Evil Influence

   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 16:22-23).

    When Jesus started to talk about his coming death on the cross, in love, Peter began to rebuke the Lord for saying such things would happen to Him. Peter didn’t realize that he was telling the Lord to save Himself. He probably realized the power that Jesus had and didn’t want the Lord to suffer at the hands of evil men. It had to surprise Peter when the Lord looked at him and said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.”

    Peter was asking Jesus to go against the plan of God for the salvation of the human race. Peter’s plan would have put him in Hell. Jesus came to earth to be the Savior of mankind. Peter was a beloved disciple, but even the best Christian can be influenced by the devil.

    When Jesus sent His disciples to a village of the Samaritans, they refused to give the Lord lodging for the night. James and John ask if they should call down fire on them. The Lord told them that they did not know what spirit they were of. We need to say what the Lord Jesus said to His Father, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”

God Bless