Same Concept, Different Words

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. (Numbers 6:25-27, KJV)

Jewish ontology gives special meaning to someone's face. If the king looks at someone in his court, he is giving consent to that person's presence. In Fiddler on the Roof, when Tevye's daughter Chava married a Christian, he turned away and would not face her.

When Peter rebuked Jesus for speaking of His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus counter-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, emphasis added)

Or, in modern parlance, "Get outta my face!" Same concept, different words. Peter was still bound by worldly thinking, and as such threatened to interfere with Jesus' salvific work. Jesus rejected this outright.

Posted on Jun 15, 2007 at 2:00:39 AM EDT.