But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
This verse comes right after one of Peter's greatest moments — when he correctly identified Jesus as "the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Peter was one of Jesus' closest disciples, part of an inner circle of three. Just moments after being praised, Peter pulls Jesus aside to rebuke him for predicting his own suffering and death — Peter couldn't accept that the Messiah he loved would suffer. Jesus' sharp words — calling Peter "Satan" — reveal how dangerous well-meaning human thinking can be when it contradicts God's plan. The word "Satan" means "adversary" or "one who opposes," suggesting Peter was, in that moment, standing in the way of God's purposes, even while genuinely loving Jesus.
Lord, open my ears to recognize when the voices I trust most are pulling me away from your purposes. Give me the courage to follow you even when the path is hard and the people who love me can't see why. Help me hold your plans above my own instincts for safety and comfort. Amen.
The most dangerous opposition to God's work doesn't always come from enemies. Sometimes it comes from people who love you, with the best intentions, saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong moment. Peter wasn't trying to sabotage Jesus — he was trying to protect him. The kind of love that says, "I can't stand to see you hurt." And Jesus called it satanic. That's jarring. Because it means that love, unchecked by God's bigger purposes, can become a stumbling block. Our most sincere impulses — protect the people we love, avoid suffering, choose the comfortable path — can sometimes work directly against what God is doing. Think about the times you've heard a voice telling you to play it safe, to avoid the hard thing, to choose comfort over calling. That voice doesn't always sound like temptation. Often it sounds like common sense — or comes from someone who genuinely cares about you. Jesus' response shows that following God sometimes means recognizing when even a loving voice is pulling you in the wrong direction. The question worth sitting with today: whose voice are you most likely to let talk you out of something God has asked you to do?
Peter had just received high praise from Jesus moments before this rebuke — what does that contrast reveal about how quickly our perspective can shift from God-focused to self-focused?
Have you ever had someone you deeply trusted try to talk you out of something you believed God was calling you toward — what did that feel like, and how did you navigate it?
Is it possible to love someone deeply and still be a stumbling block to them? What does that suggest about the limits of human love, no matter how sincere?
How do you discern, in a real conversation, when someone's well-meaning advice is genuine wisdom — and when it's the voice of comfort pulling you away from what God has asked?
What is one area of your life where comfort or fear might be quietly functioning as a stumbling block to what God is asking of you — and what would it look like to step past it this week?
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:8
Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
Philippians 3:19
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1 Corinthians 2:15
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:2
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 4:10
But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Job 2:10
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8:5
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14
But Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man."
AMP
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.”
ESV
But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.'
NASB
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
NIV
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.”
NKJV
Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
NLT
But Jesus didn't swerve. "Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works."
MSG