Peter Rebukes Jesus – Out of the Heart the Mouth Speaks. Part 2 – the Shorter Version
At Caesarea Philippi Peter rebukes Jesus after Jesus tells His disciples that He has to go to Jerusalem to be killed and raised on the third day. Here is part 2 — Jesus responds to Peter.
“Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Never Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 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.” Then Jesus said to the disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16: 22 – 24 NIV).
In this post I look at Jesus’ words to Peter: “Peter, you are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” We can be sure that Jesus’ is speaking these words to Peter and not satan, because the Scripture says, “Jesus turned and said to Peter . . . “.
Peter, You Are a Stumbling Block to Me
This is very strange. One second Peter is the rock on which Jesus will build His church, the next second (so to speak) he is the rock that is a stumbling block. What is going on here?
The Greek word for stumbling block in Matthew 16: 23 (or stumbling stone) is scandalon. In the NKJV scandalon is translated as ‘offense’. The meaning of scandalon is not just a rock sticking up out of the ground over which one stumbles or trips, but also a snare, trap-sick or a bent sapling with bait used to catch animals. It can also mean more generally an impediment or hindrance.
Scandalon is used in several other places in Scripture. In Romans 11: 9 Paul describes the Jews’ rejection of Jesus as a stumbling block (scandalon) to salvation. In 1 Corinthians 1: 23 Paul uses the word scandalon to mean the crucified Jesus as the stumbling block to Jews and Gentiles.
Peter makes a similar point in 1 Peter 2, although the Greek word for ‘stumbling’ used here is proskepto:
“Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it . . . For the untrusting it’s a stone to trip over, a boulder blocking the way. They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted” (1 Peter 2: 7, 8 MSG).
Romans 9: 32, 33 uses the same passage quoted in 1 Peter: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame” (NIV). The stone is, of course, Jesus.
In Paul’s and Peter’s letters Jesus is the stumbling block in contrast to the Matthew 16 passage where Jesus calls Peter the stumbling block. Or, in an alternate translation, Jesus is an offense to Jews and Gentiles. Jews and Gentiles ‘stumbled’ over the truth that: 1) Jesus needed to die for the Kingdom of God to advance. This upside down view of power is offensive; and 2) salvation or righteousness (for me, entrance into the Kingdom of God) is not by works, but only by true faith.
In Matthew 16, Jesus is telling Peter, “you are a hindrance to me, you are in my way to the cross, you are a trap and a snare to me. Peter, you have baited a trap for me, one that I will not step into” (and of course, it is really satan, working through Peter, who wants to trap Jesus). I can understand how Jesus is a stumbling block to us – for one thing He calls us to be the slave and servant of all. That is a major stumbling block. But how is Peter a stumbling block to Jesus?
Good question. Here are three possible answers.
The human side of Jesus might be tempted to ask Himself the same question Peter is arguing for — “Really Father, if I am God why do I have to die? Can’t I just use my Power and get the job done without going to the cross? What if Peter kept suggesting to Jesus, “You don’t have to die”, would Jesus find that distracting at the least, and demoralizing or subversive at worst?
Jesus has said that He will build His church on Peter, the rock. What if Peter never understands the necessity for the cross and brings that perspective into the Church? Then the necessity of ‘dying to self’ could be lost, humanism and a ‘works’ mentality will reign in the Church, ensuring that darkness will rule the world, making the work of the cross to no effect.
Jesus has chosen the 12 because He will need them to carry on His work – God is going to redeem and restore the world through the Church. Jesus might be frustrated with Peter’s lack of understanding and true faith. “This is the guy I have chosen to lead the way, and he still does not understand. Urrgghh!” I might be tempted to step into the trap of discouragement or even despair.
You Have In Mind the Things of Men
Each of these reasons can be summarized in what Jesus says next to Peter: “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” The same point can be made with slightly different words: “You do not have in mind the things of the Spirit, but the things of the flesh.” These are Kingdom words. Peter is a stumbling block to Jesus, and because in the most basic sense Jesus is the Kingdom of God, Peters’ words are a stumbling block to the Kingdom’s advance.
But, I thought Peter had already crossed that bridge in Galilee described in John 6. There, Jesus told the disciples,“the Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing”. In response, Peter proclaimed, “You have the words of eternal life”, apparently agreeing with Jesus. But here is Jesus telling Peter, “You are still focused on the flesh.”
Jesus’ rebuke of Peter focusing on the flesh and not the things of God (or the Spirit) reminds me of Paul’s words in Romans 8:
“There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit . . . For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit . . . But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Romans 8: 1 – 9 NKJV).
Apparently, according to Jesus, Peter’s mind is still set on the things of the flesh, which means, if I have read the Romans passage correctly, that Peter does not yet have the Spirit. And if he does not have the Spirit, he does not belong to Jesus or have true faith. Yet!
What is going on with Peter? I see 2 ways to interpret this situation:
Peter really walked in true faith when he made these statements in John 6, but somehow when he rebuked Jesus he was speaking out of a place in his heart where his true faith had not yet penetrated.
Peter’s claims about who Jesus is and the significance of Jesus’ words of life were from his mind, and not from Peter’s heart, where true faith must reside.
I think, based on Peter’s rebuke of Jesus, his actions on the Mount of Transfiguration, his refusal to let Jesus wash his feet, which was also a type of rebuke; his promise to never deny Jesus, and then his three denials a few hours later, I think it is the latter.
In Peter’s defense, and this is important, he and the other disciples will not receive the Spirit until Jesus breathes on them in the upper room after the resurrection. Just for this reason, I think we cannot expect Peter to have true faith at this time.
Peter loved Jesus the way we would love a good friend. Peter believed Jesus was the Messiah and in Jesus he would find life. But Peter held on to his own view of reality, his own understanding of power and how the world works; and the sufficiency of his own skills, abilities, and experiences – his entire personality. Peter believed that he had, in himself, what he needed to be an effective disciple, both at that moment and into the future.
Peter got part of it right. But he missed the most important part – he had not learned to give up the right to himself, and that to ‘give up the right to himself’ there must be a death of the outward man. That is part of the cost of discipleship.
The Necessity of Giving Up the Right to Myself
After rebuking Peter as Caesarea Philippi, Jesus turns to His disciples and says:
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16: 24 NIV).
Here is the Message translation of the same verse:
“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat: I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way to finding yourself, your true self.”
These radical words of Jesus are completely counter to the ways men think and act in the kingdom of the world. Jesus is describing the upside-down Kingdom life where we embrace suffering, where self-sacrifice is the way to life; and following Jesus means we don’t lead – we follow. True power, Kingdom power, flows from a life like this. It is the Jesus way all the way – and the Jesus way never includes violence. These are Kingdom words, and they can only be understood and lived in the power of the Holy Spirit as it is given to men and women living with Christ in the Kingdom of God. And as we said above, these words are an offense to the world.
But Peter will not live in the kingdom of the world much longer. Jesus loves him too much to let him stay there. Peter will experience his own crucifixion, which is, paradoxically, a great gift from Jesus. In a dark courtyard lit by the flickering flames of a fire, he will reach the end of himself. He will deny Jesus three times. His whole world will change and Peter will be transformed, but first Peter must experience this death of his outward man. Peter is about to experience the full meaning of grace and the transforming power of love.
What About Me?
What should I learn from Peter’s life with Jesus? Here are some thoughts:
True faith is more than “I believe”, if that word means “I agree with what you are saying or who you claim to be.” True faith involves total surrender, commitment, and submission to Jesus leading to trust, dependency, and obedience. True faith is a gift, but it requires brokenness, real repentance, and a repentant heart.
If we try to walk with Jesus, as Peter did as Caesarea Philippi, with our faith in ourselves still intact – our false faith – we are a stumbling block to Jesus. When we still have our mind focused on the things of the flesh, we do not belong to Him. Have we truly and seriously repented, surrendered, and let go of all of our ways of trying to manage our lives the world’s way? If we have not, we are a target for satan to invade our hearts and minds. And he will!
I think Peter wants a powerful relationship with Jesus, but without the cost. Do we want that too? What is the cost? It is nothing less than death – the death of my dependence upon that thing, whatever it is, that has been my ‘life’, the ultimate source of my value as a human being. There must be a cost!
Many people say, “No, that cost is too much. I cannot imagine letting go of my addictions, my relevance, or even my focus on work as the thing that keeps me feeling alive. I cannot live without the honor of men and the feeling of significance that their honor gives me.” And too often our death-grip on these things is the result of woundedness, so even if we wanted to it is difficult to let go.
Turning from life in the kingdom of the world to living with Jesus in the Kingdom of God – called repentance or “being born again” – often requires being healed and made whole. Healing can be complicated by our distrust of Jesus. Distrust of Jesus comes from deep trauma in our lives – “where were you Jesus when . . . ?” Also, some of us are fearful of healing, thinking, “What will replace that thing I have ‘medicated’ myself with for so many years? How will I survive?” Finally, many of us cannot accept or receive the Father’s love. Our lives have been shattered. We have built walls of self-protection. It is one thing to know intellectually “God loves me”, it is another to receive and accept that love into my heart. And many struggle with that.
All of these reasons can keep us in bondage to false faith. The ‘way’ out of the darkness is the healing and wholeness that only Jesus can provide. And that is part of Jesus’ manifesto – to heal the brokenhearted and release the prisoner from darkness.
Jesus is telling me, through Peter’s experiences, to serve Jesus by emptying myself, losing the desire to be independent and significant; to become totally and completely free from needing to feel valuable at all; to “follow Me”. Jesus is the most ‘valuable one’, and Jesus is telling me to “totally align myself with Him so that all of my value is Jesus in me”.
When this happens my inward man will be alive and in control of my outward man. I will be free, filled with light and life; and out of my desire to be obedient and the abundance of my heart, my mouth will speak healing and wholeness, wonder, joy; and yes, even power, into a broken, bleeding, and hurting world.
Really? Is this possible? Yes. But we need the Holy Spirit. This life begins with repentance and true faith. Both are gifts. But we must choose to receive and accept this life that God has prepared for us from before the foundations of the world — our destiny. Of course, it is a journey. We do not just repent; we surrender and we are repentant daily.
Still learning,
John