Why did Jesus say to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan”?

"Get behind me, Satan", or "Go away, Satan", and in older translations such as the King James Version "Get thee behind me, Satan", is a saying of Jesus in the New Testament. It is first attested in Mark 8:33, where Jesus is addressing Peter; this is retold in Matthew 16:23 ). In the temptation of Jesus, in Matthew 4 and Luke 4:8, Jesus rebukes "the tempter" or "the devil" with the same phrase.

This verse states, “But when He had turned about and looked on His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, Get you behind Me, Satan: for you savor not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” Christ was not implying that Peter was Satan.

The command “Get behind me, Satan,” spoken to Peter by Jesus, is recorded in Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33. “Get behind me, Satan” seems harsh and out of character for Jesus, especially when addressing Peter, one of His most devout disciples. Why did Jesus say this? What was it Peter did to deserve such a rebuke? Without knowing it, Peter was speaking for Satan.

Peter was the most outspoken of the disciples. This was not a trait that always served him well. (Notice Mark 14:47 and John 13:6-9.) In the Mark 8:33 account, Satan (the “god of this world” [II Cor. 4:4], and “prince of the power of the air…[working] in the children of disobedience” [Eph. 2:2]) had influenced Peter, causing him to “rebuke Him [Christ].”

Satan knows “…that he has but a short time” (Rev. 12:12). He does not want to give up his hold on this world. Christ came to this earth as a physical, flesh-and-blood human being in order to qualify to replace Satan.

Because of the closeness he felt to Christ, Peter could not humanly accept the fact that Christ would have to die. Satan seized on Peter’s emotional tendencies and influenced him to rebuke Christ as he did. Christ recognized Satan’s influence. Another example of this is found in John 13:27.

Jesus had just revealed to His disciples for the first time the plan: He was to go to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and be raised to life (Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31). Contrary to their expectations of Him, Jesus explained that He had not come to establish an earthly Messianic kingdom at that time. The disciples were not prepared for this new revelation of the Messiah’s purpose.

Though Peter understood His words, he simply could not reconcile his view of the conquering Messiah with the suffering and death Jesus spoke of. So Peter “began to rebuke Him” for having such a fatalistic mindset.

Unwittingly, Peter was speaking for Satan. Like Jesus’ adversary, Peter was not setting his mind on the things of God—His ways, His plans, and His purposes (Colossians 3:2; Isaiah 55:8-9). Instead, his mind was set on the things of man, the things of the world and its earthly values. Jesus was saying that the way of the cross was God’s will, the plan of redemption for all mankind. Peter’s reaction was most likely shared by the other disciples although, as always, it was Peter who spoke first.

Peter was inadvertently being used of Satan in thinking he was protecting Jesus. Satan had purposely tempted Jesus in the wilderness to divert Him from the cross, from fulfilling the grand design of the Father and the Son (Mark 1:12-13). Innocently, Peter was doing the same thing. He had not yet grasped Jesus’ true Messianic purpose.

Although Peter had just moments before declared Jesus as the Christ, he turned from God’s perspective and viewed the situation from man’s perspective, which brought about the stern rebuke: “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus went on to explain: “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Mark 8:33).

At the time, Jesus’ stern reprimand did not make sense to Peter. However, Jesus’ indictment presents a profound message for us. We can easily see that Peter had the wrong perspective of God’s plan for Christ’s suffering and death. But we must also see how easily we can become an unwitting spokesperson for Satan. This is especially true when we lose sight of God’s plan for us.

But the rebuke to Peter in Mt 16:22 seems especially strong because He rebukes him as if Satan himself is standing there.
It is forceful language and is designed to show Peter that his thoughts are directly opposed to Jesus' purpose and mission so that they could only have been inspired by Satan. In fact any thought, attitude or action that is in conflict with Jesus mission is inspired by the evil one!

In the context of the passage Jesus has announced that the climax of his mission on earth is to be his death and resurrection (Matthew 16: 21). Peter didn’t like what he heard! He was probably thinking that Jesus would enter Jerusalem as a strong political figure who would defeat the Romans and take the place of the king of Israel physically. Perhaps he was hoping that he might have an important position in Jesus’ government!

So to Peter the idea of Jesus dying was unthinkable. He hadn’t realised that the path to Jesus’ glory was through the suffering of death upon the cross. Peter’s thoughts were self-centred. He hadn’t realised that Jesus mission was bigger than he could ever have imagined.

The connection with Satan goes back to Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness where Satan was tempting Jesus to take the Kingdom without going to the cross! ( Matthew 4:1-11). In other words to have power and glory but without the suffering of His sacrifice. That must have been a very attractive temptation for Jesus because the anticipation of His suffering later caused Him to sweat drops like blood in the garden on the night of His betrayal (Luke 22:44).

Peter was meant to be a disciple – one who was learning from the teacher – to rebuke Jesus as he did with this same temptation Jesus had faced from Satan must have been a very low point in the relationship between Peter and Jesus!

Yet in Luke 22:31-32 before Peter denies Jesus three times Jesus says to him:

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (NIV)

Unknown to Peter he had been specifically targeted by Satan, but Jesus had countered this by praying for him. Peter did go on to learn from his mistakes. In fact after Jesus reinstated Peter ( John 21:15-17) he went on to become a pillar of the church ( Galatians 2:9) just as Christ said: “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” Matthew 16:18 (NIV).

This comes about when our focus is on our careers, our possessions, our security, and the things of the world rather than upon sacrifice and service and the proclaiming of God’s message. When Peter’s focus shifted to his own desires and plans, Jesus rebuked him in order to get him back on track. May our focus always be on God and His plans, that we may never experience a similar rebuke from our Lord.