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 (Matt. 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. 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)

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)