For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Titus 2:11-15
Rebuke
…I know you by name
And Moses said unto the LORD, “See, Thou sayest unto me, ‘Bring up this people:’ and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Yet Thou hast said, ‘I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, shew me now Thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight: and consider that this nation is Thy people.” And He said,
“My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.”
And he said unto him, “If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” And the LORD said unto Moses,
“I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name.”
And he said, “I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory.”
Exodus 33:12-18
Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD.
Psalm 135:20
Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Proverbs 27:5-6
…That they may be sound in the faith…
…For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.
One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, “The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.” This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth…
Titus 1:10-14
Do not grow weary doing good
But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
2 Thessalonians 3:13-15
An Offense to Jesus Christ
From that time forth began Jesus to shew 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 offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Matthew 16:21-23
If your opinion or view of who Jesus Christ is and His work He came to do does not agree with Scripture then you are an offense to Him.
He Taught Them As One Who Had Authority
And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day He entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.” And Jesus rebuked him, saying,
“Hold thy peace, and come out of him.”
And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they do obey Him.” And immediately His fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee. Mark 1:21-28
Of Rebuke and Kisses
“Open rebuke is better than secret love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27:5-6 (KJB)
Wisdom Giving Instruction
“He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.” Proverbs 9:7-11 (KJB)
The Peril Of A Hard Head
“He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1 (KJB)
The Wise Father, and The Wise Son
“A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.” Proverbs 13:1 (KJB)
The Faithful and True Witness
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Revelation 3:14-22 (KJV)
In closing the letters to the seven churches we come to the final church of Laodicea. This was a wealthy city, and thus, believed themselves to be in need of nothing. This attitude had gotten into the church, thus the need for the letter. In this letter, we will see the sovereignty of Jesus Christ and His power in working with spiritual fervor, or the lack of it, and His immediate position to those who say they have no need.
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God…”
Jesus reveals Himself as “The Amen”, which means “So be it”. Whatever Jesus has said, or is about to say will definitely come to pass. He is the God of truth. He is truth, fixed and sure.
Jesus is the One who has, possesses and owns everything. “The earth is the LORD’S and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1).
Again Jesus is presenting a characteristic of Himself which the church needs. As Sovereign, He owns and possesses all things.
He reveals Himself as the very source of all creation. “…The beginning of the creation of God…” declares in fact that He is the Creator, not a created being (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). He is the source of the needs the Laodicean people did not realize they had. Paul was familiar with Laodicea. The epistle of Colossians was sent to Laodicea for them to hear and read concerning the deity of Jesus, and other matters.
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”
In these verses, we see what Jesus has to say to the congregation of Laodicea. It is not pleasant or good. He mentions no good works, no good doctrine, there is absolutely no commendation, but condemnation, with a call to “Repent” and “…Open the door…” as the only hope.
This is a church which only acted as a thermometer. It only registered the temperature around it. It was no more than a stagnant water or a dead body. Its environment was all it registered. A thermostat is used for raising or lowering the temperature. Every child of God should be like a thermostat.
When we look through Scripture we find that there are three spiritual temperatures;
1. The burning heart. This heart yearns for the Word of God and loves to hear the exposition of God’s Word. You find an example of this heart in Luke 24:32.
2. The cold heart. This heart is just not interested in spiritual things. It finds greater pleasure in the world than in God’s words. An example of this heart is found in Matthew 24:12.
3. The lukewarm heart. This is the heart who is comfortable and complacent. It is the worst condition of the three. This individual or church will not be committed to doing anything much. May or may not be a regular worshiper. We find this example in our text (v. 15). You never know where this type of people or church stands on any issue or debate.
The John MacArthur Study Bible note on verse 16 states,
“Nearby Hierapolis was famous for its hot springs, and Colosse for its cold, refreshing mountain stream. But Laodicea had dirty, tepid water that flowed for miles through an underground aqueduct. Visitors, unaccustomed to it, immediately spat it out. The church at Laodicea was neither cold, openly rejecting Christ, nor hot, filled with spiritual zeal. Instead, its members were lukewarm, hypocrites professing to know Christ, but not truly belonging to Him (cf. Matt.7:21ff).”
Jesus says of this church, “You make me sick”. They are willing to sacrifice truth for peace.
If they would have been hot Jesus would have commended them. If they would have been cold, He would have rebuked them and heated them up. As they were lukewarm, they did not even realize they had a need. Everything was going their way. They had money, notoriety, rich jewels. They had everything other people in the city had – including the presence of the absence of Jesus. They did not even know Jesus was not there.
When things are going good, and we get comfortable, let us make certain Jesus is present no matter what the cost may be. If we are comfortable we must be careful not to grow complacent to the needs we may have as well as the needs of those around us. The greatest need the world around us has is that they see Jesus Christ in those who are His – for the church to be the Church – and not living as the world.
“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
The church needed to be made aware of their comfortable complacency. Because of the material riches they had been blessed with they had drifted into lukewarmness and had become a negative testimony for Christ.
Lukewarmness happens when blessings are many and the worship of Jesus slacks off. Pride and self-satisfaction is the ruin of many individuals and churches.
The city was one of vast wealth and the church has been a recipient as well. They had “Need of nothing” and were blind to their real need. They were able to handle things themselves. Their blindness kept them from seeing their nakedness, and poverty. Spiritual blindness leads to spiritual bankruptcy.
These people were clothed in the richest of garments materially, yet without the righteous garment of Jesus, they had nothing of God. They were clothed in “Fig leaves” before the eyes of God.
Blindness is sometimes caused by poor diet – malnutrition. Warren Wiersbe said…
“Diet has bearing on the condition of one’s eyes, in a spiritual sense as well as a physical one.” They had feasted heavily on material things and were fat and lazy. They had neglected the Word and worship of God in Christ and were blind as a bat without sonar, in Spirit. Poor, miserable, blind and naked.
They needed cleansing. They needed to stand for Jesus to show the world the difference one’s life has in Christ. This would lead to persecution, for the Scripture says, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
They needed to be clothed in the white and righteous garments of Jesus. In Jesus they would have true riches; “Gold tried in the fire” or persecution and trials of faith in Him. God, raiment, and sight that is for eternity, rather than that which the moth and rust eat away, corrupts and fails.
Laodicea was known for an eye ointment for helping sight problems. This ointment could not help them see Jesus, their true need, however. Jesus offers the ointment of the Holy Spirit who gives sight to the spiritually blind.
Jesus’s words in verse 19 are directed to a small remnant within this church who are in Christ. They have sadly backslidden, yet Jesus warns them to repent. His chastening hand brings His children out of the lie of self-satisfaction into a satisfying fellowship with Himself.
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
The saddest statement of these letters, and possibly in all of Scripture is the proximity of Jesus in relation to this church.
1. He is near, but not in;
2. He is knocking at the door; the ones inside unaware of His absence;
3. He is asking to come in.
This was more a social club than a church. If the One who instituted the Church is not in the church, then, it is not the Church. It does not matter how loud a group yells they are a church. What does matter is, where Jesus is in relation to them. Likewise, it matters not how loud the individual declares He is a Christian, it does, however, matter the proximity of Jesus in relation to that individual.
For those who will open the door and let Him in there is great fellowship and feasting in His presence and glory.
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
The promise to the “Overcomer” is an eternal one. To sit with Jesus on His throne (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6). He has called us to be overcomers, placed in us His Spirit who seals us to that great day. Why do we want to persist in our own way, knowing that the riches of Jesus is ours through overcoming faith in Him?
Now is the time to hear. Hear the Spirit as He directs you to Jesus. Hear Him as He rebukes you of your sin and your backslidden condition.
Many individuals and churches are in the Laodicean condition. We need not stay there. If the Laodicean church did not repent they were judged. If the Church today does not repent of its comfortable complacency judgment will come on all who do not overcome.
In conclusion, this is the only church that had no commendation said of it. It was soundly rebuked for its lukewarmness. It was a “church” which made Jesus sick. Jesus was not even present in the church. He was outside, asking to come in, but they were not listening.
Let none of us who are in the Body of Christ get to the place where we do not even notice the absence of Jesus. What do we have if Jesus is not present in our gatherings as a local congregation? We have a social gathering and some Christians who need repentance. What do we have if an individual does not have the presence of Jesus? A lost individual, or a backslidden Christian. Jesus is Lord. He establishes His Church. It is Jesus who decides who will sit with Him on His throne. He is the Sovereign King; He is the Faithful and True Witness.
The Kingdom of God and Children
Children are special. It does not matter if they are “special needs” children, or just as bright and healthy as one of us would like them to be. They are special, and need adult guidance, care, supervision, leadership, and discipline. All of those things.
One day when Jesus was with His disciples some children were brought to Him so that He would touch them, and bless them. The disciples began rebuking the adults who brought them, and we read the Biblical text…
“And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them.” Mark 10:13-16 (KJV)
Jesus has also warned of “Offending” children (Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:47), and these verses are also dealing with all who place their trust in Christ Jesus; adults as well as children.
Jesus’s point in the above verses is that those who come to Him must trust Him, even as a child is trusting of their earthly mother and father. When our children were young, even small; I had our youngest son jumping into my arms from the highest end of the front porch. He trusted me to catch him. Do you think I would ever pull my arms away, not catch him, and ruin that trust? No loving father would ever do that. Jesus “…took the children up in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them”.
God have mercy on any who would offend the children.
Trusting Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross is the only way into the kingdom; and we must trust that that is the only way. It is the way. He is the way, the truth and the Life (John 14:6). Trust Him.
Wrong Side of Judgment
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Thy wrath: neither chasten me in Thy hot displeasure.” Psalm 38:1 (KJV)
No one that I know wants to be on the wrong side of judgment. By that I mean the danger end of a shotgun, rifle, or pistol. For those unfamiliar with this thought I will just say, no one looks forward to standing in court before a judge; at least if they are in the right mind.
No one should desire to stand on the wrong side of the judgment of GOD. I know that I sure do not want to. Neither did David the Psalmist. GOD is the supreme Judge. He hates sin. He judges sin; my sin and yours. We cannot even appear before Him unless sin has been dealt with.
No one can be good enough, sinless enough to appear before GOD of Creation on their own merit. Not me, nor you. Our own “righteousness” condemns us, it does not save us. We are born in a condemned state, apart from GOD; without GOD.
GOD Himself stepped into the world picture in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, pouring out His wrath, His displeasure upon Him for us, that we might come into His presence and glory.
If you do not desire to be rebuked in the wrath of GOD; in which you will not survive it; neither will you survive His hot displeasure; then, you must receive GOD’S gracious gift of salvation He has provided by way of the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus died, was buried, and bodily arose and came out of the grave, and lives today awaiting the time to come again and make all things right.
Is GOD Angry?
“O LORD, rebuke me not in Thine anger, neither chasten me in Thy hot displeasure.”
To answer the title question; David the Psalmist thought God could be angry. To ask, “Is God angry?” makes it sound as though one is thinking that He is angry all the time, through all eternity.
The Psalmist is asking for mercy. Do I need mercy? Definitely. Do you need mercy? Yes. The human race needs mercy. Jesus said,
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7).
There seems to be a mistaken belief that God could never be angry. “How could a loving God be angry?” is the assumptive question. How could a loving God never be angry? would be my question and thought. If you love and someone hurts what you love does that not make you angry?
God loves His children. He has proven that by the cross of Christ. He poured out His anger upon His only begotten, sinless, spotless Son as He bled and died on the cross. Now He declares all who come to Him through Jesus Christ “Righteous”.
The writer of Hebrews has written,
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
I am blessed to be in the hands of the living God. I do not want God to be angry with me. Like David I ask for His mercy. It is found in Christ.
In the Days of Itching Ears
I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:1-5 (KJV)
With the apostle Paul believing that his life and ministry was nearing an end he leaves a challenge with the young Timothy. That challenge is “Preach the word…” and with it the purpose of preaching is given. The preacher is to be ready to preach at a moments notice. The culture and society we live in today needs the preacher to be ready. It is fast moving. Quickly moving toward disaster.
Paul speaks of a time when there will be teachers which will preach and teach things that will tickle the itching ears of those who do not want to hear the truth. We are living in such a time. People are willing to believe the fables of the time; but reject the truth, even to the point of hatred toward one God, who has a Son who died for the sinners of the world.
“Reprove, rebuke and exhort with all longsuffering (Patience) and doctrine”. Confronting sin in God’s people, rebuking it and then teaching the people how to live for the Lord. That is so needed in the lives of Christians today.
-T.A.
Friends and Enemies
It seems that we are all a bit fickle. We love our friends; as long as they are kind and never say a harsh or critical word to us. Yet that is not friendship. I will not spend a lot of time or words with this, but really, a true friend should be someone who will tell you your weaknesses, when you have done something wrong. A friend is someone who will sharpen your ax blade, so to speak; or at least aid you in doing so yourself.
Is it a friend who is always telling you the good things you do? How bright you are? How handsome or beautiful you are? A friend will appreciate the good and great things about you, and tell you so; however the friend will also pick you apart, and cut away, and may hurt you to help you. There; I said it. Now let us see what the wise man of Proverbs says.
“Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27:5-6
There will be those who call themselves friend, but never really help you shine. They are really your enemy; never wanting you to improve; wanting you to remain in their league. Their kisses are venom, poisonous and deadly.
Let’s hear what Matthew Henry has written of these two verses;
Note, 1. It is good for us to be reproved, and told of our faults, by our friends. If true love in the heart has but zeal and courage enough to show itself in dealing plainly with our friends, and reproving them for what they say and do amiss, this is really better, not only than secret hatred (as Lev. 19:17), but than secret love, that love to our neighbours which does not show itself in this good fruit, which compliments them in their sins, to the prejudice of their souls. Faithful are the reproofs of a friend, though for the present they are painful as wounds. It is a sign that our friends are faithful indeed if, in love to our souls, they will not suffer sin upon us, nor let us alone in it. The physician’s care is to cure the patient’s disease, not to please his palate. 2. It is dangerous to be caressed and flattered by an enemy, whose kisses are deceitful We can take no pleasure in them because we can put no confidence in them (Joab’s kiss and Judas’s were deceitful), and therefore we have need to stand upon our guard, that we be not deluded by them; they are to be deprecated. Some read it: The Lord deliver us from an enemy’s kisses, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.
From the Matthew Henry Commentary – Libronix Library
Remember too, that a friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17). Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God is your dearest friend.
-Tim A. Blankenship
A Plea of David
“O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.” Psalm 6:1
There must have been something in David’s life that would cause him to make such a plea. Yet, there are times we as Christians even make such a plea. The Psalmist first words are directed to the Self-Existing One YaHWeH or JehovaH who relates to men who are redeemed by Him.
No one longs for the rebuke of the LORD, nor His anger; and God does get angry and is angry with sin and evil; because it is against everything He is. None of us long to experience the “hot displeasure” of GOD.
His displeasure is directed toward any sin that may be in our lives. He will do whatever it takes to rid us of our sin.
Let me give you a portion of what Charles H. Spurgeon writes of this Psalm, particularly verse 1 –
“O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger.” The Psalmist is very conscious that he deserves to be rebuked, and he feels, moreover, that the rebuke in some form or other must come upon him, if not for condemnation, yet for conviction and sanctification. “Corn is cleaned with wind, and the soul with chastenings.” It were folly to pray against the golden hand which enriches us by its blows. He does not ask that the rebuke may be totally withheld, for he might thus lose a blessing in disguise; but, “Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger.” If thou remindest me of my sin, it is good; but, oh, remind me not of it as one incensed against me, lest thy servant’s heart should sink in despair. Thus saith Jeremiah, “O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.” I know that I must be chastened, and though I shrink from thy rod yet do I feel that it will be for my benefit; but, oh, my God, “chasten me not in thy hot displeasure,” lest the rod become a sword, and lest in smiting, thou shouldest also kill. So may we pray that the chastisements of our gracious God, if they may not be entirely removed, may at least be sweetened by the consciousness that they are “not in anger, but in his dear covenant love.”
May we all who are in Christ Jesus find peace in knowing that God finds pleasure in blessing those who will call on His name.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Peter’s Other Confession
So I don’t forget to do it let me make a short comment about verse twenty. Verse twenty reads:
“Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.” Matthew 16:20 (KJV)
This confession of Peter’s was something that at this time the populace did not yet need to know. Some already believed it to be true; those to whom the Father had chosen to reveal it. It was not God’s plan to have the populace of people know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The plan was the cross. In this we see that the freewill of men, and the sovereign hand of God work in complementary fashion together, accomplishing the will of God. Now on to Peter’s Other Confession.
Following Peter’s confession, and Jesus giving him the keys of the kingdom; to open and to shut; to bind and to loose; then we find Jesus teaching His disciples of the cross, and that He must go to Jerusalem. We learn here that Jesus knew all along that His destination was the cross, to die for the sins of mankind. It is certain that the disciples knew that the leaders of the temple and of Jerusalem were not friendly toward Jesus, nor His followers.
Jesus was going to show to His disciples that He is going to Jerusalem, and will suffer at the hands of the scribes, priests, and then would die a horrible death.
“From that time forth began Jesus to shew 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 offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Matthew 16:21-23 (KJV)
In the fourth chapter of Matthew the devil tempted Jesus with shortcuts around the cross. He did not need to prove to the devil or Himself that He was/is indeed the Son of God by any of the deeds that He could have done. The devil knew He was the Son of God and so did Jesus. They were attempts to get Jesus around the destination which He and His Father had set down from eternity, and Jesus was not about to be sidetracked from that eternal destination which was for the sin debt of mankind.
Peter’s confession of verses 13-20 was a great confession. When Jesus, however, begins telling them that He must die at the hands of the elders, chief priests and the scribes, though, that is more than Peter can keep quite about. He rebukes Jesus for saying such a thing. Who is Peter to think that he can rebuke the incarnate Son of God? Has he suddenly received new revelation? Has he suddenly became deity himself? Not so! He is not seeing the destination of Jesus, has his own preconceived ideas, and is greatly influenced by Satan himself.
Jesus issues to Peter the harshest statement He has probably ever uttered to a man; especially to one of His disciples; “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me…” Jesus tells him too, that he is only thinking from men’s viewpoint and not God’s. We must understand that the cross though, conducted, carried out by evil men was the design of God Himself. Those who placed Jesus on the cross were not condemned for their act, they are condemned already; that is why they unjustly will charge Him, bring Him to trial, and then unjustly hang Him on a cruel wooden cross to die.
Peter went from a godly confession to a satanic confession. He was honored for the confession “Thou art the Christ; Son of the living God”. He was rebuked for not seeing that the cross was by God’s design. His death was in God’s plans. It was necessary to make atonement for the sins of mankind.
-Tim A. Blankenship
The Fire and Hammer 