Just Let Go

Saint Peter vs. Satan Peter

Jesus’ words to Peter sound especially harsh to modern ears.

Satan is seen a terrible word, a title for the Prince of Evil, the lord of Hell, a personified being that is the opposite of God. But this only comes after centuries of folklore (Dante, etc.), development of a theology of Hell, and no shortage of cinematic drama.

In Jesus’ time, the Hebrew word śāṭān meant something closer to “accuser” or “adversary.” While not literally “tempter,” the figure was associated with testing — as in the book of Job, or in the wilderness temptation of Jesus. So when Jesus says, Get behind me, Satan, he’s not claiming Peter is possessed or demonic. He’s saying: You’re opposing the will of God — you’re trying to lead me off course.

And we know exactly what Peter is resisting. Jesus begins to teach, plainly, that the Son of Man must suffer, be rejected, and die — and that somehow, this is the path to life. Peter rebukes him, telling him there is another way.

(Rule #1 of Sunday School with Jesus is probably, “Don’t say ‘no’ to the Lord.”)

Jesus’ response is swift and serious. He’s not just correcting Peter; he’s naming the deep temptation to take an easier road. Avoiding suffering, preserving status, clinging to control — these are the temptations Peter offers, and we still wrestle with them today.

Then Jesus turns to the crowd and widens the invitation — and the warning.

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

This is not about self-hatred or the glorification of pain. It’s about losing our grip on the version of life we’ve been taught to chase — and stepping into the kind of life Jesus offers instead. One shaped by surrender, truth, vulnerability, and love that doesn’t always win in the worldly sense.

It’s a sobering word. But it’s also a freeing one.

Because this isn’t just a call to suffering — it’s a promise of transformation.

It’s the path Jesus took. And he’s not asking us to go anywhere he hasn’t already gone.

Mark 8:31-38

Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Human One must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and the legal experts, and be killed, and then, after three days, rise from the dead.” He said this plainly. But Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him. Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, then sternly corrected Peter: “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.”

After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them. Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Human One will be ashamed of that person when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Psalm 49:1-3

Listen to this, all you people! Listen closely, all you citizens of the world—people of every kind, rich and poor alike! My mouth speaks wisdom; my heart’s meditation is full of insight.

Prayer

God,

Help me today to remember your promise of presence. I tend to favor a promise of all-the-time-ease, which you have not offered. I open my arms to your offer of yourself today. Help me to receive you in full — cross, tomb, sky and all. Show me the way that runs through death, not around it. A way that unmakes ego, status, and safety.

I don’t want to oppose you — but I confess I often do. I cling to comfort. I try to fix things you’ve called me to surrender. Or I navigate complacency as a false compromise.

So today, rebuke me if you must. Call me back behind you — not in front, trying to lead. Help me trust the path of the cross, not because it hurts, but because you’ve walked it, and it leads to life.

By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.