Matthew 16:23 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Get thee behind me, Satan!— See Luke 4:8. The word Satan, which is originally Hebrew, and has thence been taken into several languages, is often used in the Old Testament, as we have had occasion to observe, to signify an adversary; and the expression has appeared so harsh to some, as coming from the mouth of Christ to one of his Apostles, that they have rather chosen to translate it, O mine adversary. The version of 1729, reads the verse, But he frowned upon Peter, and said, Out of my sight, pernicious obstacle to my designs! your views are all worldly, regardless of what is divine. But as the Evangelists have made use of the word Σατανα, which must be owned to have a found as harsh in the Greek, as it has now with us; we may conclude that it was used by Christ, or his rebuke to Peter would have been otherwise expressed by some Greek word signifying an adversary. Nor can the word appear at all too harsh, when we consider that the tendency of Peter's saying, though it might be spoken out of a singular affection to his Master, was to obstruct the great design for which he came into the world; and none but Satan could desire to prevent what he was ready to submit to for the salvation of lost sinners. Dr. Young, in his sermons, vol. 2: p. 137 rendering the phrase Ιλεως σοι, favour thyself, supposes that our Lord calls Peter, Satan, because he now fell on that advice, which Satan uses the most successfully of all his artifices to undo men,—that of self-indulgence, and so makes this Scripture an introduction to his discourse on self-denial. See Romans 8:5. Philippians 3:19 and Colossians 3:2. It is remarkable, that our Lord, immediately after conferring upon St. Peter the high dignity before mentioned, openly, in the hearing of all his disciples, calls him Satan, or adversary; and declares that he had then no particular relish for the divine appointments, but was influenced merely by human views and expectations of worldly interest. If the papists rightly attended to this passage of the Sacred History, they would see their fancies of the primacy of St. Peter, which they built upon it, in a better light than they seem to do. See Macknight, Doddridge, and Beausobre and Lenfant.