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Matthew 16:23, But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a
stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but
man’s.”
In one of the most remarkable “turnarounds” in Jesus’ ministry, Peter went from
the disciple to whom God revealed Jesus’ true identity (Matthew 16:18, 19) to
the disciple used by Satan to tempt Jesus. Astounding! One moment he was a
recipient of God’s special revelation declaring Jesus was the Christ. The next
moment he was used by Satan as a means of tempting Jesus. In back-to-back
incidents, he was used by God in a special way and then by Satan in a special
way. That alarms us! The fact that God made use of him did not mean that it was
impossible for Satan to use him!
One special insight is provided by the Greek word translated ‘stumbling block.’
It literally means ‘a bait stick in a trap.’ The common form of traps for
animals in ancient times was a snare. For the snare to be effective, the animal
must be lured inside the snare. Thus a stick was scented with a smell that
either appealed to the animal or incited the animal’s curiosity. When the bait
stick deceived an animal and lured it by smell into the snare, the animal was
trapped and eventually lost its life.
It is fascinating that the person deemed fit for God’s special revelation was
also deemed fit to be the ‘bait stick’ [the lure] into a snare Satan set for
Jesus! After Peter declared Jesus was the Christ, Jesus began to explain to the
twelve that he would suffer, be killed, and be resurrected in Jerusalem. To
Peter it was unthinkable that God’s promised Christ would suffer and be killed!
He responded to Jesus’ information with, “This shall never happen to you.” At
that moment, Satan used Peter as a ‘bait stick in a trap.’ Satan through Peter
said, “There is a route to being Lord that does not include suffering and
crucifixion.” To Jesus, that possibility had appeal. Though Peter did not
comprehend the significance of what he said, what he said was a deadly
temptation to Jesus.
This world, temporarily under the control of evil, is filled with snares set for
the righteous. It is easy for God’s man or woman to be deceptively lured into
those snares—by materialism, by consumerism, by pleasure, by security, by fear,
by ignorance, by arrogance, by pain, by jealousy, etc. We need each other’s help
and encouragement as we walk through a life filled with snares.
Just as with Peter, the fact that God uses you for His purposes does not mean
that Satan cannot use you for his purposes. We need each other! It is so easy to
be deceived by evil! It is so easy to think evil is good! It is so easy for
curiosity to destroy us! It is so easy for the ‘present moment’ to blind us! It
is so easy for us to substitute our expectations for God’s priorities!
We need each other’s spiritual encouragement. We need each other’s spiritual
eyes and spiritual values. We need to help each other see the snares and avoid
the ‘bait sticks.’
Please do not let Satan use you as his ‘bait stick’! Dare to be God’s
encouragement!
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Writings of David Chadwell