THE CONCERNS OF GOD
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Peter had just made the greatest claim about Jesus that it was possible to imagine. In response to Jesus’ leading question, Peter had declared, “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29). It was a bold and insightful statement, one that Jesus affirmed.
But Peter promptly made it clear that he did not understand what it meant. Responding to Jesus as He began to explain to the disciples that He would be rejected and killed by the Jewish leaders, Peter rebuked Him. We can understand his thinking.
If what he had just affirmed about Jesus was correct, it did not make sense that Jesus would immediately begin to talk about His suffering and death.
We might also imagine Peter feeling a touch of concern that the close connection he had with this Messiah might not turn out as he expected.
He was suddenly afraid of what following Jesus might really mean. So Peter expressed those concerns, urging Jesus not to talk like that. In turn, Peter received a strong rebuke of his own. He was speaking with the voice of Satan, missing the purposes of God and replacing them with human expectations. Jesus could hear Satan’s temptation in Peter’s rebuke, sounding like the voice that had offered Him the kingdoms of the world by some means other than the path of suffering and self-sacrifice (see Luke 4:5–8). Perhaps Peter’s fears risked sparking Jesus’ own fears into life, so Jesus had to respond strongly to ensure they did not take hold and undermine His own sense of purpose. In words that might have only added to Peter’s concerns, Jesus explained further to His disciples what it truly would mean to follow Him: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Ultimately, this would be the way of the Messiah that Peter and the other disciples would follow.
