But he turned, and said unto Peter,
Get you behind me, Satan: you are an offense unto me: for you consider not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
All Commentaries on Matthew 16:23 Go To Matthew 16
Theophylact of Ochrid
AD 1107
. When Peter spoke rightly, Christ called him blessed, but when he was irrationally dismayed, and did not want Him to suffer, then Christ rebuked him and said, "Get thee behind Me, Satan." "Satan" means "the adversary." "Get thee behind Me," that is, do not oppose Me, but follow My will. He calls Peter this because Satan, too, did not wish Christ to suffer. What He is saying, then, is this: with human reasoning you think that suffering does not befit Me, but you fail to understand that by this means God is accomplishing salvation and that this, on the contrary, greatly befits Me.
