This time we'll now read Matthew chapter 16. Matthew 16. And then when we have completed the reading of Matthew 16, then we'll go to Mark chapter 8, verses 31 through 33 will be the sermon text this afternoon. We'll be reading the parallel passage in Matthew chapter 16, however. Begin the scripture reading at verse 1 of Matthew 16. There we read this word of God. The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting, desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, when it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them and departed. And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the 5,000, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the 4,000, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I speak it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Sadducees, Pharisees, and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, whom do men say that I the Son of Man am? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. 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. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offense unto me, for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels. and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. May the Lord bless us in the reading of his word. The text for the sermon is the parallel passage found in Mark chapter eight, verses 31 through 33, which is the last section in our series in Mark, and especially here in chapter 8, verses 31 through 33, where we read, 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. And he spake that saying openly and Peter took him and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, get thee behind me, Satan, for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, As he read, Peter, along with his fellow disciples, had made a confession of faith of Jesus as not only the Son of Man, but also the Son of God, the Christ, the Son of the living God. They had made that confession in Caesarea Philippi, deep into the ministry of Jesus, and thus, Jesus asked them the question on that occasion, whom do men say that I am? And after they relayed the common answers that the disciples had heard through many months of the ministry of Jesus, then Jesus puts before them that question, but whom say ye that I am? What is your answer? And because of the efficacy and the power of that question of Christ, And because of the work of the Father in heaven through Christ, he draws out of Peter, along with the other believing disciples, that beautiful confession, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the other disciples also, through Peter, made that confession of faith, except of course for Judas Iscariot. But we see there that in that moment, Peter makes a true and faithful confession of faith. It's beautiful. But then very quickly, in a very astonishing way, there is this text where This event of Mark chapter eight, verses 31 through 33, the switch to this is almost jarring to us. It's made this beautiful confession of faith, and then there's this, and the sharp rebuke of Christ to Peter. It's unsettling. The contrast between that beautiful confession of Peter of Jesus as the Christ and then our text is so jarring and unsettling that even the Roman Catholic Church is unsettled by this. For you know and I know that the Roman Catholic Church venerates Peter, they uphold him, they worship him as the first pope and as the one who is the rock of the church. and in whom and in the papacy is the foundation of the church. And one must trust in that foundation and be joined to that foundation of the papacy in order to have salvation, so they say. But in order to soften the blow of what Jesus says, looking right at Peter in the text, the Roman Catholic Church changes the name Satan to merely adversary. So what they say is that Jesus is only telling Peter, Peter, don't be opposing what I'm doing. Just follow me. Regardless of their attempts to soften the blow and the sharpness of this, it doesn't get around the truth. Jesus says to Peter, and before him, get thee behind me, Satan. showing plainly Peter is not the rock of the church. He cannot be the foundation of the church. In fact, he shows himself of himself in the text to be a rock, yes, but a rock of offense and opposition to the work of Christ. And that sharp rebuke against Peter might be unsettling for us, too, when we read this. Maybe it's been unsettling for you since your youth. How is this? From that beautiful confession of faith, then Peter does this, and then receives that sharp rebuke of Jesus. Would not be so unsettling if Jesus had said that to Judas Iscariot. We could understand that. But does this apply to Peter? one of the sheep of Jesus. And if this rebuke does apply justly to Peter, his erring disciple, then is it possible that the text also applies to a denomination or churches or a local congregation with respect to their confession or their decisions that might not be in harmony with God's word? Might this sharp rebuke of Jesus even apply to our own churches, our own denomination at any time? And if this sharp rebuke of Jesus may apply to our denomination at times of error or straying, can it also apply to the believer? And might this ever apply, we ask, to me as God's people, personally? And then there's this question. While there is this sharp rebuke, is there any gospel in this rebuke of Jesus? Get thee behind me, Satan. Is there any good news in this for us as God's church and for us who are prone, as his erring disciples, to walk in error? Let's answer those questions by considering the text under this theme, Jesus' sharp rebuke to his erring disciple. We'll notice, first of all, the rebuke, and secondly, the reason that Jesus gives, and then thirdly, we'll also notice the efficacy of that rebuke of Christ. The fundamental part of the occasion for the rebuke of Jesus unto erring Peter was the prophecy that Jesus gave to his disciples about the future work he needed to accomplish from the viewpoint of Caesarea Philippi looking ahead in the coming weeks of his ministry. Jesus taught them four distinct parts of what yet had to come to pass in the coming weeks of his earthly ministry. First of all, he said, I must suffer. The son of man must suffer. many different things, must suffer in body and soul and mind and spirit. Then secondly, I must be rejected in the fulfillment of Isaiah 53 verse three, which says, he is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. When Jesus says he must be rejected, he's using a word by which he teaches, I must be tested by men. I must be examined by those to whom I preach. And they must stand before that question, whom say ye that I am? And they must give their answer after their evaluation. But it's especially the scribes and the chief priests and the elders of the people to whom which Jesus applies this activity of testing. They must test him. They must stand before that question. Is Jesus the Christ? And Jesus prophesied that in answer to that question, they would rule officially as the Old Testament manifestation of the church, as elders, priests, And the scribes, the ministers of the word of that day, they would rule officially, no, this Jesus is not the Christ. In fact, we have discovered he's a fraud and the doctrine which he teaches is counterfeit to the truth. Having made that evaluation, Jesus prophesied, I will be killed by them, the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes. The Old Testament church, not submitting to the word of God, they will crucify me. But fourthly, nevertheless, according also in fulfillment to the Holy Scriptures, especially Psalm 16, I will rise again from the dead. And that text, beloved, notes two important features about that instruction of Jesus. Number one, Jesus is now before his disciples very clear. He's not speaking in picture language. He's not talking in type and shadow like the Old Testament. He's not being vague. Someday the Son of Man will die. We're not sure who will do that. No, now he is speaking in detail. I will suffer. I will be officially rejected. There will be a trial. And the Old Testament Sanhedrin, the church, will rule that I must be crucified. Then I will be crucified, but then, on the third day, I will rise from the dead. The apostles now know, plainly, Jesus is teaching us. And then secondly, this instruction of Jesus was repeated. We read in verse 31, he began to teach, which means clearly he didn't teach just once and then he was finished. No, he began to teach, to lay out the details of his suffering, being rejected, his death, and his resurrection as set forth in the law and the prophets in the Old Testament. Jesus repeated that instruction to make it clear to his disciples that in spite of whatever the elders and the scribes and the Pharisees and so on would rule, I am the true prophet and the doctrine which I teach is not counterfeit, it's the word of God. It is true. Peter, however, didn't think so. He heard that clear instruction and those details of Jesus and his prophecy and was deeply displeased. As they're going down the road, he reaches out and takes Jesus and then is going to move him to the side and then privately speak to Jesus about what he had taught them. He presumed, well, I have heard what Jesus has said, and now as his, like a campaign manager, I am going to take him to the side and impart to him some wisdom about what he really should be teaching and how he really should be thinking about the weeks into the future. And as he goes on his last march towards Jerusalem. And then Peter began to rebuke Jesus. According to what we read in Matthew 16, He said to Jesus, be it far from thee, Lord. This shall not happen to thee. This shall not be unto thee. Suffering, maybe, but rejection, officially. Crucifixion and rising again. This will never be, not at all. He censured Jesus. when we read that he rebuked Jesus, censured Jesus for saying, for prophesying about his death and resurrection, and judged that suffering, rejection, and resurrection was totally unnecessary for Jesus to enter into his kingdom, to establish that kingdom, and to set its foundation. In Peter's mind, there was a better way, according to his wisdom. And as soon as Peter was still rebuking Jesus, Jesus turns around and looks at Peter and the other disciples in the eye and said to them, looking at Peter in particular, get thee behind me, Satan. Jesus meant, get out of my way, get behind me, move. As Matthew 16 teaches, Jesus also said, thou art an offense to me. Offense means scandal, like a stumbling block, a stone that's been dropped on the path. Thou art a stumbling block to me upon my pathway. Get out of the way. Certainly Satan was that obstacle to Jesus. attempting to block him and his progress forward in the way which the Father had given him to go. Satan tempted him to go to the left or to the right or to stop and to turn around and go the other way, like Jonah did. God said, go that way, and Jonah went the other way. Satan tempted him to do the same thing. Jesus said, get thee behind me, Satan. That sharp rebuke, of course, did apply to Satan. Satan attempted to be that obstacle to Jesus and an adversary to Christ throughout the ages. After his rebellion in heaven, he went to the earth and threw the serpent, became that stumbling block to Eve, tempting her to be disobedient to Adam and to God and was successful. And after Eve fell into sin, then he went through Eve to get at Adam and to tempt him into sin and put a stumbling block before him and successfully had him fall into sin. We see that happen again, for example, in the life of Job. He put a stumbling block before Job when God took everything away from him in one day, all of his children, all of his wealth. And when that didn't work, he put another stumbling block before Job through Job's wife, who said to Job in his affliction, well, curse God and die. Job said no. Satan did that to Jesus also in those three temptations. Turn the stones into bread. Jump from the temple. Bow down to me. But a rock, a stumbling stone in front of Jesus to make him fall into sin, into disobedience before the Father. And now through Peter, Satan does the same thing. Puts another rock on the path before Jesus. And to him, to Satan, Christ thundered, get thee behind me, Satan. He repeats what he said to Satan in Luke 4, verse 8. Get thee behind me, Satan. Satan said, bow down to me. Get thee behind me, Satan. Get out of the way, the way which I must go. For the chief prophet and teacher, you see, when he hears, feels Peter pull him to the side and then chiding him and rebuking him for what Jesus had just prophesied, Jesus immediately recognizes who's behind that rebuking of Peter. He recognized the old serpent from the beginning and sharply rebukes him. Let us not overlook or minimize that Jesus did speak this to Peter. When taken by Peter, Jesus wheels around quickly and looks at his disciples and says, get thee behind me, Satan. Now we might wonder, does this really apply to Peter? Wasn't he one of those whom the Father gave to him from eternity? He had just made a confession of faith, and Jesus said the Father had revealed that to him. He's one of those babes or children of the Father given to Christ. Not one of the wise and the prudent from whom God hides the things of the kingdom of heaven, but he's one of the citizens of the kingdom. May and must Jesus say this to Peter? Get thee behind me, Satan? Well, in answer to those questions, there are two things to understand about Peter. Number one, yes, he was an elect child of God. He had made a faithful confession of faith. Yes, he did. Jesus confirmed that. Nevertheless, Jesus shows this behavior of Peter was not of true faith. Similar to his behavior later, in the night in which Jesus was betrayed and did suffer, he denied the Lord three times. And even after Pentecost, when he was in Jerusalem, he did not behave himself properly with the Gentiles in the presence of the Jews, and Paul had to rebuke him for his error, to which Peter did submit. Here also, Peter served as a rock, all right, but not a rock of faith, but an obstacle or rock of unbelief in the way, blocking, opposing Jesus. And thus we understand when Jesus prophesied, yes, I will suffer and be rejected. Peter said, not so, Lord, not gonna happen. Jesus prophesied, I will be crucified, I will die. Peter said, oh no, Lord, be it far from thee, totally unnecessary. That's not how thou wilt come into thy kingdom and be established upon the throne. Jesus prophesied, I will rise again on the third day as a fulfillment of the type of Jonah. Peter said, not so. And in as much as Peter was speaking those things and thinking those things out of unbelief towards the Lord, He was repeating the lie of Satan, serving as an obstacle to Christ, serving as an obstacle of falsehood, to which Jesus may, and in righteousness must reply, get out of my way. Now, Peter may have thought, I'm being nice to Jesus. I don't really want him to die, and he shouldn't really think he needs to die. That's not a nice thought. He may have had good intentions according to his understanding, but from the perspective of Christ, he opposed the truth. Christ abhorred the thought of forsaking the way which he had to go, he must go. He abhorred the thought of thinking what Peter was saying, and so contradicting the gospel. that was pictured in the Old Testament and which he had come to fulfill, to be that sacrifice of our atonement. And thus, Jesus must say to him, get thee behind me, Satan. Does this rebuke apply at all to the church and history in the New Testament? Does it apply to the believer at any time? Well, regarding the Church in New Testament history, the Church has responded in weakness and apostasy against the truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as Peter did in unbelief. Christ has declared from God's right hand through the Holy Scriptures and by the Spirit of truth in the Church, this is the truth of the Holy Gospel. And there are times when the church and men in history have said in the church, not so, Lord, be it far from thee. This is not the way it is. This is the way it is. Not so, Lord, as thou hast taught concerning God and man and thee and the church and salvation and the things of the last times. We decide, we say, according to our wisdom, this is the way it is. So for example, with eschatology, the Lord has prophesied in Matthew 24, there will be an antichrist on the earth at the end of the ages. There will be great tribulation for the church. But like Peter, there have been men in the church who say, not so Lord, the antichrist, That's been fulfilled already. A great tribulation so that there are only a few, very few of God's people on the face of the earth when Christ comes again? Oh no, it's not going to be that way. It's not going to be that harsh and pessimistic for the church. There's going to be a golden age of the gospel and the world will be governed and controlled by Christianity upon the return of Jesus Christ. In doing so, the Church really, in essence, rebukes Christ. Teaches what Christ has taught is an obstacle, it's a stumbling block. That must get out of the way. And what man teaches must be in view. When the Church does that, she becomes worthy of this rebuke. Get thee behind me, Satan. For in doing that, The church in her weakness and unbelief attempts to put a rock or an obstacle in the way of Christ, in the gathering and the building up of his church by his spirit and his word. And although that is shocking, beloved, get thee behind me, and then Satan, Yet it does apply to us as it did to Peter. When we in unbelief, to any degree, oppose the word of Jesus and say to the Lord, be it far from thee, Lord, this will not happen to me. This is not the work which thou must fulfill regarding me. There's another way I may walk in this life, or there's another truth that I may hold on to, contrary to the scriptures. so that when we in unbelief contradict the word of Christ by error or walk in a way of wickedness contrary to God's commandments, we deserve this rebuke. To the measure we have opposed the word of Christ. We deserve to be told, get thee behind me, Satan. Because what we're doing or what we're saying or thinking is as the devil thinks and speaks. who has always been attempting to block, to oppose, to overthrow, and if it were possible, to destroy the work of Jesus Christ and His Word as the chief prophet and teacher of Jehovah, and to make Christ look like a fraud, a false prophet. And it's shocking, beloved, how quickly Peter went from that beautiful confession of faith, and then in the next text, next verses, boom. Speaking like Satan. But beloved, that's how quickly we can be like Peter. On a plateau of clear, expressive faith, confidence in Christ, and then, very soon thereafter, we're speaking like Peter. in error. That's humbling. But Jesus needed to rebuke him because, first of all, he says, for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. Clearly, that was true of Satan. He savored or meditated upon, he thought not about the things of God, but thought about, he savored, he enjoyed, he meditated upon, he filled his heart and mind up with the things of men, the things of a kingdom of man upon this earth. He thought not about the word of God or the counsel of God except to know the scriptures, often better than we do, in order to oppose that word of God. And when Satan then tempts Jesus, Satan knew the Word of God. Satan was aware of the counsel of God. He was aware of the promises of God in Scripture, but he hated those things. Wanted to do everything possible to knock Jesus off that road of humiliation upon which he was walking. What is true of Satan is also true of the natural man who is under the bondage of Satan in spiritual darkness. According to 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14, that natural man with a natural mind, by nature, in darkness, only thinks about the things of men, could care less about the things of God and His Word and His counsel, which stands forever. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14, we read, the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Why not? Because to man, those things of God and what Jesus prophesied of his death and resurrection, those things are foolishness unto man. Neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. That's the attitude, that's the relationship of the unregenerated man to the things of God and his word. It's a relationship of enmity, of hatred. And having evaluated these things, coming to a conclusion, a ruling, of rejecting the things of the word of God and Jesus Christ. And by nature, that's us. By nature, we have no mind for the things of God. We have no wisdom of ourselves. Contrary to what Peter thought when he thought, well, I'll just take Jesus aside here and I'll impart to him some wisdom about his journey in the weeks ahead to Jerusalem. What foolishness. We have no wisdom apart from Christ. Zero. Speaking then, and walking and behaving in that unbelief to Jesus, according to his nature, Peter deserved that rebuke. He had fallen into the temptation of unbelief and pride. He exalted himself above Jesus, wanted Jesus to listen to him because he, Peter, as a prophet now, would now instruct Jesus about what he should be thinking and prophesying. and viewed himself quite capable of that. Peter had fallen into the temptation of the lie of Satan. He was speaking the language of the devil. I can be as God to know good and evil. No, he couldn't. And he did the same sort of thing when he erred in his behavior toward the Gentiles in Jerusalem. Did not follow the language of the gospel, but a way of error that potentially could have caused schism in the church in Jerusalem. And similarly, when churches or members of churches oppose the doctrine of Christ, We don't speak the language of Scripture. We speak that which is false. And to whatever degree we do so in unbelief, to that degree we deserve this rebuke of the chief prophet and teacher of Jehovah, our Lord Jesus Christ, who abhors Satan and his lies. But the deeper reason for deserving this rebuke is found in the prophecy of Jesus in verse 31. Peter must be rebuked, and also Satan must be rebuked, because what was being said was opposed to that little word in verse 31, must. In the Greek it's three letters, in the English it's four letters, but it's still a very small word, but so significant. Jesus had said, the Son of Man must suffer, must be rejected, must die, he must rise again. And in that little word, must, he's referring to the counsel of God. The all-comprehensive, the sovereign, and the efficacious counsel of God. The counsel that must be done and surely will be done. That's the counsel of God that has laid out all of the salvation of all of God's elect in Jesus Christ. It's the counsel that laid the pathway for Jesus. This is the road he must go. These are all the things that must happen to him upon that road that goes down to the cross. But doesn't end there in God's counsel that would lead to the resurrection and his exaltation to the right hand of God. It's all laid out in that counsel of God. Even your salvation and my salvation and all of the details that serve that salvation in Jesus Christ are all laid out in the mind of God in his unchangeable, sovereign will. All that Jesus said to his disciples was what God had in his counsel and what God had revealed in his word of his counsel. I must suffer, I must be rejected of men, Isaiah 53, I must die, that's all over Isaiah 53, and even the resurrection is in that chapter too. It's all rooted in and governed by the counsel or will of my Father in heaven. To put an obstacle then in front of Jesus upon his divinely ordained and required pathway was not just an offense against Jesus, but it was to suggest to him a detour to the will of his heavenly Father. And that was intolerable for Jesus. With regard to Satan, it was intolerable to Jesus that Satan would tempt him into a detour that would make God a liar. And would attempt to say that the Father has not spoken the truth and has not sent forth his word. And that the promises which God has spoken and concerning which he swore an oath, he's not going to fulfill. That was totally abhorrent to Christ. For Satan to touch the integrity of the Father in heaven, horrible. And for Peter, in spite of his, what he may have thought were good intentions, yet unbelief, to pull Jesus out of that way of humiliation, out of the way to the cross, which is all of our salvation, foolishness. He's opposing the salvation of his own soul and of the church. And for a church or a member of a church of the New Testament to oppose, then, the various truths of Scripture and the Reformed faith, and to oppose them because they seem maybe too harsh, too strict, unnecessary, uncomfortable, or whatever the reason may be, or not in line with what man thinks, is to oppose the must of the triune God Himself, God has declared in his word, this must be the truth and this is the truth. This reveals me and my glory to say, no, we'd like to change this a little bit, is to touch the integrity and the face of God. And that opposition Jesus teaches then is pride. That's what Satan operated out of when he rebelled in heaven and went after the coming of Christ through the Old Testament, opposing the must of God's promise anchored in his counsel. I am, Satan thought, I will do everything in my power to oppose that coming of Christ. All these examples of that in Old Testament history, in the bondage of Egypt, and Queen Athaliah trying to kill off all the seed royal. That's the devil. fighting against the must of God's counsel. How foolish. Peter also was lifted up in his own pride against Jesus. He thought he knew better. He was wiser than Christ. And is that not the danger that we face? Attempting to be wiser than God? Prone then to err against the must of God's Word, the must of His truth, the sharpness of that truth, the antithesis of that truth, and then lead ourselves or lead others in a way that goes away from Christ, away from God's Word, out of the path which is straight and narrow into a path which is broad and leads to destruction. That's the reality that Jesus holds before us. The answer is yes, we are prone to that. Prone to the error we are of Peter. Seeking to be wiser than Christ, we know better what ought to be prophesied, what ought to be taught in the church. And because of that, we deserve the rebuke. Get thee behind me, Satan. For thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. That's sobering, isn't it? But while Jesus shows us our weakness and proneness to error, beloved, let us not despair of this Christ, who not only speaks this rebuke in righteousness, but also speaks this rebuke in mercy. and a mercy which is efficacious. This word was efficacious, beloved, concerning the enemies of Jesus, on whom he has no mercy. It may not appear that it is so right away, and even in history, but it's true. For Satan, Jesus sharply condemns him, again, as the liar, as the adversary, as the hater of God, the prince of this world, the prince of darkness, And so Jesus stands in the text as the righteous one and condemns the devil, get thee behind me, Satan, and gives us a glimpse of what he will say when he comes again in the clouds of heaven, when he appears at the end by his word, get thee behind me, Satan, he will cast Satan and all of his devils behind him into everlasting darkness, never to contend with them again in the work of redeeming and exalting his bride into everlasting glory. That's the power of this word of Christ. That word will be accomplished in his final appearing. That's what Jesus prophesies here. For Judas Iscariot had sharply condemned him as the betrayer. He knew Jesus. He knew that Jesus spoke the truth. Jesus was not a counterfeit. He's the faithful son of the Father, the faithful son of man. He's left without excuse when he sells Jesus for a measly 30 pieces of silver. By this rebuke, Jesus reveals also to Judas, I am righteous. I have been true to my father and his divine must. Judas did not. And positively, beloved, this rebuke was and this rebuke is efficacious unto his elect sheep and lambs, on whom he does have mercy, the mercy which endures forever, and the mercy which does not change. In that mercy, beloved, we need to know. We need to be shown our unbelief. We need to be shown we're prone to error. We need to be shocked at how quickly Peter goes from a beautiful confession of faith to this being rebuked, get thee behind me, Satan. We need to see that in ourselves, how quickly we can oppose the Word of God and have in our minds these errors which are contrary to the Word of God, maybe contrary to even how God is working with us in this life. We need to be shocked by the unbelief that is yet within us so that we may be humble before the Lord, to see in ourselves Our strength is zero, nothing, against the temptations of the devil, nothing. And we learn by this rebuke of Jesus never to trust in ourselves, even as a church looking, well, maybe the Lord will raise up another man and in him we will put our trust to deliver us from whatever troubles may afflict the church in the New Testament. He will deliver us, no. by no arm of flesh, by no human power, will the Lord deliver and preserve and save his church. We don't have that power. We don't have that wisdom. We don't have that mind of ourselves. We are not the rock of the church. Peter was not the rock of the church. The rebuke of Jesus teaches us to look away from Peter, to look away from ourselves unto Christ, the only rock of the church and of you and me. He is our righteousness. He is our only life everlasting. And to see the mercy of this beloved, notice how Jesus gives this rebuke. He's doing it in a very similar way to how God spoke in paradise after the fall. You remember children in the Garden of Eden, God came to Adam and Eve and spoke to Adam first, then to Eve, and then God turns his attention to the snake. And while addressing the snake, then God speaks the mother promise of Genesis 3, verse 15. and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel. God spoke judgment to Satan, but at the same time, the gospel to the church, to you and me. That's how Jesus, who fulfills that prophecy of Jehovah in the Garden of Eden, here in the text before his disciples and before us. He speaks directly to Satan. Get thee behind me, Satan. A word of a curse to Satan, a word which will be fulfilled in his final appearing. The word which he speaks is the captain of your salvation. So that although the devil does successfully perhaps tempt us into sin at times when we walk in unbelief and sin against the Lord and oppose his way with us in this life for our salvation, yet Jesus Christ says to Satan, concerning his church and concerning all of his sheep, get thee behind me, Satan, get out of my way. Get out of the way of me doing my work and redeeming my church and saving her and preserving her even unto the end. Get out of the way. I will build my church. You will not prevail against me. And that leads, beloved, to the efficacious power of what Jesus says. What he says is anchored to his cross, of which he prophesied. I must die and rise again. Thus, get out of my way, Satan. The mother promise, the oath sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will not change. It will never change. I must suffer. I must atone for the sin of my people. They must be reconciled unto my Father in heaven. I must shed my blood to wash them, and by my spirit make them clean and pure in the sight of God. I will rise again in triumph over the last enemy, death in the grave, and secure for my people the life everlasting. And beloved, he did. In that unwavering conviction of the Father's must, he suffered for you. He was rejected for you. Rejected as a counterfeit prophet. And upon him, he took the load of our guilt for doing exactly what Peter did. unbelief. He took that sin upon himself, died as the false prophet as he was condemned and was crucified. For us, we might be his true prophets and have complete redemption in him and life everlasting as those anointed with his spirit to speak the truth. And concerning all those like Peter, and Peter himself, the work of Christ for them, and in them, and through them, the word of Jesus before Satan still today is, get thee behind me, Satan. Get out of my way. As I work with my sheep and my lambs, I must not lose one of them. I will, I must save them even unto the end. They must be glorified with me here at the Father's right hand. Beloved, though the Lord often needs to rebuke us and rescue us from our waywardness, he will continue his work of changing us. Those who oppose him and resist him to those who are anchored to him by the Holy Spirit, cemented to the rock, Jesus Christ, in a faith which is clear, confident, expressive, so that instead of getting in his way, Christ, by his word and spirit, makes us to do what he teaches in the next verses, and that's why verses 34 to 38 follow, to make us not those who stand in his way, but we get behind him, not in a curse as he does to the devil to be forgotten by him, but to follow him as his disciples, to deny ourselves, to take up that cross and to follow him in the way he must lead us unto heavenly glory. There to reveal that we are his prophets to speak his truth. Therefore, beloved, go and tell the truth, tell the wonders of the love of Christ unto you. And in the hour of temptation, when the devil comes to put that stone upon your pathway, that obstacle, you must say to him, get thee behind me, Satan, get out of the way of the path which the Lord has set for me in following him as his disciple. Amen. Let us pray. Father who art in heaven, with thy work, thy grace in us, we may receive that faith to walk faithfully in the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, turning not to the left hand nor to the right, following faithfully after our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as his disciples, and thereby go and tell his truth even resisting the devil in temptation, that we fall not into error to our hurt. Rather, be faithful unto Thee, being resolute in love and obedience unto Thee and unto Thy glory. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.