Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men

 

 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town." 

 

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered  and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. 

 

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  

 

- Mark 8:22-33 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven."  So he said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"   

 

  Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study Bible comments that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21); so, therefore, this is why Jesus leads the blind man out of the town to heal him.  Additionally, in this way the people would not scoff at the miracle and then bring upon themselves greater condemnation in so doing.  That this blind man was healed in stages, my study Bible further explains, shows that he had only a small amount of faith (hence another reason to take him out of the town) -- for healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  But this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  Jesus' command not to return to the town, my study Bible notes, symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven.  

 

 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered  and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  Here Jesus brings the question to the disciples of His true identity.  My study Bible comments that, "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person could ever face, for it is the question that defines Christianity.  Peter's correct answer to this question (on behalf of all the disciples) prevents the Christian faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  He is the Christ, and the one and only Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16).  This is a position, my study Bible says, which excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  Peter's understanding is related to the heart (as discussed in yesterday's reading and commntary), and it cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and it's equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."  My study Bible also asks us to note that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself.  This is done so that these incorrect ideas may be identified, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

 

 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  My study Bible comments here that, after Peter's confession, Jesus reveals the true nature of His messiahship:  the mystery of His Passion.  It was expected that the Messiah would reign forever, so the idea that Christ would die was perplexing to Peter, and remained scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).  St. Peter unwittingly speaks for Satan, my study Bible explains, for the devil did not want Christ to fulfill His mission and save humankind through suffering and death. 

 

Faith is once again the great subject behind all things we read in today's Gospel passage.  The passage shows us the various ways in which faith works, how it works in us, and how we cooperate with and find that faith -- even the struggle to continue in our faith and keep it.   There is first of all the story of the blind man healed by Jesus.  As my study Bible explains, his faith starts as "little" but it grows gradually through contact with Christ.  Jesus does everything He can to shore up and strengthen that faith -- taking the blind man out of the town and away from the scoffers in order to heal him, and even teaching him not to return so as to maintain his faith.  These teachings remain important for each of us.  As with many in Twelve Step programs, often it is only by removing oneself from a particular familiar environment that the destructive habit can be left behind.  Patterns of thinking (called λογισμοί/logismoi in the Greek language of theology and historical monasticism) affect us at many levels; so often we inherit them from an environment or adopt them through social contact.  They can be destructive and tempting, or they can help us -- and oftentimes in order to build up our lives in ways that are truly needful and helpful we need to be mindful of how we can shore up what is good for us, and remove away from ourselves the things that tear us down and tempt us in ways that seem to promise good but are really destructive.  Again, addictions of all kinds form an example:  the promise to reduce pain or anxiety is a trap which leads only to worse enslavement to such pain, anxiety, and other problems.  So, Christ's action to shore up faith for healing remains one of the most significant teachings we can receive in our lives, for modern problems of today as well as for Christ's time.  Perhaps today, with our exposure to so much and an unlimited sense of freedom through the internet, we have need of this teaching more than ever before.  Then there is the confession of St. Peter (made on behalf of all of the disciples, as St. Peter so often speaks for all of them) that Jesus is the Christ.  Again, my study Bible emphasizes faith and the state of the heart as the root of such perception.  For this reason, we guard our hearts from the destructive thought patterns that do not help us find the faith we need, to see the spiritual truth of the reality of God which gives us strength to live a productive and good life -- and to see the reality of what is harmful even when it looks "good."  We observe that in the case of the healed formerly-blind man, and also in the case of the disciples after Christ's identity is revealed to them, in both circumstances Jesus warns them to tell no one.  This, again, is not to tempt scoffers -- neither to entertain their destructive mindset which may be destructive, but also to protect such people from further condemnation, as my study Bible said.  Finally, there is the moment when Christ reveals what His ministry will entail, contrary to all of the expectations about the Messiah and the kingdom the Messiah would initiate.  This is something terribly hard for the disciples to take in, let alone to accept.  St. Peter's response is something which you and I can completely understand:  he rebukes even the thought that Jesus should suffer and perish.  But Jesus responds in a stark and even harsh way, even calling Peter "Satan" in his rejection of the news that Christ will suffer and die.  St. Peter's reaction, while naturally understandable to all of us, is in fact a worldly way of thinking which the Crucifixion will stand on its head.  For God will use even this worst of all scenarios for the redemption of the whole world, leading to salvation for us all, and in so many ways teaching us what God's love is and does, and continually giving to us in the ongoing ministry of the Church the power of Resurrection at work.  In this St. Paul's word is true, that " all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  For now, let us consider the power of faith, how important and essential it is to us, what a difference in makes in our lives.  For all of these stories illustrate its importance, and our need to guard it to keep it strong, and keep ourselves on that good path, the good part.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men

 

 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

 

- Mark 8:22-33 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Jesus, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"

 

  Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study Bible says of this passage that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21); therefore Jesus leads this blind man out of the town to heal him, so that the people would not scoff at the miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  (It's not unusual for Christ to separate those being healed from scoffers; see, for example, Mark 5:40.)  That the blind man was healed in stages, my study Bible notes, shows that he had only a small amount of faith, for healing occurs according to one's faith.  Yet this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  My study Bible adds that Christ's command not to return to the town symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven.  Possibly not to go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town is a way to continue to shore up his faith and stay away from those who would ridicule.

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  My study Bible tells us that  "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, as it is the question that defines Christianity.  Peter's correct answer to the question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as simply another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  In Matthew's Gospel, he names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16).  This position excludes all compromise with other religious systems, my study Bible says.  Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  My study Bible comments that after Peter's confession, Jesus reveals the true nature of His messiahship:  the mystery of His Passion.  It was expected that the Messiah would reign forever -- so the concept that Christ would die was perplexing to Peter.  It would remain scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).  Peter unwittingly speaks for Satan, as the devil did not want Christ to fulfill His mission and save mankind through suffering and death.

Jesus tells Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Jesus statement affirms for us what is also written by Isaiah in the Old Testament:  "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8).  Our rational reduction of expectations down to theories and abstracts and rules will never fit the God of unexpected dimensions, the God who heals in ways that are hard for us to accept (as in the healing of the blind man in the first part of today's reading), and who comes to us in ways that are unimaginable -- such as in the human Jesus of Nazareth.  How can God be human? we might as well ask ourselves.  Why would God become human to die a horrible death of crucifixion?  The ways in which God works to solve problems are illumined to us through Scripture as ways which defy human expectation and reasoning.  And yet, we accept these things as true, and our theologians come to answer these questions as well.  There are so many profound realities that come from these unexpected manifestations of God's work and God's will that their myriad blessings to us answer the questions themselves.  How could God become human?  Let us ask what it does for us that God becomes human, instead.  It shows God's love, God's willingness to sacrifice and suffer for us, God's desire to be close to us, to reclaim us, to find us as "lost sheep" who need a Shepherd.  As my study Bible says, this identity of Christ separates Christianity from being just another philosophical tradition, because it opens up a truly personal understanding of and communion with Creator, in a way that is impossible to achieve otherwise.  Christ's suffering and death on the Cross truly teaches us that He was willing to share completely in our own pains in this imperfect world, even experiencing human death -- and He even stated that we are in this together with Him, expecting us to take up our own crosses and go through life in this world just as it is, but with Him (Luke 9:23).  His life, death, and Resurrection confirms to us that we are in this together, in a communion, and He invites us in to His saving mission; our participation is a necessary part of His mission for this world.  Given all of these meanings that we derive from His life, and even from His death, what questions are then left to be answered, opened up, and asked in light of what we can understand?  And that is the mystery that opens up for us as well, a kind of journey into the future -- both for "the world" and for our own immediate personal lives -- that teaches us that Christ's mission into this world offers us not just a belief system, but a way of life, and one that continues to open up during our lifetimes.  His ministry did not last one day, did not consist of one mission statement, but for three years continued with the disciples, as they went through town after town, in all the regions of Israel and among Gentile areas (such as Caesarea Philippi in today's reading), as they met with receptivity and condemnation, belief and unbelief.  And that is a mirror of our lives and our faith journey as well.  His life opens up so many more questions for us, but the answers are to be found in faith, and through experience of that faith working itself out as we meet the challenges in our own lives, in prayer and in communion with Him and His saints seeing and helping us through it.  Like the blind man, there may be times when we need to withdraw to shore up our faith; like Jesus and the disciples we may need to find an isolated place where we can receive the surprising ways our faith might ask us to proceed, even the hardships we may be asked to endure which are seemingly impossible to understand without hindsight.  Yet, this is our surprising way, for we are to be always mindful of the things of God, and not simply the things of men.

 

 

If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me

 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

- Matthew 16:21-28

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to Him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."    My study bible tells us that "after Peter's confession, Jesus reveals the true nature of His messiahship, the mystery of the Passion.  But Peter took Him aside, expecting Him to enter Jerusalem and establish the Kingdom immediately (as Peter understood it, an earthly, political kingdom), not to go to the Cross and death.  Peter thought the Messiah would reign forever, not die.  But Jesus was to be a suffering Messiah, a scandalous idea to the Jews."  It adds that Christ didn't call Peter Satan in order to insult him, but to rebuke him for "unwittingly serving as a mouthpiece of the devil."  The word offense here (in Jesus' words, You are an offense to Me) means "stumbling block" -- the Greek word is skandalon, from which we receive the verb to "scandalize."

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  My study bible says, "The cross, a dreaded instrument of Roman punishment, is also a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  Self-denial is for the sake of Christ and the gospel, for a better life; it is not a punitive end in itself."

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  A note says, "Here Jesus states the central paradox of the Christian faith.  In grasping the temporal, we lose the eternal; in sacrificing everything we can know, we gain unimaginable riches.  In dying, we live."

"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."  My study bible says that "when the Son of Man comes in glory to reward each according to his works, it will be shown that absolutely nothing exceeds the value of finding true life, the salvation of one's soul. . . . Seeing Jesus coming in His kingdom may refer to the Transfiguration, which occurs immediately after this."

Immediately after Peter's confession of faith, Jesus introduces the theme of what is to come:  that He will be crucified and resurrected (He will suffer many things from the leadership, be killed and raised the third day).  Peter, as he so often does, acts as a mouthpiece not just for the apostles as a whole but also for each of us.  It's a very human reaction, and it also reflects the expectations of the time of what was to come from the Messiah, what the Messiah was to do and to be like.  It is unthinkable to him that this should happen.  But Jesus teaches us about devotion to the ways of God by calling Peter "Satan" and telling him that he's an offense, or a "stumbling block" (Gr. skandalon) to Him.  This is, as my study bible says, a great paradox of Christianity, the great central paradox of our faith.  And, as we note above, it is the first time this staggering conclusion to Jesus' earthly life has been introduced to these disciples.  If they were prepared to serve Christ through their ministry as He has been teaching them, if they are now come to the faith (in yesterday's reading) that Jesus is indeed the awaited Messiah, then what did they think they were being prepared for?  Surely, it was an expected notion of an earthly rule, a kingdom come into this world in which they would serve.  But the notions of that Kingdom, of their mission and service, are going to have to take on an entirely different understanding as they go forward.  How will they serve this King?  What is to happen in the future?  All of this lies before them.  But in the radical nature of the "otherness" which characterizes God's ways (that are not our ways), human beings must take on new understandings of what God is and how holiness works.  The Resurrection will give a new understanding of what this Kingdom is and how it will come into the world.  It will confer upon the disciples a much greater responsibility than can be understood from serving a living human king, an unsurpassable grace, and an understanding of that which human nature is capable of achieving in the hands of the Spirit, than could have been considered under the old understanding.  The radical break from the past, via this unthinkable Cross, is a declaration of the power and nature of holiness, that God will shake all of our foundations, and in the process, build up something that will expand us beyond our limits.  In this paradox is the true power of God's grace, the holiness that empties us in order to be filled beyond measure.  How can we receive His word when it may break apart all our understanding and conception?  If we "follow Him" we are prepared to enter leaving everything behind, and to receive beyond anything we can calculate.  The confession of faith, so recently given, is what makes all of it possible.