"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 aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.'" (Mark 8:31-33)Jesus, are you serious? This passage gets a ton of play because of the sharpness with which Jesus comes down on Peter, but truly consider who Peter was and the character of this fisherman as we come to know him throughout Jesus' ministry. This is the ultra passionate, no sitting on the fence, "ready, shoot, aim" disciple. This is the one that repeatedly confirms who Jesus is and continually puts forth as much effort as possible to make sure that Jesus knows he loves Him. This is the guy who just before this passage emphatically proclaims Jesus' Name. And Jesus said that?!
I can't even imagine what Peter must have been thinking.
Or maybe I can. Like that time that I was so sure that I was supposed to take that ministry position. Or that time that I thought, for sure, it was God's calling for me to start that ministry for college students. Then there was that time that I sent that letter to my biggest enemy and got completely rejected even though I was positive that God told me to do it. Or the time that... Or the other time that... Or that time that I was so sure... etc, etc, etc. So maybe I can imagine what Peter felt like.
Have you ever felt like Peter?
That moment where you go, "Ummmm... can we just forget that I said that?" Those moments that we all look back and go, "I wish I would have thought about that before I said what I said."
I'm thankful for Peter today. I resonate with Peter more times than not. I think many more lessons come out of this passage. What are some that you see?
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