Speaking to Peter, or Satan?
Matthew 16:22‑23 • 1 min. read • grade level: 8
Question: Matt. 16:22, 2322Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. (Matthew 16:22‑23).—Did Christ really call Peter Satan? or did He speak to Peter, but answer Satan? Yours, &c.,
Answer: It is plain, I think, that the Lord so called Peter; not saying, “Get thee hence,” as He did to the enemy personally (Matt. 4:1010Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:10)), but “Get thee behind me.” This last in Luke 4:88And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Luke 4:8) is an interpolation equally opposed to external and to internal evidence; for there the clause is necessarily omitted, and has been clearly the mere work of scribes, designedly or not. It is most instructive to observe how the Lord treats the flesh in a saint assuming in kindness to claim superior grace over the Spirit. We may and ought to treat it as Satan’s work, as the Lord did in Peter.