Oh, Peter!: Peter the Stumbling Block

Matthew 16:21-28

“Peter the Stumbling Block”

Peter tries to convince Jesus that he cannot be serious about the trials ahead. Jesus retorts, “Get behind me, Satan!” Watch as Peter moves from “the rock” of Matt 16:18 to the “stumbling block” of Matt 16:23. This is the last of several weeks spent considering stories about and with Simon Peter.

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August 30th, 2026. Our main reading today is Matthew 16, 21 through 28. As a kid, I spent a lot of time doing yard work with my grandfather. One of my tasks was to chop back wayward shoots of shrubbery, as directed, with a hatchet. I love this work so much. I am certain this is why my grandfather made this my task in particular. My grandfather had three hatchets, but my favorite was the one his father, my great-grandfather, had made. The man had built himself a complete set of tools for use on their farm. And my grandfather cared for these tools very well. My great-grandfather's hatchet hung in a very special place high on the pegboard, and it was not for everyday use. It was the only thing of my grandfather's I wanted after he passed. I loved using that hatchet. I loved the time spent together with my grandfather. I loved how my grandfather cared for his own father's tools. I also love that tending my grandfather's yard with that hatchet in my hand tethered me to my own history. Although I would never have used those words as a child. I just, I felt bound up in something. I felt part of a legacy. Every once in a while, we sharpen that hatchet. And you want sharp tools because they help you with get on with it. And it's also way safer. A sharpened knife is far safer to use in the kitchen than a dull one. We don't think of it this way, but every Bible translation is a tool. And most of them are sharpened. Every Bible translation is a tool to help us see and understand the story of God and also see and understand the ancient cultures, nations, and people that carried that story forward. There's a website online where you can see how a scripture is translated across dozens of different English language Bibles, each with their own groups of translators. I love to read a variety of translations. My family teases me about how many different translations I like to read. Sometimes I'll go online and I'll look at all the various translations and then walk over to the bookshelf and pull off a couple of versions that they don't have. The books of the Bible were written over thousands of years in multiple languages by dozens of authors. And taking all that raw goodness, I love to read how different scholars render those ancient sentences into English. People sometimes ask me which Bible translation is the most accurate, which seems like a straightforward question. If I copy a Greek scripture into an internet translator, it will render the passage into English for me, and it's more or less accurate. Yet we have dozens of versions of the Bible in English alone. Why would all these Bibles have differences if some were not more accurate than others? Certainly some are more accurate than others, right? Yeah, of course. Some translations are more accurate than others. But what kind of accuracy are you after? What tool will best fit in your hand? How do you want it sharpened? Translators make judgment calls. Like, do you paraphrase the gist of a scripture even if it loses some of the nuance? Do you match every word of an ancient language into English? Like, even if it means that the grammar is so wonky, the thing is confusing and difficult to understand. Do you do that? Do you approximate a passage using contemporary slang when the ancient language is being cheeky? So you get a feel for the moment. Judgment calls. Every translator has an ax to grind. That's not a bad thing. They're sharpening things up for us. Every translator is sharpening the tool of translation with a specific goal in mind. Maybe their ax is reading enjoyment and engagement. This is the stated goal of the message translator, Eugene Peterson. Maybe their ax is to create the most academically accurate translation that's still readable by somebody with a high school education. This was the stated goal of the NRSV, the New Revised Standard Version translators. Those are our Pew Bibles, by the way. Maybe their axe to grind is to reinforce rigid gender roles and women's exclusion from leadership roles outside of home and child rearing. This was a stated goal of the ESV committee, the English Standard Version Translators. And now the Roman Catholic Church is hardly a monolith. And the Ireland-based Association of Catholic priests have called the ESV diminishing and disrespectful of women. Many others agree. In contrast, the stated goal of the Common English Bible, the CEB, was to create the most easily understood Bible, acceptable to the broadest possible cross-section of English-speaking Christians across denominations and theological perspectives. CEB was designed as a solid, non-controversial translation. There may be both good and bad translation practices, but there is no best way to translate. Translators each have their own axe to grind. They each have their own goal. Also, there is no one original source text. There are multiple fragments of scripture. Almost none of them are ancient. Translators are using copies of copies of copies. And the people doing the copying over the years were doing it by hand. They were human. Also, every translator brings their own understanding of what words mean, or which of many translation choices make sense. Should the Greek word kleis, which is promised to Simon Peter in Matthew 16, 19, be translated as the key, the wrench, the bolt, or the latch to the kingdom of heaven? This is an important word choice. A wrench implies some muscle is required. A bolt implies more permanence. A latch implies the kingdom of heaven is fenced by a little three-foot-tall garden gate. Like we could hop it if we are motivated. Should the Hebrew of Exodus 20, 13 be translated do not kill or do not murder? Kill and murder are different words, related, but distinctly different. Again, every Bible translation is a tool to help us understand and see not only the story of God, but also the ancient cultures, nations, and people who have carried that story forward. To ask the very straightforward question, which is the most accurate translation, is to invite some self-reflection about who you think God is and what you think we are doing here. Asking which Bible is the most accurate is like asking which tool is the easiest for me to use. I encourage you to pick several up and find out. Even with these differences, translations are usually pretty similar. Sometimes I'll look at five dozen different English translations of a scripture and find that they are almost identical. But not always. And that's when it gets good. It delights me when my go-to English translations have some differences. I love when the original languages use ambiguous words that can mean a few different things. That's where you get to see the translators grinding their axes. Each sentence of the Bible is like a little handle that helps us get a hold on the Word of God. When a single verse is translated differently, it provides a few different ways for us to pick up the meaning. Both our call to worship reading today from Jeremiah and our gospel reading from Matthew have sentences with metaphorical words that lend themselves to alternate translations. What do I mean by metaphorical words? I mean words and phrases that can be translated in different, faithful ways, but that also imply a larger meaning. The example above was the word kleis. Imagine if it had been translated bolt instead of key. It gives a whole different feel. Jesus saying, I'm going to give you the bolt to the gates of the kingdom of heaven. That's a whole different vibe than Jesus saying, Hey, I'm going to make you a key to my house. Does that make sense? In Matt 16, 23 of the NRSV updated edition, Jesus turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan, you are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things. The same verse in the CEB says, Jesus turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan, you are a stone that could make me stumble, for you are not thinking God's thoughts but human thoughts. A hindrance or a stumbling stone? Something that is merely a hassle or something that can bring Jesus down. The word here is scandalon. A scandalon is literally a baited trigger. It's the wire that holds the cheese in a mouse trap. But like the Greek word klis that we talked about, the keys word, it's also a word that lends itself to metaphor and deeper meaning. Scandalon has variously been translated in the English language Bible as cause, stumbling block, trespass, impediment, temptation, trap or snare. Last week, and just a few sentences earlier in Matt, in 1618, Jesus called Peter the rock on which he will build his church. And now here, in 1623, he calls Peter a stumbling block, a scandalon. A scandalon is literally a baited trigger. It holds something desirable that has been maliciously and purposefully linked to terrible outcomes. By using the word scandalon, Matthew is telling us something important. He's telling us that Peter's insistence that Jesus not suffer is a tempting path for Jesus. It is also a path Jesus can see would have terrible consequences. That's why Jesus calls Peter Satan, the adversary. Peter's insistence that Jesus not suffer was every bit as tempting as what Satan offered Jesus in the wilderness just after his baptism. Jesus knows he can choose not to suffer. He knows everything will be worse if he chooses that path. In this reading, the prophet Jeremiah is really struggling. He has said he wishes he just had never been born. In response, Jeremiah 15 19 of the NRSV updated edition says, Therefore, thus says the Lord, if you turn back, I will take you back. If you utter what is precious and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth. Jeremiah 15 19 of the message says, This is how God answered me. Take back those words, and I'll take you back. Use words truly and well, don't stoop to cheap whining. Then, but only then you'll speak for me. Different translators, probably different source texts, same gist, but one says, utter what is precious and not what is worthless. And the other says, use words truly and well, don't stoop to cheap whining. One translation implies God's naming Jeremiah's life as precious, not worthless. Don't say you never want to be born. The other translation implies God is saying Jeremiah's sincere pain and wish to have never been born is whining. How this is translated shines a light into the mind of the translators. I believe both are faithful translations. Does God reaffirm love for the prophet? Or does God tell Jeremiah to stop with the whining already? Translation is interpretation. Those are two very different ways to imagine God talking to a person. Those are two different takes on the original Hebrew. A translator cannot help but bring their own understanding of God to their translation. A reader cannot help but bring their own understanding of who God is to their reading. We are all interpreters of Scripture. We are all grinding our own acts. Look at the end of our gospel reading, Matt 16, 24. Then Jesus said to his disciples, All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. How do you understand the cross? There are lots of ways to understand the cross. Is it a punishment? Is it a consequence? Is it a symbol of God's love? Does it represent a willingness to go the distance? How do you understand the cross? For you, does the cross represent worldly consequences? Does the cross represent a willingness to walk towards certain death? That's a really big consequence. Does the cross represent God's love for us all? Does the call to take up your cross then mean that we have to take that love in and carry it? Does the cross represent a willingness to hear God speaking to Jeremiah, reaffirming his preciousness and worth? God's call to Jeremiah, you are precious. Say what is precious. Follow me. How do you understand the call to take up your cross? There are many correct and scripturally sound answers. So select the meaning that brings you closer to Christ. Words are important, but translation is important. Interpretation is important. By grappling with alternate English translations and meanings, we begin to get a more complete picture of the original languages, culture, and of God itself. By grappling with alternate English translations and meanings, we begin to get a more complete picture of the original languages, culture, and God itself. And if you think it's crazy that words lend themselves to multiple interpretations, that translation is a tool, that reading is interpretation, consider how much work Simon Peter had to do to understand Jesus, and Jesus was right in front of him. We have spent several weeks with Peter. Simeon, Simon, Cephas, Petros, Peter. Peter, as much as us struggled to understand Jesus, he got it right. He got it wrong. Last week, Jesus told Peter that he is the rock on which he will build his church, and Peter will be given the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And literally, four sentences later in today's reading, Jesus calls Peter Satan and a scandalon, a trap, a stumbling block. Just like us, Peter had his own axe to grind. There were things he wanted to believe. There was a tool he was using to get at the truth. And sometimes he got it right, and sometimes he got it wrong, and God loved him still. This week I invite you to consider today's passage from Matthew 16, verses 21 through 28. How have you been like Peter? Looking for a specific outcome or expecting God to show up in a certain way. What axe are you grinding? It is important to know that you do have an axe and you are grinding it. It is important to know what tool you are holding. So you will know when it might be the right time to put it down. Common.