"Satan, get thee hence!"
What a shocking thing for Jesus to say to His beloved disciple! Peter is not the devil. And isn’t it true that “faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful”? (Proverbs 27:6) Wasn’t he just concerned for his Master’s safety? Yet, Jesus is not one to overreact. Isn’t it possible that Peter was at least an unwitting tool in the hands of the Deceiver and Father of Lies?
What lies? What deception? How about the fact that the large majority of devout Jews believed that the true Messiah would not be a suffering “lamb” but a conquering hero that would throw off the oppression of the Romans and all other enemies of the Jewish people? Even modern Jewish scholars are preoccupied with the coming of a great deliverer who will re-establish the throne of David and overcome all their enemies.
Jesus wasn't having paranoid delusions. He wasn't wimping out. He hadn't forgotten His purpose: "...to give Himself as a ransom for many." Anything that sought to turn Him away from that was straight from the Devil.
The crucifixion was not a failure or mistake. It was THE PLAN. “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Peter’s thinking was faulty, not the Lord’s.
Peter was not Satan, but the words coming out of his mouth were straight from the pits of Hell. How could Peter be so far off when he had just given an answer to a question earlier that Jesus considered straight from Heaven? (verses 16-17) Anything that gets us off track is directly or indirectly from the Devil. He loves to send us off on a wild goose chase. He wants to distract us from our destiny—God’s will for our lives. Satan will use your friends and family whenever possible to accomplish this.
Jesus saw this happening through the words of Peter and rebuked Satan who was trying to trip Him up with words from a friend. The word in verse 23 which is often translated “offense” actually means “snare” or “trap” or something that “trips you up” or “tricks” you. The trap failed. The plan didn’t.
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