Here’s a lesson from Jesus’ encounter with Satan as described in Luke 4.

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (Luke 4.13, NIV)

What were some of those “opportune” times for Satan to return? One surely occurred when he was on the cross. The tone was exactly the same as one of the temptations:

If you are the son of God…

• Turn these stones into bread (Luke 4.3)
• Come down from the cross (Luke 23.35 – 37)

But here’s another, and it happened right after Jesus’ tutorial on his upcoming death that we discussed yesterday:

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” (Matthew 16.21, 22, ESV)

It’s the same form except it’s not if you’re the son of God but since you are the son of God…

• This shall never happen to you.

People, even well-meaning people, can try to direct us away from God’s will for us. Jesus didn’t reject Peter, but he did call out his error and said Peter was advancing Satan’s agenda: 

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 8.33, NIV)

We know he didn’t reject Peter. The very next event is the Transfiguration, and he took Peter. 

We had friends who, when they retired from the Air Force, intentionally bought a house a couple of doors down from ours. Then within two years, we received our call from God (and a church in Alabama). Our friends absolutely rejected that call. “I thought we would grow old together.” At the time, it made our move even tougher.

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” (Mark 3.20, 21, NIV, emphasis mine)