“But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.”
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 — Jesus turns and addresses Peter but does so facing the disciples — the rebuke is semi-public, delivered to Peter in the presence of the twelve. Get behind me, Satan — the same name used in the wilderness testing (Matthew 4:10) is applied to Peter: he is functioning as the tempter, offering the Messiah the alternative path (glory without suffering) that the wilderness tested. The concerns of God (the cross) versus the concerns of humans (avoidance of suffering) is the chapter's central theological tension.
Church Fathers on Mark 8:33
After taking His disciples afar from the Jews, He then asks them concerning Himself, that they might speak the truth without fear of the Jews.
Philip was that brother of Herod, of whom we spoke above, who in honour of Tiberius Caesar called that town, which is now called Paneas, Caesarea Philippi.
Or else, Mark and Luke, as they wrote that Peter answered, 'Thou art the Christ,' without adding what is put down in Matthew, 'the Son of the living God,' so they omitted to relate the blessing which was conferred on this confession.
Read all 11 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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