Matthew 16...."Blessed are you Simon"...."Get behind me, Satan."

Reading in Matthew 16 yesterday we came across familiar scripture that revealed truths about our human condition that I had not considered before.  Quite frankly, I have always consider my human condition as weak and probably of little use to God.  But in Matthew 16: 15-19 Jesus shows us that, in our human condition, we can receive, share, and do for God just as Jesus did in His human condition.  When Jesus asked the disciples who he was, Peter responded saying that he was the Messiah.  Jesus blessed Peter and said, "...flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven."  He went on to tell Peter that on this rock he would build His church.  This rock was God's word spoken by man for man.  Jesus, being fully human, and very consistent to point out to his followers that his works and words were from His Father, understood that humanity, when connected to God by His Spirit, is the connection God has with us.

Ironically, within a few verses, Jesus also shows us the human condition when His Spirit is not the voice we follow.  In Matthew 16: 21-23, when Jesus is telling the disciples about the suffering and death he would face, Peter rebuked Jesus saying, "God forbid it, Lord."  Jesus turned and said to Peter saying, "Get behind me Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me, for you are  setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."  A couple of things stand out. First Jesus said that he was a stumbling block to Him...Peter was introducing doubt and temptation to Jesus, which Jesus did not want.  In His human condition, Jesus knew that temptation was always going to be used to  separate Him from His Father.  Second, Jesus points to Satan as the source of this temptation and ordered Satan to be behind Him where he could not come between Him and God.  Jesus was not calling Peter, Satan; but he was telling Peter that he was not speaking words from God (as he did in  the earlier verses) but words from Satan.  In our human condition, our natural tendency is to set our minds on human things.  But Jesus admonishes Peter for not setting his mind on divine things.  In our humanity we have the power to decide where we will set our minds.  Jesus set His mind on the Father and on divine things and that is what he wants us to set our minds on.  Satan will use the human things to separate us from God in order that we can become stumbling blocks for others.  The divine things...God's Word, God's Love, God's Grace, God's Forgiveness, God's Son are the things we need to set our minds on and share with humanity.