Guard the Trust

And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God but of men.” (Mark 31-33 RSV)

I do not think Peter’s reaction was immediate. Evidently, after several days of listening to Jesus talking this way, finally he could stand it no longer. Speaking for all the disciples, he took Jesus aside and rebuked him. Imagine! Peter rebuking Jesus! He said, “Lord, you mustn’t talk this way. Why, this is terrible!” What he literally said was, “Spare yourself.”

And in that rebuke from Peter you find the basic philosophy of the world stated very precisely: “Spare yourself. Spare yourself, Lord! Nothing is more important than you.” Is this not the way men live? “I’ll give up anything except my own interests. Nothing is more important than I am.” 

And when Peter uttered these words, Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan! You’re an offense to me, for you do not understand the things of God, but of men,” (Matthew 16:23). This is the way men live. We all feel the pressure of this philosophy upon us. Think of yourself first. Take care of yourself. Prove for yourself — nobody else is going to do it. How that attitude underlies everything we see on television, in magazines, and all the other media The whole advertising system of our day is built upon it. “You deserve the best. You deserve this vacation. You deserve all that we are offering to you. Think of yourself.” 

But Jesus said this is Satan, offering that which leads to despair and emptiness and death, even though it seems to offer fulfillment and satisfaction. And so he rebukes Peter in turn, with this stern rebuke, withering in its directness and bluntness: “Get behind me, Satan! I recognize that voice. It came to me in the temptation in the wilderness ‘There’s another way to get all that God wants for you. Think of yourself.’”