Get Thee Behind Me, Satan!
Get Thee Behind Me Satan!
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men. Matthew 16:23
Get thee behind me Satan! These are the words of the Lord Jesus and they are directed toward Peter. The Lord had just complimented Peter for acknowledging Jesus as the Christ the Son of God. Now our Lord began to tell of his cross and Peter rejected it. The Lord called out the one who put the thoughts in Peter’s ears. Peter had no idea he was being influenced by the devil but our Lord knew. Through this we learn that
to disagree with Jesus is to agree with the devil!
We also learn that the devil can pollute our thinking without us knowing it. Peter’s rebuke of the Lord’s message seemed natural and even compassionate. He did not want the Lord to suffer and die. The reader would never have guessed it was the devil influencing Peter had not Jesus exposed him and rebuked him. Fortunately, Peter took the rebuke and kept following the Lord. No matter how close we seem to Jesus we are susceptible to foolish thinking!
May the Lord help us to understand that
just because our thinking is acceptable before men it may not be acceptable before God.
How quickly the devil can destroy Christians by getting them to accept that which is in conflict with God’s plan for their lives!
This is why we must be students of God’s word and devoted followers of Christ. His rebukes are not to harm us but to help us.
