Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Matt. 16:23

These verses are very interesting, especially as we consider all that they might imply. At first glance it's obvious that Jesus demonstrates His rebuke by physically turning away from Peter. Jesus wants to remove 'evil' from his path and so He puts anything that would deter Him, 'behind Him'. It's a fantastic principle for any Christian; don't allow anything to prevent you from following God's plan. Now, if you're like me, you know that Jesus is always right, and so you gloss over how harsh this would have appeared. But let's delve deeper, what did Jesus mean by this rebuke? We understand Satan as a proper name for the 'devil' but in Hebrew it's also a role. A 'satan' is an opponent, or, an adversary. So when Jesus calls Peter this name, He is also stating that Peter is acting in this capacity, he is 'opposing' God rather than helping him. Interestingly, Peter clearly doesn't realise this, he believes that he is helping Jesus. Presumably Peter wants to protect and defend Jesus. While it is a noble idea, Jesus does not need Peter's help. We must be careful to not think too highly of ourselves, God works with us but does not 'need' us. Speaking of names and their meanings, 'Peter' is a Greek name meaning 'rock' and it was Jesus that renamed him (Matthew 16:18). Yet here, Jesus says Peter is actually a 'stumbling block'. Rather than Peter being strong and immovable he is actually acting in contrast to his calling. When we try to assert our will over God's we can very quickly find ourselves doing the opposite of what God intended. This is why humility and obedience are so critical, without them we might unintentionally go against God. Jesus warned that a time would come where people would kill the godly while thinking they were actually serving God (John 16:2). When Peter contradicts Jesus he has also committed a sin based in pride, the mistaken belief that he knows better. Maybe this is why Jesus labels it as acting like Satan. We can all too easily believe that 'we know' better, or 'we know' what to do, without submitting to Christ. No doubt you've come across someone who will not listen to you while asserting that 'they already know'. The Christian should be careful not to adopt this attitude, especially when dealing with Godliness. That fact is we don't know, and what we do know isn't enough! We need Jesus for without Him we are lost. So consider this, when Peter overrules Jesus, it's as though he has cut in on Him. Peter has 'jumped ahead' and is attempting to redirect Jesus away from God's plan. Jesus then reminds Peter that his place is behind Him, following Jesus. Christians are 'followers' not leaders. Christ is ahead and we are behind, following His teachings and His example. What Peter did, even for a moment, was so dangerous. He tried to switch roles with Jesus. Therefore Jesus firmly reminds Peter that He must follow. Likewise we too must always seek to follow Jesus, we must never assume we know better.