He turned around

"And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of men."
Mark 8: 31-33

This passage is the turning point in the Gospel of Mark for Jesus' earthly ministry. It is at this point when He begins in earnest His journey to the cross. Jesus, after keeping His end game more or less a secret (coincidentally, theologians call this the "Messianic Secret") from His disciples, and generally teaching them through the often confusing metaphorical language of parables, finally comes clean. The secret of His mission is revealed to His faithful disciples, but only after Peter figured it out on his own, "You are the Christ!" Even so, Jesus commanded His disciples to keep this secret, lest zealous followers misinterpret His goal and become a roadblock to the cross.

This passage marks the beginning of the end for Jesus. His first steps away from His beloved disciples and towards the suffering and loneliness of the cross.

So what did you think of Jesus' reaction to Peter? The same Peter who just confessed that Jesus surely was the Christ, upon hearing that the Messiah was to suffer and die (at the hands of His own people), brought Jesus aside to rebuke Him. Quite clearly Peter's take on what the Messiah would do and accomplish was very different than what Jesus' real goals were. If Jesus was the Christ as Peter believed, then surely Jesus couldn't die...the Christ was to lead and restore Israel in victory. So, bold Peter, takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him.

I think Jesus' reaction says a lot about both His love for His disciples and His single mindedness, even though it comes off as quite harsh. "Get behind Me Satan!" is about as a harsh a response as one could ever expect to receive from Jesus. But notice that Jesus doesn't say it to Peter, until after "he turns around and looks at His disciples." What happened during that moment when He glanced His disciples' way? I think Peter's rebuke tempted Him. I think it tempted Him in a very similar way that Satan tempted Him in the wilderness prior to His earthly ministry (see Luke 4: 1-13). It tempted Him at the core of His humanity - "you don't have to do this Jesus, stay with us, you love being with us. You can still have everything you want here and now. Surely you don't need to suffer and die - no human being willingly walks towards that." "Get behind me Satan!" is the same thing Jesus said to Satan in the midst of His desert temptation. Perhaps that time in the desert prepared Jesus for this very difficult moment of choice. His steps undoubtedly got heavier the closer He came to His suffering.

But when Jesus turned and looked at His disciples, He remembered why He needed to suffer and die. I wonder if in that moment, Jesus, fully God and fully man, didn't just see the faces of the beloved disciples before Him. I wonder if He saw each of ours as well. I wonder if all the faces of those He so dearly loved emboldened Him to avoid the temptation and walk singlemindedly towards the cross. Thank you Lord for turning to look at us.

May God give each of us (those He dearly loves) the strength and grace to set our minds on the things of God, and not be misled by our selfish human urges.

Be God's, Scott