COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 91
“ Mark 8:31 And He began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned about and looked on His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind Me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” (Mark 8:31-33; Matt 16:21-23; Lk 9:22)
PETER IS STERNLY REBUKED
INTRODUCTIONJesus did not come into the world primarily to assist and deliver the people in temporal matters. He was on a mission from heaven to lay down His life and take it up again. He had been well received by the people at large, bringing Divine power into their presence in a visible and tangible way. His words concerning the Kingdom of God were “gracious words” (Lk 4:22), and His great compassion for the people had been evidenced in Him “doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). He was a breath of fresh air from heaven, having a heart for the people, healing their sick, raising their dead, and feeding them when they had no food of their own. It is no wonder that it is written, “And the common people heard Him gladly” (Mk 12:37). His message opened the door of hope, and revealed aspects of God that had previously been hidden to them. Christ’s ministry was also an introduction to the manner in which He would save and direct the people. He would “draw” men with His lovingkindness, not push them forward with threats and intimidation. His ministry confirmed that men do not have to be driven by Law – not if they catch even the faintest glimpse of the Savior. People would come to Him because they wanted to, not because they had to. Although all of these representations were, in a way, on the surface of life, yet they spoke loudly of a Kingdom with a different purpose and manner. However, as great as these experiences were, they were not the reason for Christ’s entrance into the world. There was a high and holy reason for the Word becoming flesh, and now Jesus begins to speak more clearly about it.
JESUS BEGINS TO PREPARE THEM FOR HIS DEATH
“ Mk 8:31 And He began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”
HE BEGAN TO TEACH THEM. Immediately after Peter’s insightful confession, Jesus began to teach them of His coming death. This teaching can be properly understood only within the context of who He is – “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” If there is any vagueness about His Person, there can be no perception of the significance of His mission. Matthew reads, “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matt 16:21). At this precise point, Jesus changed the tone of His teaching, and even His behavior. Luke says of this time, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). He, so to speak, redirected His energies to prepare for His death and triumphant return to heaven.
Prior to this time Jesus had referred to His death in very vague ways. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up” (John 3:14). He had hinted about His cross when He told the people, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matt 10:38). Once He even said, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt 12:40). But now is the first time Jesus spoke clearly about His death and the events leading up to it. Now He BEGINS to teach them concerning this matter, for the hour was fast approaching when He would lay down His life as a ransom for many (Matt 20:28). The newness of this teaching to the disciples will become apparent as we proceed.
SUFFER MANY THINGS. Matthew, Mark, and Luke refer to “suffer many things” (Matt 16:21; Lk 9:22). That is, He would “undergo great suffering,” NRSV “suffer grievously,” NJB and “suffer many terrible things.” NLT Matthew adds that all of this must center in Jerusalem, “He must go unto Jerusalem and . . .” He also affirms that these sufferings would be instigated by “the elders, and chief priests, and scribes” (Matt 16:21). The sufferings are detailed in Matthew 20:18-19: His betrayal, condemnation to death, being delivered to the Gentiles, mocking, scourging, and crucifixion. Luke says that this would be according to “all things that are written by the prophets,” and adds that He would be “spitefully entreated and spitted on” (Lk 18:32). These “sufferings” covered the period from His arrest in the Garden through the duration of His crucifixion.
BE REJECTED. Both Mark and Luke emphasize that Jesus was “rejected of the elders. . . chief priests, and scribes” (Lk 9:22). That is, He was “rejected” as God’s Son (Matt 26:63-65), and as the “the Stone” upon which the entirety of salvation was founded (Matt 21:42). Jesus referred to the entire rejecting group as “the builders” (Mk 12:10). That is, these were the men who, by virtue of their acquaintance with the Scriptures and God-ordained ceremonies, were responsible for the proper direction of the people. In his First Epistle, Peter says that Christ is the “Living Stone, disallowed indeed of men . . . the Stone which the builders disallowed” (1 Pet 2:4,7). That is, they saw no place for Jesus in the structure and fabric of salvation itself. They perceived no relationship of His Person with the testimony of the Prophets. Because of the hardness of their hearts, what should have been apparent was actually obscured to them.
BE KILLED. Both Matthew and Mark read “killed.” Luke reads “be slain” (Lk 9:22). On the surface, this may seem to contradict Christ’s statement, “No man taketh My life from Me” (John 10:18). That statement is from the viewpoint of God’s “eternal purpose.” In this statement, Christ’s death is seen as confirmation of man’s rejection of Him. Both views are essential. The utter wickedness of men is seen in the fact that when they were granted the ability to actually do what they wanted, they “killed the Prince of life” (Acts 3:15). In voluntarily laying down His life, Jesus not only submitted Himself to the higher will of God, but to the lower will of man as well. Thus, the death of Christ reveals both the nature of the holy God and the depravity of sinful man. Blessed is the man who perceives these things.
AFTER THREE DAYS RISE AGAIN. So far as the chronological record is concerned, Jesus had already raised Jairus’ daughter (Mk 5:41) and the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7:14). Lazarus had not yet been raised. Jesus had already alluded to His resurrection when He referred to “the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matt 12:39). At that time He also said the Son of man would be “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt 12:40). This, however, is His first clear reference to His resurrection from the dead after three days. Matthew says that Jesus would “be raised again the third day,” emphasizing that God would raise Him from the dead (Matt 16:21), Jesus also taking back His life as He said (John 10:17-18). All of these points are critical to the Gospel message: (1) Christ’s sufferings, (2) His rejection by the religious leaders, (3) His death, and (4) His resurrection. This is what Jesus now begins to TEACH His disciples.
PETER REBUKES THE LORD JESUS
“ 32 And He spake that saying openly. And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him.”
HE SAID THIS OPENLY. Mark is very pointed in his statement. It was “that saying” concerning His suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection that Jesus began to declare “openly,” “plainly,” NASB and “frankly, plainly, and explicitly, making it unmistakable.” AMPLIFIED Here, “openly” does not mean publicly, although Jesus may very well have done this to some degree. The word “openly” means that Jesus made no effort to hide this. He did not speak about it parabolically as He did when He likened His death to Moses raising up the serpent. He does not allude to it vaguely as when He spoke of “the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Now, He spoke of these things “openly” by frequent and plain teaching. The reason for this is that His death was imminent, and it is God’s manner to draw the more attention to His appointments as they begin to draw near.
Matthew reads, “From that time forth began Jesus to show His disciples . . . ” (Matt 16:21). That is, in His teaching of the disciples a more particular focus was introduced. His suffering, death, and resurrection were now more prominent in His teaching. The Gospels contain a marked increase in this teaching from this point on (Matt 17:22-23; 20:18-19,28; 26:2; Mk 9:31; 10:33-34; Lk 9:44; 18:31-32). As the time of His death drew close, He spoke more about it.
This has always been God’s manner. As the time of His appointments drew near, more was said about them. This was so of the Babylonian captivity (2 Kgs 20:18; Isa 39:7; Jer 20:4). As the time of Christ’s ministry approached, John the Baptist was sent to “prepare the way,” causing the anticipation of the people to be heightened (Mk 1:2-3).
Now that Christ’s second coming is the next great event pertaining to our salvation, much is said about it, in order to prepare the people (1 Cor 1:7; 4:5; 11:26; 15:23; Phil 3:20-21; 4:5; Col 3:4; 1 Thess 1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15-17; 5:2-3,23; 2 Thess 1:7-10; 2:1-8; 3:5; 1 Tim 6:14-15; 4:1,8; Tit 2:13; Heb 9:28; James 5:7-9; 1 Pet 1:7,13; 4:13; 5:42 Pet 1:16; 3:3-4, 8-14; 1 John 2:28; 3:2). A church that is not proclaiming the coming of the Lord is like a band of disciples during Christ’s ministry who were not being taught of His death and resurrection.
PETER TOOK HIM. The idea is that Peter “took Him aside” NKJV – away from the other disciples for a private word. The Amplified Bible reads, “And Peter took Him by the hand and led Him aside.” What a stunning picture this is. Viewing the event externally, it would actually appear that Peter was more advanced than the Lord Jesus Himself. It is not that Peter had no respect for Jesus, or that He disdained Him. This is the result of spiritual ignorance – of actually having an incorrect view of Jesus at the time.
Having just confessed Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Peter now hears Jesus begin delineating His impending rejection, death, and resurrection. We will learn from this text of the inability of the flesh to retain the truth, pondering upon it and drawing valid implications from it. Peter hears what Jesus says, and is not able to relate it to the very real and insightful confession that he had just made. This event does not suggest his confession was not valid, or that it was pretentious. Jesus made it clear that Peter had been blessed, and that the Father Himself had revealed Christ’s true identity to him.
PETER BEGAN TO REBUKE HIM. Notice that Peter “began to rebuke” Jesus. That is, he commenced, or started, rebuking Jesus. The suggestion is that many more words were involved than appear. However, it was not profitable to go into all of the details of this occasion.
The word “rebuke” means to reprove, chide, censure severely, and charge sharply. Other versions read, “protesting,” BBE “objected,” GWN “reprimand,” NLT “chide,” TNT “correct,” IE and “remonstrate with.” WEYMOUTH At this point, the rejection and death of Jesus simply did not make sense to the apostle. He was unable to associate that with Jesus being “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” To say it another way, He had seen the top of the truth, but the depth of it, or the implications of it, were not clear to him.
Matthew provides a sort of summation of what Peter said. “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee” (Matt 16:22). Peter’s affirmation was more than a mere wish or desire. Although he did not intend for it to be one, it was a sort of prediction based on his perception. Peter’s reasoning was, “If You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, it is not possible for such things to happen to You. You are too powerful, and the world is too weak, for You to endure such things.” It just did not make sense to him that the One sent by God should fall into the hands of wicked men.
Is it possible to have a right and a wrong view of Jesus simultaneously? It may appear from this text that this is possible. However, that is not the case at all. The right view must be placed to the side in order to embrace the wrong view. In this expression Peter was not thinking of Jesus being the Son of God. He was rather pondering what he thought that meant – what it entailed. At precisely this point – when he began to think as a man about the Lord’s Christ – his thinking swerved aside and he spoke foolishly to the Lord Jesus.
JESUS REBUKES PETER
“ 33 But when He had turned about and looked on His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind Me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.”
How does Jesus react to foolish statements – even those exuding from His own disciples? This text will confirm how serious it is to put a voice to wrong perceptions, and articulate misconceptions.
HE TURNED ABOUT. Turning aside from this private caucus, Jesus looked at His disciples, and said a word to Peter. Matthew says “He turned, and said to Peter” (Matt 16:23). What Peter had said to Him was private, but Jesus would make it public. In this we catch a faint glimpse of the day of judgment, when men will give an account for their “idle words” (Matt 12:36). We ought not to expect our hasty words to be overlooked by the Lord of glory.
HE REBUKED PETER. Mark says Jesus “rebuked Peter.” Other versions read, “said sharply” BBE “threatened,” DOUAY “objected,” GWN “reprimanded,” NLT “very sternly,” LIVING “reproved,” WILLIAMS Matthew reads Jesus “said to Peter.” If there is any question about how sternly Jesus spoke, the words that He said will clear it up for us. We will find that Jesus is completely intolerant of erroneous views of Himself and His purpose.
GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN. Both Matthew and Mark read the same way. The word is addressed to Satan himself: “Get thee behind me Satan!” The words came out of Peter’s mouth, but they expressed the mind of the devil himself, and had their origin in him. In his reasoning processes, Peter had left a place for the devil, for that is what improper thinking does. As a result, a fiery dart was hurled into his mind by Satan while he was in the very presence of the Lord’s Christ. There is, then, no insulation against the encroachments of the devil realized simply because we are in the presence of the Lord. Our thoughts and ways must also be in harmony with His. Otherwise there is a gaping place in which we are vulnerable.
Other versions read, “Get out of My way,” BBE “Get away behind Me,” DARBY and “Get away from Me.” NLT What did Jesus mean? He was preparing to lay down His life, and Satan was standing in the way, seeking to turn Him aside by suggesting that it was not necessary for Him to suffer and die. This was, in fact, a temptation, and Satan had used one of Christ’s chief disciples to hurl it at Him. To “get behind” Jesus means to get out of the way, ceasing to be an obstruction. It means to remove himself from the scene so that the Lord has no distractions.
There is no nice way to say “Get thee behind Me, Satan!” There is no way to make this sound pleasant or inconsequential. And, Jesus said it said it “unto Peter” (Matt 16:23). If Peter had been squeamish about receiving a stern word from the Lord, he certainly would have balked at this one. But there is no evidence that he did. So far as Peter was concerned, this word meant, “Stop standing in the way! Follow Me and make no further attempts to correct Me.”
NOT SAVORING THE THINGS OF GOD. Matthew adds that Jesus “said unto Peter,” “thou art an offence unto Me.” That is, what was said was offensive to the Master. He was not indifferent to the saying, nor would He overlook it. Other versions read, “not mindful of the things of God,” NKJV “not setting your mind on God’s interests,” NASB “do not have a mind for the things of God,” NIV “setting your mind not on Divine things,” NRSV “understandest not the things that are of God,” GENEVA “not thinking as God does,” NAB and “do not have a mind intent on promoting what God wills.” AMPLIFIED
The word “savoring” means “understanding, to feel, to think . . . cherish, agree together.” THAYER Here, it means to think like the world, prefer the ways of the world, and be in harmony with the world. It depicts a mind-set in which life in this world is seen as fundamental, and advantages in this world are considered to be preeminent – even to the neglect of heavenly realities. If you wonder how Jesus feels about this way of thinking, read the text again.
Is it really of no consequence when a person’s thoughts are at a variance with the thoughts and purposes of God? The text makes clear that such a postulate is thoroughly false. And, why is it that men do not think like God? How is it that they come to different conclusions than the living God – different conclusions about His Son? Our text makes clear that is it because they are being influenced by Satan himself. And when they are under such influence, what do their words become? Our text also confirms they become obstacles, standing in the way of those who are pursing the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
When the mind of a person is not set on Divine interests, they become an obstacle in the path to glory. When they are not setting their mind on the things of God, they are standing in the way of those who are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
SAVORING THE THINGS OF MEN. Here “the things of God” are contrasted with “the things that be of men” – purely human interests. Instead of thinking about what God does, they are thinking on “what pleases men.” AMPLIFIED In our time, there are forms of “Christianity” that are nothing more than savoring and relishing the things of this world, and thinking like men.