Mark 8:27-33 New International Version (NIV)
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah 27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Jesus Predicts His Death 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Friday - March 5
Throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew word “satan” is used in various ways. In some places it is even used to describe God, such as in the story of Balaam (Numbers 22:22). “Satan” means “adversary” or someone who gets in the way. Over the hundreds of years that the Old Testament was written by various writers, the word “satan” became a more formal name for THE adversary of God, otherwise known as the “devil.” When Peter rebuked Jesus and told him that he couldn’t die on the cross, Jesus called Peter his “satanic” adversary. When we reject the work of God’s cross, when we refuse the forgiving of sins, and when we stand against the sacrifice of love we have truly become “satanic” adversaries of God. Instead, cling to the cross, give and receive forgiveness, and put your mind on the things of God.