Christ Saw the Devil ~ Steve Hill But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Matthew 16:23, NASB Have you ever been rebuked by the Lord? I have. There have been times in my life when I blurted out an idea or a plan without ever consulting the Lord. Shortly thereafter, Jesus spoke sharply to me that the idea was not from Him. Today’s text shares an instance of that happening to Peter. Jonathan Edwards expounds on this startling rebuke from the Lord. This may seem like an instance of harshness in reproving Peter, yet I humbly believe that this is by many taken wrong. This is indeed no instance of Christ’s severity in His treatment of Peter, but on the contrary, of His wonderful gentleness and grace. Jesus was not laying the blame of what Peter had then said, or imputing it to him, but to the devil that influenced him. Christ saw the devil secretly influencing Peter to play the part of a tempter to his Master. Therefore Christ turned around to Peter, whom the devil was then using, spoke to the devil and rebuked him. It does not charge what is imperfect in them to them—but to sin that dwells in them, and to Satan that influences them. My friend, at times God must speak harshly to us. What a far worse fix Peter would have found himself in if Jesus had not rebuked the source of his error. We must learn not only to receive His correction, but even more, to rejoice in it. After all, He’s only trying to line us up with His perfect will. Joshua 7; Psalms 137-138 Jeremiah 1; Matthew 15
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 16:08:27 +0000