Peter's Confession - Satan Is Waging War Agaist Us

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.” Matt 16:23 (NAS95S)

Satan had put thoughts into Peter’s mind. Satan does the same thing today. Satan is clever. He wanted to stop Jesus from dying for our sins. Stop! If Satan was bold enough to put thoughts into Peter’s mind to stop Jesus, do you think he would be intimidated by anyone of us? The truth is, Satan is constantly working to motivate us to sin. He tempts and encourages us to do the wrong thing (Matthew 16:23; Mark 1:13; 1 Cor 7:5) and then we agree and complete the act by sinning (James 1:.14-16). Satan’s suggestion seemed like a good idea and so Peter attempted to encourage Jesus to avoid the cross. Wow, did Peter get rebuked!

The Holy Spirit tells us in Ephesians 6:11-17 how to wage war against the devil. That passage describes the Armor of God and indicates that one needs to believe in Jesus Christ first. Then that person needs to be confident that he or she has peace with God (Rom. 5:1). He or she must also be truthful, righteous, have strong faith in God, be in the Word of God constantly, and have a meaningful prayer life.[2] These are the tools of our warfare with Satan. They help us avoid sin and the temptation to motivate others to sin. Apparently, Peter had not learned about the weapons of this warfare, and quite frankly, I forget about these weapons on occasions. We all need to remember them and fight the good fight against our adversary. We need to be alert because Satan prowls like a lion. He is after us.

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Pet 5:8 (NAS95S)

I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Mat 16:18-19 (NAS95S)

Matthew 16:18-19 has been a passage of great dispute. In order to understand this passage, one must look beneath the English text to the original Greek. The original language reveals that Peter's name comes from the Greek word PETROS which means "rock, a piece of rock, or a stone."[3] It is in the masculine form. The English word translated as "rock" in the verse comes from PETRA. It is in the feminine form and means "bedrock or rock."[4] The two words have important shades of meaning. Jesus was simply stating that the church would be built upon bedrock - a solid foundation, the testimony that Peter stated in verse 16, and not on Peter. Otherwise, Jesus would have said, "I will build My church upon you, Peter." But He did not. The reference to 'bedrock" was a reference to Jesus Himself. Jesus is the foundation stone, the bedrock, or the chief corner stone as Acts 4:11 and other passages remind us.

He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. (NASB) Acts 4:11

It has been suggested that PETROS and PETRA have a blurred meaning and that PETRA eventually came to mean "rock" and PETROS was no longer used sometime after Christ.[5] Yet, the fact that Jesus used two different words implies He wanted to communicate something different. Peter (PETROS) was not the PETRA or bedrock of the church. Jesus was and is. Additionally, consider the fact that Peter was not the only builder of the church. In 1 Cor. 3:6 we are told that men such as Peter or Apollos might plant and water but it is God who gives the increase. In 1 Cor. 3:10-11 we are told that God is the wise master builder and Jesus is the foundation. Verse 11 states,

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 3:11 (NAS95S)

The book of Acts gives us the history of the early church. There we discover that God used Peter to start the church. After his first sermon three thousand people were added to the church by God (Acts 2:14-36). In Acts 3:11-26 we are told that five thousand were added after Peter's second sermon. It is clear that in the early part of Acts Peter receives the main focus. But from Acts 9 to the end of the book, the apostle Paul receives most of the focus.

Consequently, it is best to see Peter as the apostle God used to start the church but not as a pope or its leader. In fact, Acts 15 makes it clear that James was the leader of the church in Jerusalem (1 Cor. 15:7). This is the church that Peter apparently attended (Gal. 2:1-12). John Chrysostom (A.D. 347–407) stated in his Matthew commentary that Peter was the "mouth of the apostles."[6] Jesus was the rock and Peter was a builder.

The gates of Hades has often been interpreted as representing the evil forces of Satan attacking the church of Jesus Christ. But gates are not instruments of warfare. Their purpose is not to conquer but to protect those behind them from being conquered, or, in the case of a prison to keep them from escaping.[7]

Then Jesus added that He would give the keys of the kingdom of heaven and "whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."William Mounce comments,

This is the language of the law court. Jewish legal issues were normally decided in Jesus' day by elders in the synagogue community (later by rabbis). Many Jewish people believed that the authority of Heaven stood behind the earthly judges when they decided cases based on a correct understanding of God's law. (This process came to be called 'binding and loosing.') Jesus' contemporaries often envisioned God's justice in terms of a heavenly court; by obeying God's laws, the earthly court simply ratified the decrees of the heavenly court.[8]

Consequently, whenever the elders of a church make a decision consistent with the Word of God, their decisions are supported by heaven. This glorious truth hinges on the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.

Conclusion. Why was this event recorded in the gospels? Was it recorded so that we had a nice story to share with others or for pastors to preach? No, the event was recorded so that we could understand that Jesus was and is God. Not only was Jesus revealing that truth to others (John 5:18; 8:58; 10:33-36), but even the disciples understood that truth. That is the primary message.

The secondary message is that Jesus was serious about dying for us. When rebuked, Jesus made it clear that He did not want to be tempted to avoid the cross. He planned to die for our sins, and nothing was going to stop Him. Not even Satan was not going to stop Him!

The third lesson from this passage is that Peter knew Jesus was God in human flesh, but yet he still sinned. Peter was one who believed in Jesus, but he still sinned. He was still a tool Satan could use. This means we are engaged in a spiritual battle. We are in serious warfare and we are the potential victims. We need to put on the Armor of God and fight the good fight.

Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Tim 6:12 (NAS95S)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith . . . 2 Tim 4:7 (NAS95S)

3. Liddell and Scott. Greek-English Lexicon. Clarendon Press -Oxford Press. 1996., p. 1398.

4. Louw and Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. United Bible Societies. N.Y., 1989. vol. 1 p. 291.

5. John Nolland. The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Eerdmans Publishing. 2005. p. 669.

6. John Chrysostom. The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers First Series, Vol. 10, Homily 54 2, Hendrickson Publishers. 1995. p. 701.

7. John MacArthur. Matthew 16-23. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Moody Press. 1988. p. 32.

8. William D. Mounce. Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Zondervan. 2009. p. 121.