Get Thee Behind Me Satan:
“From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: Thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16:21-23 KJV)
Throughout the entire New Testament, we see the character of Satan as a symbolic representation or demonization of the human ego, and it is through this lens that we must interpret the above passage of scripture if we want to glean it’s hidden meaning. Jesus has a job to do, some things he wants to accomplish, chiefly his mission of being sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the world. He explains these things to his disciples, and Peter stands up and gets in his way stating that these things are not going to happen. Sounds just like the human ego doesn’t it? You have something in your heart that you really want to manifest, and the inner voice of the ego begins telling you that it’s impossible, and then gives you the many reasons why. This is what some have referred to as the inner critic.
Peter takes it a step further, and tells Jesus “be it far from thee” and this is exactly what the ego does to us when we have a cherished goal in our life. It stands in our way and tells us that it is far, far away from us, which is bullshit of course, but many people unfortunately listen to this voice in their head and never manifest their god-given desires.
So, what do we do about this voice? Well, let’s look at what Jesus did. First he simply put the ego back in its place by stating “Get thee behind me Satan” and this is where the ego belongs, behind us. If the ego is allowed to lead us, which it can only do this if we give it permission (left brain thinking) then it will oppose us at every turn, just like in the above story. I see no reason to change up the method here. Whenever the ego tries to assert itself, recognize that, and simply say “Get behind me.” This is something that I started practicing years ago, and I can tell you from experience that it really does work! You may have to say it several times a day if the ego is being especially tenacious, but hey, it’s worth it!
Next, Jesus says “Thou art an offence to me.” Jesus is letting the ego know that he’s offended by what it’s telling him. We’re living in a time where it seems like everyone is offended at everything, but this right here is something really worth being offended about. We mustn’t let the ego, under any circumstances keep us from manifesting the true desires of our heart. Then Jesus reminds his ego that it “Savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” This is the absolute truth. The human ego can’t comprehend or even entertain the great and mighty things of God that you are destined to accomplish in your life. Your dreams, your heart’s desires, your goals, the ego just can’t jive with them. It wants to reason with you about all the reasons why this or that may not happen. It’s only interested in things that it can understand, or the “the things that be of men.”
Here’s a little secret, if you have desires in your heart, that is God (your higher self) speaking to you, and the Bible says that these desires can not be stopped, or prevented from manifesting. (Acts 5:39) This is a promise, but like all promises in the Bible, we must claim them for ourselves. So, the next time your ego tries to stand in your way, let it know you’re offended at this, put it in its place, and claim that your desires can not be stopped!
In love and light,
-J
