Are Our Concerns the Concerns of God or Merely Human Concerns?
Mark 8:32-33
32He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But 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."
When Peter stood up to Jesus and rebuked him, he did it in the same manner Demons were rebuked. Needless to say to rebuke the Deity of Christ was unacceptable.
Peter may have been directly influenced by Satan. As a believer he could not be possessed but Satan, but Satan and Demons could whisper in his ear so to speak and influence his thoughts. In this scripture Jesus is rebuking Peter for having lost his focus of worship.
Matthew writes,
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve.’” (4:8–10)
Jesus told Peter: “You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mark 8:33). Peter was not looking at the Messiah from God’s point of view but was thinking of the Messiah as a political leader who would save the Jews from Roman subjugation. For Peter, it was unthinkable that the Messiah should suffer — even though the Old Testament said He would.
Like Peter you and I suffer from our Sin Nature and a broken Will in which we want to be God and act like God. Beyond that we are under the oppressive influence of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
We constantly dismiss Satanic influence even though God’s Word informs us of this reality in our lives.
A relationship with Christ takes us beyond our current adversity and disappointments into eternity. And for you and me that reality is just around the corner. In the meantime we must persevere, remained focused and disciple the world around us.