He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Can we be tempted by Satan through the advice of friends? Apparently we can. Peter was a loyal follower; he loved Jesus. In fact, he would be the leader of the church after Jesus died. But he also was a fallen man prone to sin. And I think he was only saying some of the things the other disciples were thinking. Certainly Judas had plans for Jesus to overthrow the Romans too.

So what was it that he said to Jesus that infuriated him so much? Was it bad words? Was he angry or bitter with him? No, I think Peter just tried to correct Jesus’ thinking about having to die. This was counter to God’s plan for Jesus. He used human reasoning instead of Spirit-led insight.

It is tempting to try to be an elevated advisor for people who are in challenging places in life, or who are younger in their faith. But this temptation could lead us to sin by becoming prideful. Instead, we are called to seek God out where he may be found, to understand his will for our lives and those of others, and to be humble.

Peter was thinking about his plans for Jesus, what would be easiest for him and the other disciples. He did not want Jesus to die. But he was not thinking about and prioritizing God’s plan. So Satan tempted him to try to rebuke Jesus, and he did just that.

By calling out Satan in the rebuke, Jesus did a couple of important things: 1) he called out the source of the bad advice and selfish motives in Peter, 2) he did not label Peter as a bad person, just called out his sin in following the temptation of the evil one in this moment, and 3) he made it extremely clear that counsel against God’s will is evil, even though it may seem nice.

Lord, forgive me for the times I may have sought to advise others in the past in arrogance. Help me to seek your heart and will first. May I humbly yield my wise opinions of myself to your ways as your will. Teach me to discern your will and embrace your plans in the moment, even if they will cause me temporary pain.