by J.R. Miller
"Daily Bible Readings in the Life of Christ" 1890
"Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him: Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to You! But He turned and told Peter: Get behind Me, Satan!" Matthew 16:22-23
It was Peter’s love for Christ which made him so rebel at the thought of such a dire fate for Him. In his love–he sought to hold the Master back from so throwing away His life. But in doing this, he was acting the part of Satan in seeking to tempt Jesus away from His great work of atonement. This way of the cross was not an accident; it was the way marked out for Christ; to swerve from it, would be to fail in His mission.