He Issued the Same Rebuke to Peter and Satan
The sharpest words Jesus ever spoke to a demon, he also spoke to his closest disciple.
In the four gospels, Jesus uses the direct command 'Get thee behind me, Satan' (or its equivalent) exactly twice — and the target changes dramatically between uses. The first occurs in Matthew 4:10 (paralleled in Luke 4:8), spoken directly to Satan during the wilderness temptation: 'Get thee hence, Satan.' The second occurs in Matthew 16:23 (paralleled in Mark 8:33), spoken to Peter immediately after Peter rebukes Jesus for predicting his death: 'Get thee behind me, Satan.' The phrase structure is nearly identical across both moments. What shifts is the addressee: in the wilderness, Jesus addresses the adversary himself; at Caesarea Philippi, he addresses his own leading disciple with the same words. In Matthew 16:23 Jesus explicitly names what Peter is doing — 'thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men' — making it the only instance in the gospels where Jesus explains the rebuke he delivers. The wilderness rebuke has no such explanation. The same verbal formula is thus used for both the archetypal enemy and the designated leader of the disciples, and the only elaborated version of the rebuke is the one aimed at Peter.
Red Letter Sources
Matthew 4:10Luke 4:8Matthew 16:23Mark 8:33
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
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.
But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
Evidence Notes
Matthew 4:10: 'Get thee hence, Satan.' Luke 4:8: 'Get thee behind me, Satan.' Matthew 16:23: 'Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me.' Mark 8:33: 'Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.' Both instances are directly verifiable as red-letter text. The Matthew 4:10 phrasing varies slightly from the others ('Get thee hence' vs 'Get thee behind me'), but the Luke 4:8 parallel uses the fuller form in the wilderness context as well.
Greek Note
The Greek imperative 'Hupage opiso mou, Satana' (Matthew 16:23, Mark 8:33, Luke 4:8) is identical across the three occurrences. Matthew 4:10 uses 'Hupage, Satana' — the 'opiso mou' (behind me) phrase is absent, making Luke 4:8's inclusion of the full form significant for establishing the shared formula across both contexts.
