on their way to Jerusalem.
During the testing of Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4), Satan tried to get Jesus to avoid suffering. Satan could easily get into my head by suggesting a way to avoid suffering. If Jesus were to suffer, and I might be aligned with Him and suffer too, I would be open to this temptation.
No matter what Peter and the other disciples thought, Jesus spent a considerable amount of energy preparing them for a suffering Messiah. He didn’t wait long to begin their training.
The Cross and Self-Denial
Jesus made it clear what He expected from His followers.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?” (Matthew 16:24-26).
There is a vast difference between the way the first disciples responded to Jesus and the way most modern Christians do. The first followers left their jobs, walked with Jesus everywhere, and often slept on the ground. Except for John, they all met violent and painful deaths. When Jesus spoke of saving or losing their lives, He was literal with those who walked with Him.
While most Americans don’t face the challenges of the first followers of Jesus, we still need Jesus’ training in discipleship. Each of us will have different parts of life that require self-denial. Here is Paul’s counsel about self-denial:
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies, so that you obey their desires. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:12-14).
The main way we express the intentions of our inner life is through the body. In a pleasure-oriented society, it may seem like a great sacrifice to deny our desires. The payoff of a significant commitment to discipleship is the best life now, and heaven afterward.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 