Peter – Working for Satan Mat 16:16-28

The following is a discussion about belief systems, their controlling function in the human soul, the danger of programming false ideas into them and the damage these false ideas can cause in our relationships as we seek to do the will of God.

The premise of this study is that what we believe, we use to form a belief system and that our belief system is what controls our viewpoints, attitudes, feelings and behaviors. An understanding of belief systems unveils the mystery of human behavior and “cracks the code” of why we think, feel and behave the way we do.

When we believe truths, then those truths allow us to be oriented properly to the reality of God’s plan. When we believe lies, falsehoods or even partial truths, our belief system is corrupted and these lies cause our views, attitudes, feelings and behaviors to be disoriented to the reality of God’s plan.

The following article will discuss the behavior of Peter and the disciples as they experienced the latter end of Jesus’ ministry, His death, His resurrection and into His ministry at the beginning of the church age. We will examine some of their behaviors looking for the lies they had believed that caused them to be disoriented to the true ministry of the Messiah.

Peter – Working for Satan Mat 16:16-28
1Cor 15:3-4 teaches us that the OT scriptures foretold the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah. Note the phrase “according to the scriptures”. In spite of passages like Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, somehow the majority of the religious in 1st century Israel had missed those aspects of His mission. The dominant image of Messiah’s mission in 1st century Israel was that of a conquering political leader who would free them from Rome and usher them into the millennium kingdom. He would be born of a kingly line and be a successful political force among His people. He would also be a military leader who enjoyed the favor of God and would lead Israel to victory over their enemies.

Jesus appeared and received the approval of John the Baptist (John 1:29-36), but He did not fit the profile that was in the minds of most 1st century Hebrews, so they rejected Him as their Messiah. Most of the leaders in Israel were not spiritual men and they were jealous of His appeal with the multitudes. They were terrified that He was going to take away their position and power. They were not willing for that to occur so they plotted to kill Him (Mat 26:4-5).

His followers believed He was the Christ (Mat 16:16-17) and they kept waiting on Him to implement the plan that would rally all Israel and make Him king. His disciples were convinced that He had come to be king and were competing among themselves about who would hold the highest positions under His rule (Mark 10:35-41).

When Jesus began to explain that He had come not to reign as king but to suffer as a servant for the sins of the world (Mat 16:21), His disciples and especially Peter had an adverse reaction. Peter confronted Jesus and told Him to stop talking that way and stop being so depressive (Mat 16:22). Jesus responded to Peter with a very strong rebuke about acting as an agent of Satan and being focused on the things of man rather than God (Mat 16:23). Jesus then issued a stern warning to His disciples about being willing to deny themselves if they would choose to follow Christ.

Several issues present themselves in this passage concerning belief systems. The first issue is that Peter and the disciples are saved people. They have trusted in Christ as their Savior. Secondly, they, or at least Peter were walking with God-Father seeing that the Father had revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Christ (Mat 16:17). Third, each of these men have abandoned their normal life to follow Jesus (Mat 4 :18-20). Finally and to our point, even though they were saved, were walking with God and had left everything to follow Jesus, they were still under the control of false ideas they had earlier processed into their belief systems. They had learned a false doctrine about the mission of Christ. They had been taught that Christ would be born a king and lead the nation of Israel to freedom and military dominance in the world. They had believed this false idea and made it part of their belief system so that this false idea corrupted their viewpoint about the Person and mission of Jesus.

The disciples and Israel’s false belief about the Person and work of Messiah made it difficult for them to recognize and understand Him. Rather than being on board and ready to follow Him into suffering for the sake of the gospel, they found themselves in conflict with Him with some even rejecting Him completely. It was not Peter’s intention that He would do the work of the adversary in his relationship with Jesus, yet his belief system controlled his viewpoints and behavior. When Jesus began to teach them about His true mission, Peter, because his false belief system controlled his perspective, confronted Jesus and tried to correct Jesus’ beliefs.

It is also clear that Peter and the other disciples had selfish motives for holding to their false ideas about the work of Messiah. The disciples had for some time been arguing within themselves about who would hold the highest positions in the new government (Mark 10:35-41). Their false idea about a political and military messiah had created images of pomp and circumstance in their heads and disoriented them to the life of Jesus. If they gave up their false ideas they would have to give up their false dreams of ruling Israel.

This was also true of many in the nation of Israel. They were zealous for the idea of being free from Rome and returning to the days of the United Kingdom. In John 6:5-15, having fed the multitudes with a great miracle, Jesus departed into the mountains because he could see they were preparing to take Him by force to make Him their king. Seeing His miracles they believed He was there to become the king and free them from Rome.

Whatever we believe becomes part of our belief system whether it is true or false. The things we are taught by authority figures or experts, opinions we hear from friends and peers, conclusions we reach from our experiences and examples set by those we trust all produce ideas we may believe and accept. These ideas are the program of our belief system. Our belief system is the control center that determines our thoughts, attitudes, feelings and behaviors. Whatever is programmed into the system controls our viewpoints and attitudes toward any specific issue in life.
Peter, the disciples and obviously many others in 1st century Israel had been taught an incomplete and false doctrine of the work of the Messiah. The New Testament makes it clear that the Old Testament taught the suffering and resurrection of the Messiah (Act 26:23; 1Cor 15:3-4). There were some, perhaps only a few who had a more accurate interpretation of the scriptures concerning the work of Christ (Lule 2:25-38 Simeon & Anna). Those who had believed the false idea about the Christ had to have their hearts confronted so that they could recognize the lie they had believed. In spite of Jesus teaching them and explaining His coming work, the disciples refused to hear Him and change their beliefs about His purpose. It was only when they faced His death on the cross and then when they were amazed by His resurrection that they were willing to let go of their false ideas. Often it is the same for us. We refuse to examine our false ideas until we are faced with the destructive results they produce in our relationships.
In conclusion, it is clear that Peter, the disciples and perhaps most of the people in 1st century Israel had believed a false doctrine concerning the work of Messiah. This false view (and many others) had corrupted the belief system of all those who had accepted the lie and caused them to be disoriented to the Person and work of Messiah. A belief system corrupted with falsehood always misguides, disorients and curses the one who operates on it. Peter’s corrupted belief system had caused him to take a view and adopt a strategy with Jesus that Jesus said was serving the cause of Satan.

The lesson here is that we must be willing to review and evaluate all of our existing beliefs in the light of the scriptures lest we too find ourselves doing the will of the enemy.