Shalom.
What I am about to share came about because one morning I woke up at 5:00, which is unusual for me. I asked the Holy Spirit what was on His mind and was immediately taken to the scene in the Bible where Peter rebuked Yeshua and Yeshua called Peter Satan. Then the Holy Spirit showed me how this same scene is being played out over and over again in our day and how grieved He is over it. It’s taken me months to put what He showed me into words.
Why would Yeshua refer to one of His disciples as “Satan”?
In Matthew 16:21-23 we read: From that time Yeshua began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Yeshua, in speaking to his disciples about the path of suffering, death and resurrection He was about to take, was describing the high price He, in His love for mankind, was going to have to pay for the world’s sin. He was about to take that sin upon Himself as the Lamb of God and receive in His own body and soul the just punishment for that sin. This had to be very hard to hear for those who followed Him and loved Him, but, it seems, even more so for Peter.
Although Peter had learned how authoritative Yeshua’s words were by watching Him command demons to leave, calling dead people to rise and forgiving the sins of a paralytic so that he stood up and walked, something rose up in him that made him feel he was justified in arguing with what Yeshua was saying this time. What might have motivated him to do that? Perhaps he felt it was from a heart of love and devotion to Him that he rebuked Him. Perhaps it was pride in his own ability to protect Him. After all, he was the only one to draw a sword when the time came for Yeshua to be arrested. (See John 18:10) Perhaps he wanted to comfort Him by telling Him He was far too important and loved by God for something like what He had described to be allowed to take place. Perhaps it was that he was still looking for Yeshua to take His place as a King on Israel’s throne. Or, perhaps it was fear that if it could happen to Yeshua, then it could happen to him. Maybe it was a combination of all of these, but whatever the reason behind it, Yeshua attributed it to Satan not only having deceived Peter but speaking through him as his mouthpiece. He said Peter did not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.
“The things of men” in our present culture could be defined as a humanistic perspective rather than one based on the truth of God’s Word. Today we are seeing a great falling away from the truth of the Gospel; the Gospel that speaks of repentance, salvation through Yeshua’s Name and eternal life and redemption by His blood. It’s the Gospel that presents a choice that must be made between the narrow road that leads to life and the wide road that leads to destruction. What the Holy Spirit made clear to me is that what is being substituted for the Gospel is the sin that Peter unwittingly committed resulting in the only time Yeshua referred to a man as “Satan”.
We see Peter’s sin being repeated in our day as teachers and leaders assure people that whatever sin they are living in, be it sexual sin, addiction, bitterness, etc. there is forgiveness and grace for them without repentance. They tell them they don’t have to turn from their sin in order to inherit the Kingdom of God. They fail to speak of the holiness of God and the necessity of the cleansing that comes through His Son’s blood. What is more, when it comes to what the Scriptures say are the very clear and eternal consequences of sins that have not been repented for, these leaders are, in essence, saying to their congregations, “This shall never happen to you!” They may think they are showing people compassion, mercy, understanding and the “love” of God, but they are actually leading them into deception and being Satan’s mouthpiece by encouraging them to ignore the many scriptures that clearly warn us of the seriousness of sin. For instance:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Messiah. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
These are just a few of the many scripture verses that speak of God’s perspective on sin, His solution for it and the very real and certain consequences for those who don’t turn to Him from their sin and rebellion in order to be saved. These scriptures can serve to inspire the fear of the Lord in a sinner’s heart in a way that brings wisdom and understanding of how to live a life pleasing to God in true freedom. As we read in Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
We need to remember that when Yeshua first started his ministry, his preaching consisted of this warning in Matthew 4:17: “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” Repentance is a necessary part of entering the Kingdom of God.
Does that mean we, as followers of Yeshua, are perfect and never fall or fail? Of course not! But there is a sorrow for sin that leads to repentance and restoration. The Apostle Paul knew how uncomfortable it can be to confront sin in the body of Messiah. He had to confront the community in Corinth for having no problem with a man living in sin with his father’s wife. And though his addressing it brought sorrow to this community, and even to Paul himself, he knew the sorrow was necessary and redemptive. As we read in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 “Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it – I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while – yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
One of the beautiful things about this confrontation was that it resulted in repentance on the part of the offender and his return to fellowship with his brothers and sisters in Messiah. But this happened because, in response to Paul’s letter, they held him accountable for his actions and removed him from their fellowship until he repented and turned from his sin.
Those who are walking after the Spirit and desiring to stay close to God seek His forgiveness and cleansing on a regular basis. As we are told in 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That is the assurance we have that if we sin there is a way made to be forgiven AND cleansed of our unrighteousness.
When Peter took Yeshua aside to assure Him that the suffering and death He was telling them would take place would never overtake Him, he was unknowingly demeaning the seriousness of sin. And we know Satan would love to see that message go out. Because nothing speaks more clearly or eloquently of how serious sin is than what Yeshua was forced to suffer to save us from it. And so, well-meaning believers today who feel they are being more compassionate and merciful than those who preach the truth about sin found in the Word are actually negating the work of Messiah’s sacrifice and what it saves us from—slavery to sin and eternal separation from God. We have to be wary of the subtle pride that creeps in when we disciple others in this humanistic form of “love”, because it can exalt one’s own sense of being a “loving person” rather than the righteousness of a holy God. God is Holy. That is why Messiah had to die for us. It is only through Him that we can approach the Father who so desires to have us restored to fellowship with Him He gave up His Son for us. But to believe we can continue to live in habitual, willful sin having no regard for God’s holiness or the price He paid for that sin is grave deception and, according to Yeshua, directly from Satan himself; and so is the message going out from too many pulpits— “This shall never happen to you!”
May God forgive us and grant us the strength to stand firm on the truth of God’s Word. May we be delivered whenever we are tempted to negate the truth in order to be “merciful” and not cause sorrow. May we instead say, “Get thee behind me, Satan! For I have in mind the things of God, not the things of men!”
