Gospel Reading for August 07, 2025 – Matthew 16: 13-23
ALWAYS BE WARY
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
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“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Did Jesus really mean that Peter was Satan? Surely, Jesus did not mean that, otherwise, why would he have made Peter the rock upon which he will build his Church and give him the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. It was Satan he was telling to get behind him. It was a warning to Peter and also to us, to ALWAYS BE WARY of the deception of Satan who would always make us go against God’s will. Satan’s goal is to always be an obstacle to the plans of God.
Peter must have thought that the Messiah must be protected if he is to be successful in saving the Jews from their enemies. It was their understanding of what the Messiah would be. Truly, when we think as human beings, we are so short-sighted and very simplistic. If we think as God does, we will think of depths and of eternity.
In our own lives Lord, may we never be an obstacle to ourselves or to others being able to draw close to you!
