To Savour the Flavour of the Saviour #4

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

“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” (Mark 8:33 KJV).

What can today’s Scripture and its context teach us about Satan’s policy of evil?

Go over to Matthew 16:23 and read it once again: “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.” We want to focus on two particular concepts—“offence” and “savour.” Since Peter did not believe God’s Word as just spoken to him, Matthew reports Jesus called Peter an “offence” (Greek, “skandalidzo”). Peter is unknowingly functioning as a scandal, a stumblingblock, an occasion to sin. Essentially, the chief Apostle of Israel declared, “Lord, while You assume You are heading to Calvary, You really are not!”

Now, let us concentrate on “savour.” The King James (British) spelling of our American word “savor,” it is defined as “to give oneself to the enjoyment of, or to appreciate to the full.” In Greek, it is “phroneo,” as in “regarding, having set affection on, putting interest in.” Actually, the word is rendered the following ways elsewhere in the Authorized Version. “For they that are after the flesh do mind [phroneo] the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5). “Let this mind be [phroneo] in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). “Set your affection [phroneo] on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).

Although Christ delighted to accomplish His Heavenly Father’s will, while He “savoured” the things of the Father, Peter was opposed to such spiritual truths because he was too focused on human thinking and carnal preferences. Today’s Scripture again: “Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” Peter was not using his renewed mind (Romans 12:1,2)! Let us summarize and conclude this devotionals arc by making application….