Did Jesus really call Peter Satan?
Three weeks ago, St. Peter was presented as both a model and a warning. In the middle of a turbulent sea, he caught sight of someone walking on the water. Wisely, he didn’t just plunge in but first asked, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” The conditional phrase “Lord, if it is you” is a very important criterion for anything we might dive into. When called by Jesus, St. Peter stepped out of the boat—even as it was being battered by waves—and began to walk on the water. What an amazing display of trust in Jesus’ call!
But the strong wind diverted Peter’s gaze. He took his eyes off Jesus and straightaway began to sink. When we lose our focus on God, fear quickly engulfs us. Still, Peter was able to reach out for help, and Jesus saved him. While Peter’s faith was characterized as “little,” it also made him cling to Jesus more.
That scene foreshadowed what happened last week (Matthew 16:13-20) and what we encounter in our Gospel today (Matthew 16:21-27). Once again, St. Peter stands as an inspiration to emulate and also a cautionary tale.
Last Sunday, he demonstrated wisdom that could have come only from God when he was asked by Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?” St. Peter had the correct reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This was not just an intellectual answer. This was faith. This was the fruit of their relationship.
This week, however, Peter gets distracted again. Instead of the wind blowing him off course, he is buffeted by his own preconceived notions of what it means to be “the Christ.” Jesus tells his disciples “he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Peter’s little faith makes him sink again when he takes Jesus aside and rebukes him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
Now, a jarring turn: Jesus calls Peter “Satan.” Three weeks ago, Peter’s little faith resulted in an immediate rescue. This week, is the response to his little faith a total rejection?
To understand Jesus’ seemingly harsh retort, we must look closer at the language from biblical times. Today, “Satan,” written with a capital “S,” brings to mind the cosmic personification of evil. But in Jesus’ time, the Hebrew word satan (which we will denote with a lower case “s”) could refer to an adversary, someone who opposes you, a person who obstructs your path. I think this is what Jesus was calling Peter. Matthew clarifies this in the very next line when Jesus says, “You are an obstacle to me.” The Greek word translated as obstacle is skandalon (from where we get the word scandal), a stumbling block.
When Peter took Jesus aside, imagine him literally blocking the Lord’s way, preventing him from advancing, dramatically insisting that he should not go towards Jerusalem. This is why it is important to note that Jesus does not tell Peter, “Get away from me.” Instead, Jesus’ words are, “Get behind me.” Imagine Jesus saying, “In front of me, you are an obstruction and an obstacle. Take your place behind me. Become a follower once more.”
In Greek, “Get behind me” is “Hypage opiso mou.” Strikingly, the last two words echo the first sentence Jesus ever said to Peter in the Gospel of Matthew: “Deute opiso mou.” “Come, follow me” (Matthew 4:19). You can say that Jesus was reminding Peter of his original calling and what a disciple is always supposed to do—follow, not walk ahead.
What a roller coaster ride we have taken with Peter! Up, then down, then up again. Last week, Jesus gave Simon the name Peter, or Petros, which means rock. This week, we see Peter’s little faith again. The foundation on which our Church is built is also “rocky.” But this should be consoling to us, especially when our faith is rocky. God can build something eternal even on shaky ground.
Last week, we asked, “If St. Peter were at the pearly gates, what would he be doing there?” Would he be keeping people out or letting them in? Our Gospel today allows us to give a more confident answer.
St. Peter, the rock who was also a stumbling block, was never turned away by Jesus. Even when Peter opposed Christ, the Lord told him, “Return to your rightful place—opiso mou—behind me.” Say to your God, “I am behind you all the way.”
Your prayer assignment this week:
When Jesus predicted the passion he was to undergo in Jerusalem, Peter objected, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
In my weird imagination, Peter breaks into song at this point and belts out lines from a Benson Boone hit, “Don’t take these beautiful things I’ve got.” Peter protests, “Things are going well—because of all your mighty works and miracles, multitudes are seeking you out (and us, too). You are famous (and we have become popular by association). This is ‘a feelin’ I wanna get used to… there’s no man as terrified as the man who stands to lose you.’” (Then, Peter punctuates this demand with a backflip. IYKYK, wink, wink.)
Just listening to Peter’s reasons, I am tempted to agree. They had a good thing going. Why mess it up with a plan that just sounds crazy? I think Jesus would tell me, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” God’s plans are better than whatever we humans can come up with.
Try praying with Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things”. Are there things in your life you are afraid might disappear? Huwag natin pangunahan ang Diyos—let us not get ahead of God. We may have beautiful things, but God always has something infinitely more beautiful in store for us. As you reflect, let the song's most desperate plea become a prayer of surrender: “Please stay, I want you, I need you, oh, God.”
Then end with a reminder, which I hope you will make your mantra this week: “Opiso mou.”
