Note 2 at Mk. 8:33: This incident immediately follows Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ. It is possible that Peter's confession and rebuke happened the same day or even within the same hour. This illustrates how it is possible to go from one extreme to the other in a very short time.

Jesus was not implying that Peter and Satan were one and the same but was referring to the fact that Satan had inspired Peter's statement. This type of metaphor was used elsewhere in scripture such as when God spoke to the serpent in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15) as though addressing Satan. The serpent was merely the vehicle of communication Satan used to tempt Adam and Eve, while Peter was the vehicle Satan used to tempt Jesus. Ephesians 6:12 reveals that our warfare isn't with people but against the spiritual powers who inspire and use people. Jesus recognized that Peter's reaction to His prophecy about His death was motivated by His enemy, Satan, and so went right to the source.

By looking at Jesus' statement as recorded in Matthew 16:23 (see ref. n at Mt. 16:23, p. 204), it is evident that Jesus recognized that Satan was trying to tempt Him through Peter's rebuke. This further explains Jesus' harsh response. He was reacting directly to the temptation He was feeling from Satan.