Flashback Episode — Challenging Satan in a Statement: Matthew 16:21-28

As Jesus was moving towards the second half of His ministry leading up to the cross, I am always a little surprised as I read the gospels to see how Jesus tried to warn and wake the disciples up to what would happen on crucifixion weekend. In one such warning, we can see that Jesus wanted to not simply warn them about the death side of the weekend, but to also point them towards the resurrection side of this weekend as well.

Our passage for this episode is one place where Jesus shares these truths with the disciples and it is amazing to read how the disciples react to hearing the news. We will be reading Matthew’s version of this event, which can be found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, and we will be reading out of the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 21, Matthew tells us:

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples, “I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but three days later I will be raised to life.”

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “God forbid it, Lord!” he said. “That must never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned around and said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don’t come from God, but from human nature.”

Let’s pause reading for a moment because I want to point out something I wonder about. I’m not sure whether Peter said these things because Satan truly prompted him to say them, or because Peter, like the rest of the disciples and people living in that generation, believed that the Messiah God would send would never face death. It was this misunderstood angle of prophecy that made many people during Jesus’ life miss out on truly understanding the sacrifice Jesus had come to make.

However, this misunderstanding also appears to blind and deafen Peter to the latter portion of what Jesus had said. While Jesus had described death, He had also predicted resurrection as well, and exactly when that would happen. It is in this description that we can see Jesus being fully aware of the path for His life – and Peter’s reaction is a challenge to this on multiple levels.

It is strange to think that one of Jesus closest disciples would have been easily prompted by Satan to say something that went counter to Jesus’ mission, but this appears to be the case. Satan was present enough that one of Jesus’ closest twelve disciples, Judas Iscariot, was willing to betray Jesus to death. In my mind, it isn’t a far stretch to believe that Peter’s statement was Satan inspired.

Peter’s remark that He hoped what Jesus had just predicted would never happen challenges Jesus on at least three levels. The first is simple. If Jesus was from God, the words He would say would also be prophetic. Wishing that His words would not come true is a challenge against Jesus as God’s messenger.

The next challenge is that if Jesus were to avoid death, then all of sinful humanity would have no hope of life. Peter would not have realized this at the time He said this, but this was exactly what Satan wished would happen – or perhaps, not happen, depending on the perspective one takes this idea.

The third challenge is that the resurrection would not happen. If Jesus never faced the cross and died, that would be one thing, but even worse for Satan would be trying to explain or rationalize away the resurrected Jesus. If Satan couldn’t stop Jesus from dying for humanity, the next best thing would be to stop the resurrection from happening. While Peter would have had no idea that his words implied this, Satan would have, and it was the next best option if the cross was destined to happen.

But Jesus, sensing a teaching moment, pulls the disciples together. Picking back up in verse 24:

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it. ²⁶ Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. ²⁷ For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds. ²⁸ I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King.”

While the focus of this passage up to this point had been on challenging Peter’s statement from Satan, Jesus doesn’t want the focus to remain there. To this end, Jesus quickly shifts the focus of the conversation onto the commitment that is required for His disciples, and the reward that will be theirs for choosing to follow Jesus.

What Jesus says in this passage is one of the biggest paradoxes in the entire Bible. In verse 25, Jesus tells those present: “if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it.” The paradox is that there is no way for us to save ourselves. The only way we can live past our limited time on earth is by choosing to give up our lives here on this earth – and this is done by committing our lives on this earth to Jesus.

When we have committed our lives to Jesus, He will begin leading us, guiding us, teaching us, and showing us how He wants us to live. The truth that many Christians living today miss is that obedience to Jesus today increases the quality of life we have today, and life with God can begin today and not wait until the next age. Jesus actually invites us to begin our lives with God today, and this is accomplished by giving up what we think is important and instead leaning on God to show us what He feels is important.

I say this not just as a challenge for you, but primarily a challenge for me. My personality is one that feeds on achievement and I like the feeling of accomplishment after successfully finishing a goal or task. Left unchecked, I could be caught achieving many worthwhile things that are unimportant to God. The challenge to myself is to place my life and goals before God and then only pick up the things He tells me are truly important.

Jesus also makes the statement that some of those present would not experience death before seeing Jesus come in God’s glory. There is debate whether this promise had to do with an event known as the transfiguration, whether this promise had to do with seeing Jesus following the resurrection, or whether Jesus is making a statement about true followers of Jesus never facing death on this earth.

While I would love to dive into the implications of this verse, it would take too much time for our podcast format, and it would actually distract us from the big promise Jesus wants us to pay attention to. This promise is that when Jesus returns, He will be bringing rewards for those who gave their lives to Him, and this is based on what we made of our lives.

Actually, I should probably say instead that this is based on what He made of our lives, because the only way for us to make it through this glorious return is to have given our lives to Jesus beforehand, and let Him use our lives for His purposes.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

If you haven’t done so already, dedicate your life to God. Choose to give your life to Him each day and let Him guide and direct your decisions. He knows what the most important goal for your life is, and we can trust that He will only lead us to focus on the tasks that He knows are the eternally important ones.

Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn from God and the Holy Spirit firsthand. While listening to a pastor or a podcast is nice, if you base your spiritual life on what someone else has learned, you shortchange yourself out of what God might want to teach you personally through His Word.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!