Imagine different teams: basketball, football, track, baseball, softball, wrestling, hockey, lacrosse, and tennis, or your favorite with their coaches.  This is another interpretation of “get behind me,” that is: supporting the leader.
    Imagine how an artist might render the story of Jesus telling Satan (in Peter) to get behind him. 
    We understand that Jesus was on a mission. Jesus’ Incarnation was a mission to offer humankind a way back to God from the separation caused by sin.  Jesus had authority to forgive, power to redeem, and love to institute salvation.  His disciples seemed clueless – they expected a different sort of Messiah and a fight against the power of Rome.
    I believe that Jesus knew the disciples couldn’t grasp the scope of what he was saying about having to die, but he said it anyway, planting seeds for future harvest.  Actually, Jesus was breaking open hard ground, beginning to prepare the ground of their hearts for the seeds of faith to be planted later.  Prior to this account, Jesus had turned over some of the dirt with the question, “Who do people say that I am?” (Mk 8:27) and “Who do you say that I am?” (v. 29) now, Jesus was digging deeply, pulling some weeds and creating places where the good seed could eventually take root.
    The openness with which Jesus asserts the suffering and rejection to come serves to make Peter’s action and reaction seem pronounced.  Peter actually “took” Jesus aside.  The Bible doesn’t include small details like this for naught.  As strong as Peter was, and a fighter to boot, he couldn’t have his leader looking weak before “the troops,” the disciples.  He pulled Jesus aside to help him save face before he demoralized the other disciples and embarrassed himself.  Peter took the Messiah aside, which implies some strong pull on his part – he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.  There was too much at stake.
    Jesus must have cut Peter off, for the scriptures say that Peter “began” to reprimand Jesus.  But Jesus, seeing where this was going, interrupted Peter. Verse 33 says, “But turning and looking at his disciples . . .” Why did Jesus turn to look as his disciples (and, I think, to us as present-day disciples) before speaking?  I believe it is because Jesus wanted to make sure he caught their eye.  He wanted to make sure that all the disciples and whoever else was in earshot were paying attention.
    Then Jesus reprimanded Peter.  In doing so, Jesus addressed the motivation spirit driving Peter’s demonstrative action. “Get, behind me, Satan!” Jesus said.  This must have been a shock for Peter to hear.  Jesus clearly identified the enemy, and it was in Peter.  And if this enemy surfaced in Peter, who was for Jesus, then this enemy can surface in each one of us.
    Just as Satan earlier had tried to tempt Jesus with earthly riches, Satan now had a two-pronged attack.  He had infiltrated a person’s thinking and was making an effort to get Jesus to avoid the suffering he was approaching – to avoid his destiny.  But Jesus would have none of that trick.  He immediately identified the Enemy, because of the offer of a way to avoid what God had already ordained.  At the end of the 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted with food and material possessions.  Now the temptation is the avoidance of suffering.
    Jesus then set the challenge out in the open.  It was like calling out the gunslinger for a duel.  Jesus fired the shot, the truth: You are seeing things from a human point of view, not from God’s point of view.
    Then, Jesus issued the clarion call: Follow me or perish; lose your life to save it, deny yourself (pleasures), take up a cross (get ready to die to self), and follow me.  Profit is of no ultimate gain.  It is not life-giving or eternal.  Those who choose the world over divine things, ashamed of the life-giving word of Christ and his very being, will receive unto themselves what they have given when the Son of Man returns; namely, rejection.
    Jesus makes an example of Peter is front of the crowd, in front of history, really, for the sake of all who would come to need the same reprimand.  And what is that reprimand?  I believe it is the temptation of telling Christ what to do instead of listening.  It is the temptation to pull Jesus aside and keep him from being who he came to be in our lives.  Jesus exercises power in challenging the crowd to follow him and give up living for oneself only; and he does the same for us today.  Jesus exercises the power of his word to divide the willing from the unwilling.  And Jesus still does that today.
    This was a powerful moment in the face-off between Christ and the struggle of the enemy of God to thwart Christ from walking the path of faith that leads to redemption – our redemption.  Praise the Lord that Jesus identified the intruder in Peter’s spirit and ordered him to step behind.
    This is not the end of the story. Not long after this tense scene, Jesus takes Peter up the mountain for the transfiguration.  (We celebrated the transfiguration, which is discussed in Chapter 9, Sabbath the 21st of February.)  Peter evidently was strong enough to take the reprimand.  He remained in Jesus’ close-knit group of disciples and eventually was chosen to lead the early church.
    We, too, need correction at times, and Christ is not afraid to give it to us.  It is for our benefit, so that Christ may lead us into our best destiny.  As Satan tempted Christ and Peter, we also are targets of infiltration to keep Christ from being Christ.  We must be ready and willing to hear Christ’s voice, which speaks out of deep love: “Get behind me, Satan.” Praise God for the power to make it happen. 
        I invite you to find the hymn “Wherever He Leads I’ll Go” (a.k.a. “Take Up Thy Cross and Follow Me”) and read with me in unison the four verses followed by the reading of the refrain at the end of the fourth verse. 

Prayer:
    Lord, as we seek to serve you and live by your Spirit, we admit that at times we get in the way of your will for us.  We forget that you are Christ, the one sent for us, and we begin to tell you how to be Christ in our lives.  Forgive us and lead us to a right understanding of how to let you rule in our lives.  We pray for all who are unwilling to listen to you, Lord, that by your grace they may have a change of heart.  May your love and compassion become the source of wisdom and power in our lives!  Amen.