Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor

© 2024, Dr. Tamilio

Peter thought he was saying the right thing.  He thought he was showing his support for Jesus.  He questioned why the crucifixion had to happen.  This comes right after he offers one of the staunchest proclamations of faith in all of the Bible when he declares that Jesus is the Messiah.  Peter does not see the whole picture.  How could he!  But Jesus rebukes his response, saying, “Get behind me, Satan!”  Satan?  Peter is now akin to Satan?  This may be hyperbolic since Jesus then explains what he means: “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Get behind me, Satan.  Another way of saying, “Get lost.”  “Hit the road, Jack.”  “See ya later alligator.”  Satan either exists or he doesn’t exist.  I know people within modern Congregationalism are torn on this subject.  Some think the Devil is real, very real.  Others feel as if he is more of a mythic figure that the writers of the Bible constructed as a counterpart to God.  Either way, no matter what you believe, the idea is that Satan appears from time to time, and he gets in the way of God.  He tries to subvert the ways of God.  Maybe that is the most evil thing about him.  He tries to subvert the ways of God.

 Satan appears in your life all the time.  He tries to catch you off guard.  He whispers in your ear that you are weak.  He lulls you like a seductress when you are tired.  He’s there.  He’s everywhere.  He occupies political offices.  He influences business when he can.  He’s in our schools.  Sometimes he’s a coach.  Sometimes he’s the person sworn to uphold the law.  Sometimes he’s in the pulpit.  Sometimes he’s a disgruntled person who’s looking for quick answers to complex problems.  He’s there.  He’s everywhere.

I think what we are supposed to do in those moments is to say, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” if I may quote the good ol’ King James Version of the Good Book.  “Get thee behind me.”

• When you are tempted to take the easy way out, “Get thee behind me.”
• When doubt enters your mind, making you think that you’re not good enough, “Get thee behind me.”
• When you are filled with anxiety and feel as if there is no way out of the fear that wraps around you, “Get thee behind me.”
• When you are depressed and see only darkness no matter where you turn, “Get thee behind me.”
• When you harbor anger against a good, old friend and feel that the only way to resolve the conflict is to cut ties altogether, “Get thee behind me.”
• When you suspect people are talking behind your back at work and you are drawn to retaliate in some way, “Get thee behind me.”
• When you are in a sticky situation and feel the only way to save face is to lie, “Get thee behind me.”
• When seduction rears its head tempting you to commit adultery, “Get thee behind me.”
• When you have a rift with a neighbor and you feel as if it would be easier to become estranged rather than trying to work it out, “Get thee behind me.”
• When you feel as if you have all the answers and do not want to entertain anyone else’s ideas, “Get thee behind me.”

Martin Luther referred to Satan as “the Prince of Darkness grim” in his beloved Reformation hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” which opened our service today.  He may have gotten this expression from John Milton, who refers to Satan as the Prince of Darkness in his epic poem Paradise Lost.  Milton probably got it from the Scriptures.  Jesus himself, in the Gospel of John, refers to Satan as “the prince of this world” (John 12:31).  This is such a perfect expression.  I’ve mentioned before how in the novel The Gospel According to the Son, Norman Mailer describes the scene where Jesus is in the wilderness fasting for forty days and forty nights — which is a biblical term that means “a really long time”; it’s not meant to be taken literally — Mailer has Jesus describe the Devil as being “as handsome as a prince.”  Saying that Satan is the prince of this world does not mean that he is in charge.  God is in charge.  Satan may be the prince, but God, and God alone is the king of creation.  God is in control of everything.  This is his world.  However, we know that evil exists.  It is everywhere.  It exists because of the fall.  It exists because of sin.  It exists because we are broken and are easily lulled by its power.  Whichever way you slice it, it exists.

Human beings have free will, of course.  We commit the sin of commission whenever we do something that breaks God’s will and therefore his heart, and we commit the sin of omission when we do not do what we should do when we leave the good undone.  It is not enough to transgress God’s law and say, “The Devil made me do it.”  We choose to do evil.  We’re not puppets.  But we are goaded into doing so, because of the presence and the power that evil holds on this world.  Satan has a tight grip on things.  Letting him take hold of your life is easy and it is comfortable, at least at first, otherwise, we wouldn’t do it!

Jesus said we must pick up the cross and follow where he leads if we want to be his disciples.  That alone tells us that it is not going to be an easy trek.  The Christian life is not all sunshine and rainbows.  Life is hard.  It is filled with trials and tribulations.  To pretend that we are somehow immune to it because of our faith is delusional if not downright dangerous.  We have to acknowledge the world we live in.  We have to admit that it is clouded by evil and that any one of us can be drawn into its path.  To be Christian does not mean that sin does not affect us.  It is, however, to acknowledge that it does not have the final word.  Jesus does.  He is the first, and the last, and the Living One.  He is the rock on which we can rest.  He is the anchor whose Word holds our feet firm.  He is the One we can turn to when we do sin, knowing that his love and forgiveness is without end.

Trust him.  As Proverbs tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).  Trust in God.  Place your life in Jesus’ hands.  Allow him to be the compass that guides your life.  The First Letter of John offers us beautiful advice: “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).  Amen.