In Mark 8:29-30, Jesus asked His disciples a question (perhaps as a verbal test for them) about their view of His own identity, and the apostle Peter answered correctly: that Jesus was the Messiah (i.e., the Christ; the Anointed One; the One that God had promised to send). That was a really big deal, and for His disciples to have figured that out was a key step in their walk with Jesus.
Like many good teachers, though, after confirming that the students had learned one lesson, Jesus continued to teach them something a little more advanced. In this case, He covered more of what it meant for Him to actually be the Messiah – what would be involved in Him fulfilling His purpose.
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Mark 8:31-33 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.8.31-33.NIV
Unfortunately for Peter, getting one answer right wasn’t enough to graduate from the class. Peter correctly answered the question about who Jesus was, using the correct “title” for Jesus, but Peter’s understanding of what Jesus being the Messiah meant was still lacking.
Have you ever done that: answered a question with the right answer, but didn’t know what the words meant? For instance, I might hear on the news that a hockey player scored a “hat trick” in a recent match, and I could quote that fact to someone else, without me ever knowing what a “hat trick” is. It’s one thing to parrot back words relating to something that we’ve heard or studied, but it’s quite another to comprehend what the answer means, and why it answers the question in the first place.
As recorded in these verses, Jesus was literally explaining what was going to happen to the Messiah (i.e., to Himself), but Peter pushed back. The actual Messiah was explaining truth about Himself, but it seems that Peter had a different idea of what the Messiah would do (or what the Messiah should do). So, here’s a hint: When someone who clearly knows what they are talking about explains something that they know to be true, we shouldn’t argue with them! While we would probably all agree with that, though, I know that I still want to challenge or change God’s plan sometimes; that is, I have some of the same human shortcomings as Peter, so I “get it”.
By the way, if the gospel of Mark is indeed based on Peter’s teaching, I find it interesting that Peter’s failure is recorded here, but not Jesus’ commission to Peter as the rock upon which Jesus would build His church [see Matthew 16:17-19]. Perhaps Peter learned what Paul wrote about [see 1 Corinthians 1:20-31, 2 Corinthians 12:10], that – as the children’s song reminds us – we are weak, but God is strong.
If you’ve ever taught others, you’ve probably seen that a student learning one lesson is not a guarantee that they will learn the next one as quickly. You may have even – as a teacher in any form – known that something was true, but patiently allowed a student to argue the opposite, before taking them through the process of understanding the facts in a logical and rational manner. Sometimes, God has to teach us in the same way: In our ongoing state of learning from Jesus as we walk with Him, there will be times when our knowledge is incorrect, whether we’ve heard bad information from others or added our own biases and preferences to the truth that God gives us. In those cases, God may choose to patiently wait for us to finish our protest, but often – because of His great love for us – He needs to correct those misunderstandings. The cost of a little embarrassment or having to backtrack a bit is well worth the benefit of knowing the truth, though. Peter’s life is proof that God’s truth is better than human misconceptions.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for October 19, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete). Matthew Henry. 1706, via BibleGateway.com.
Those Who Sin Differently 