But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” – Mark 8:33
The Son of Man. Suffering many things. Rejection. Rejection by elders…chief priests…and scribes. Being killed. Being dead for three days. Resurrection.
These are the the things of God. These are the things Jesus was mindful of…The things that His mind was set/ programmed to compute and execute.
Son of Man: He’s aware of His role in the story as the Son of Man. He was born to play a part that superceded and transcended His own personal brand or identity. Have you embraced the role you were born to play?
Suffering: paschō. To experience a sensation or impression (usually painful). “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Maybe the Revelation is that “good people happen to bad things”. Light only shines in the darkness. The law of diffusion/osmosis is that substances more from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration. You are happening to that situation you’re in…And it, you (and others) are being transformed because you are experiencing it.
Rejection: apodokimazō. To be disapproved of, rejected and repudiated…by elders (those older than you, with more life experience and greater respect in society)…chief priests (supreme religious/tribal authorities)…and scribes (smart people with a great communication platform)
Killed: Being killed is different from simply dying. “Being killed” is intentional, on purpose, and an inevitable part of the Son of Man-in-you’s journey.
Being dead “forever” (3 days): As far as they’re concerned, it’s over. They’ve written Him off and think they’ve witnessed the tragic end of the story. The Son of Man has to endure being dead/in obscurity/branded a complete failure for a specified, predetermined amount of time.
Resurrection: In the end, you win. You become something greater than you ever would have been without this process…because you submitted to the Divine processing of the Son of Man.
The things of God sacrifice temporal experiences and emotions for the sake of achieving Eternal victories.
The things of men are Shakespeare’s Rape of Lucrece:
‘What win I, if I gain the thing I seek?
A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.
Who buys a minute’s mirth to wail a week?
Or sells eternity to get a toy?
For one sweet grape who will the vine destroy?
You were born again from above…so set your mind on the things that pertain to the realm your Now (new)-nature comes from.