Mark 8:31-33

Who You Calling “Satan”?

Devotional 43 of 50 · Mark chapter 8

00:00--:--

Audio coming soon

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has

Mark 8:31-33 · BSB

³¹Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again. ³²He spoke this message quite frankly, and Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ³³But Jesus, turning and looking at His disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Jesus

Sometimes Jesus speaks in parables. Other times, He comes right out and says it. In this moment, He wants His disciples to know with absolute clarity that He is going to die and rise again.

Although Peter had just nailed it in the passage before by declaring that Jesus is the Christ, he quickly speaks something so awful that Jesus not only rebukes him, but associates him with “Satan.” Peter might have thought he was on a roll, but he should have quit while he was ahead. This must have come across as very shocking to Peter—one minute being praised for his declaration, and the next being rebuked. What happened to make this shift?

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that after Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus said, “For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17b). We see a sharp contrast when Jesus rebukes Peter in verse 33 and says, “For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Peter had revelation from the Father and then set his mind on the things of men. He likely heard that Jesus was going to die and thought that the resurrection He mentioned was only in the afterlife. He thought he would gladly die for Jesus, and since Jesus is the Messiah, He could not die—He must rule and reign in Jerusalem.

Peter’s narrow interpretations of what he thought the Messiah must do were based on the things of men, not the revelation from the Father. This quick shift caused Peter to oppose the very plan of God—the only way to bring salvation. In doing so, he aligned with the plan of Satan, whose name means the adversary.

His Desires

Jesus desires that we set our minds on the things above and seek revelation from the Father. This revelation allows us to see Him rightly. By contrast, don’t look at Jesus and His words through a human perspective. Don’t hear His promises and declarations and reject Him. If Jesus said it, He will do it. That is the only way it will happen. Place your hope in Him as the Messiah and trust in His words, methods, and timing.

Follow Through

Set your mind on the things of God, seeking revelation from the Father.
Don’t set your mind on the things of men.
Rely on the Spirit of God to bring true revelation to the words of Jesus.

Testimonies

This is where people will share how they actually obeyed this passage — and read what happened to everyone else who obeyed the same words.

Coming soon

Devotional 43 of 50

NextTake Up Your CrossMark 8:34-38

← You Are the Christ

Comments

Coming soon. This is where readers will share how they obeyed this passage.