Mark 8:33 But turning around and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men. Rom 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.
[Part 2 of 2] According to verse 32, Peter even took the Lord aside in order to rebuke Him. Apparently Peter was endeavoring to train the Lord, to teach Him, to open His eyes to see what Peter saw. But after Peter began to rebuke Him, He rebuked Peter. Peter tried to correct the Lord, and then the Lord corrected him. In verse 33 we see the way the Lord rebuked Peter. In the four Gospels this may be the strongest negative word uttered by the Lord Jesus. He perceived that it was not Peter but Satan who was frustrating Him from taking the cross. This reveals that our natural man, which is not willing to take the cross, is one with Satan. When we are setting our mind not on the things of God, but on the things of men, we become Satan, a stumbling block to the Lord in the fulfillment of God's purpose. In verse 33 the Lord said specifically that Peter was not setting his mind on the things of God, but on the things of men. This is a matter of the evil reasonings mentioned in 7:21. Man's corrupted heart is filled with evil reasonings. Here the Lord Jesus seems to be telling Peter, "Peter, there are evil reasonings in your heart. In particular, you have evil reasonings within you concerning My word about My being put to death. First you reason, and then you rebuke Me. This reasoning indicates that your mind has been set on the things of fallen man, not on the things of God." The Lord's word here reminds us of Paul's word concerning the mind in Romans 8:6: "For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace." No doubt, at this juncture Peter set his mind on the flesh. When he was reasoning concerning Christ's sufferings and death, he was setting his mind on the flesh. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 217-218. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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