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.

The Gospels teach us that there is a vast difference between Jesus and man. Jesus is the eternal Son of God. I was reminded this week that the Scriptures teach us that Jesus Christ is the King right now. In Matthew 2:2 we read that the wise men asked where the king of the Jews was born. In Matthew 27:11 the governor asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews. He is the King, not of all the Jews but of all those, both Jews and Gentiles, who turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and then serve Him as Lord of their lives. During the days of Samuel, the people came to him demanding that he give them a king. Samuel was upset with the people for asking this. God answered Samuel:

I Samuel 8:7  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

God is still in charge, even though most Jews and Gentiles reject Him as king. Jesus Christ is still the King today even though most people do not acknowledge that fact.
All people will bow before Him one day. Those who rejected Him as Saviour will stand before Him at the great white throne judgment. A King sits on a throne. Jesus Christ is Prophet, Priest and King. Those who reject Him will be eternally sorry, but it will be too late. Those who trust in Him for their salvation will gladly bow before Him and worship Him throughout all eternity.
Jesus Christ knew why He came to this earth. We as people do not know, from our birth, why we are here. We were born as lost sinners and we were taught things by our parents. As we get older, we pick up on things we observe around us. Most people live their lives chasing an imaginary goal. That goal revolves around money and things. Different people value different things, but the general thrust of man is to be someone and to have things. Most are so preoccupied with this vanity, that they never stop to listen to the Holy Spirit Who is seeking to show us that we need to be born again so that we can know why we are here and what we should be doing.
Jesus told the disciples what He must face. This was not optional. He came to lay down His life for the sheep. He also told them He would be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes. Those who should have been leading the people in the truth were the most opposed to the truth. These were not political leaders. These were men who assumed the place of spiritual leadership. They were corrupt individuals who hated the truth.
This sounds much like most religious leaders today. They talk of a God and they talk of a Jesus, but they do not know the true God or the true Jesus. Those who know Him, submit to Him because they understand His authority over them.
Jesus taught the disciples that He must suffer many things, and that He would be killed and rise again after three days. This is important for us to remember as we consider the event known as Easter, that most religious people place so much importance on. The crucifixion of the Biblical Jesus is very important and it was necessary in order for anyone to be saved. The fictitious Jesus that most religious people worship cannot help anyone. He is no more powerful than the chocolate bunny or chick that melts in the sun.
In verse 32 we see that Peter did not yet recognize Jesus as King at this point. We know there have been ruthless kings in the past who demand absolute loyalty. Some of them have been rather quick to punish and even kill those who oppose them. They demand complete obedience.
Canada does not have a king, but our previous P.M. assumed that roll. He did not like it when people exposed his lies. He had bank accounts frozen and people arrested for opposing his will. The new P.M. told a reporter what he was supposed to get from one of his non-answers during his recent campaign. Free choice is not allowed in this country. It will get worse yet.
Jesus Christ is the King of kings and He deserves complete loyalty and worship, but He gives man the option of choosing to humble himself before Him. Jesus did not strike Peter dead for his defiance of Him here. He did not slap him or put him in jail. He allowed Peter to rebuke Him, but He also rebuked Peter before the others and addressed him as Satan. It is important for us to understand that defiance against God is wicked. We do not make up the conditions of salvation and forgiveness of sins. We come to God with nothing and we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. We do not set up the terms of salvation. Someone shows us from God’s Word, the importance of true salvation, and we trust in God to save us. After we are saved, the Bible tells us we need to be taught to observe all things that Jesus has commanded. We come under His authority, if we are truly saved.
The Greek word translated as “savourest” carries the meaning of exercising the mind to have an opinion of something or someone. Peter did not have the right view of God or of Jesus Christ at this point. This one act of defiance demonstrated that Peter had a major problem with God. We, those who are saved, need to think carefully of our response to what the Bible says. We need to understand whom it is that we are listening to when we defy what God says.
Peter was speaking here prior to being given the gift of the Holy Spirit. He was not justified in what he did. That is why Jesus rebuked him. Peter would not interfere in this manner after Acts 2. He did need to be rebuked in the book of Galatians for trying to cause a division between Jewish saints and Gentile saints. Christians can get in the flesh, but they cannot remain there. Paul rebuked Peter on that occasion and Peter realized he was wrong.
In our text, Peter would also see that he was wrong. He was too heavily invested in the things of man. That was hindering him from serving the Lord as he must. Those who are saved today have the Scriptures. We can know the truth. We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We can see the importance of submitting to the Lord. We need to be reminded of that through godly evangelists, pastors and teachers. Those whom God calls to be spiritual leaders dare not defy God and pander to the carnal nature that can and often does infect those who are saved. We need to submit to the will of God.
The blessing is in submitting to the Lord. The devil wants to convince us that it is bad to be too rigid in our thinking. The devil wants us to give room for grey areas. He wants true Christians to be a stumblingblock to others.
The Bible shows us that humility and obedience are the only way to serve God. The joy of the Lord is in knowing Him and submitting to His will. He knows what is right. Jesus knew what was ahead for Him. He was not consulting with the disciples about what His plans were. He was telling them what was ahead. They needed to know that and they needed to understand that.
Today we, those who are saved, need to know the will of God and we need to submit ourselves to His will. His way is right. Those who are lost must be born again, in order to begin that walk of faith that is essential to life. Let us be sure we have that eternal life and that we are learning to submit more fully to the will of God.
Pastor Bartel