Read: Matthew 16:21-23 ESV
"From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, 'Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.' But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.'” (Matthew 16:21-23 ESV)
This passage is a parallel story of the testing of Jesus in the wilderness back in Matthew 4, more specifically the last test (Matthew 4:8-10).
Why?
To clearly understand why, we have to look into what Jesus was sent for.
Jesus was sent to establish the kingdom of God. He is showing what the kingdom of God is like and He's claiming its arrival along though His life, death, and resurrection. Those are very important aspects and are all parts of His coming glory.
In Matthew 4:8-10, the enemy presents a counterfeit alternative on His purpose. In the first and second tempting, He was calm and just addressing them with the scripture. But in the final tempting, He showed His passion for His purpose and ordered the enemy to be gone.
Jesus had shown that same approach towards Peter in Matthew 16. Peter presented a counterfeit alternative for His purpose so he responded in the same way with no hesitation. During this time, Jesus revealed the truth about Himself being the one to die and rise to life on the third day. The passage before this scenario shows that Jesus asked His disciples who they think He is. If we will check it again, Peter was also the one who confessed that He is the Messiah and the son of God; the problem is that Peter didn't understand the essence of what he declared. What he had in mind was that the Messiah is someone who will not die but will overthrow the worldly authority which oppressed them. What's more interesting is that they carried this idea even after Jesus' resurrection (Acts 1). So Jesus shows in this passage that He is indeed the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. This is a validation of what His apostles know about Him. He showed that same victory in His test in the wilderness in Matthew 4:8-10; that He came as a representative for humanity who miserably failed in their pursuit of being sons of God.
What is the essence of this passage?
This passage is perfectly laid out in a way that we can see everything playing out together. In the succeeding verses (v.24), it is clear that He was inviting His disciples to take part in His Kingdom. But in doing so, they had to leave behind every principality or worldly authority, even their personal interests. This invitation from Jesus is not just for the disciples of His time, but also for us who walk in His faith in the present. This good news is for every one of us.
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