Matthew 16:21 – From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”  23 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.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? (NLT)

In today’s reading, Jesus had been telling his disciples of the things that would soon take place in Jerusalem.  Just a few verses before today’s reading, Jesus had praised Peter for being blessed with the spiritual insight to recognize Jesus for who he was – the Son of the Living God.  Here, however, Jesus rebukes him strongly, saying, “Get away from me Satan!”  How could Peter get turned around so quickly?  The same way that we can get quickly turned around.  The answer is there in verse twenty-three: “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

I don’t believe that Peter was aware that he had become a spokesperson for Satan.  I’m sure that he spoke out of a genuine concern and love for Jesus, but he was not seeing things from God’s point of view.  Peter was genuinely concerned, but he was still wrong.  When we take our eyes off of God, we, like Peter, can be well intentioned and still become a spokesperson for Satan.  There can be times in the life of any disciple of Jesus in which they do not make a deliberate choice to reject the things of God, and yet still stand opposed to the things of God.   

How can we make sure that we are seeing things from God’s point of view?  We see things from God’s point of view by staying in constant contact with God.  We stay in God’s Word.  We stay in contact with trusted Christian friends who hold us accountable.  We maintain a spirit of worship.  We pray before we react.  These are the things that we must continually strive to do so that we will not unknowingly reject the things of God.   

Today, let us stay connected to God so that we will see things from God’s point of view. 

Posted by Ramón Torres