Matthew Week 103

·49 min·4 clips

Jesus asks his disciples who he is while standing at the gates of hell in Caesarea Philippi.

This episode is part of a weekly sermon series from Central Christian Church in Columbia, Tennessee, specifically week 103 on the Gospel of Matthew. The host, Pastor Tracy, begins by recapping recent events: Jesus took his disciples to Caesarea Philippi, a pagan site associated with the god Pan and viewed as the gates of hell, where Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ. Jesus then foretold his death and resurrection, and the Transfiguration gave a glimpse of his future glory. After coming down the mountain, Jesus healed a demon-possessed boy and taught about persistent faith. The sermon then shifts to Matthew 17:24-27, where Jesus and his disciples return to Capernaum. Tax collectors ask Peter if Jesus pays the two-drachma temple tax, a custom-based levy for temple upkeep that is not commanded by God. Pastor Tracy explains that these legalists waited months after Passover to ask this, intending to cause division. Peter hastily says yes, assuming Jesus pays it. Jesus, knowing the conversation, asks Peter a rhetorical question about whether kings tax their sons or others, revealing that as the son of God, Jesus is free from the tax since the temple is his Father's house. However, Jesus decides to pay the tax to avoid causing offense or stumbling to the collectors. He instructs Peter to go to the sea, catch a fish, and find a shekel in its mouth to pay for both of them. The sermon explores the Greek word 'scandalizo', meaning to cause someone to sin, and connects this to Jesus' teaching on removing stumbling blocks. Pastor Tracy emphasizes that Jesus modeled setting aside divine rights, as seen in his incarnation and death, and calls Christians to use their freedom not for self-indulgence but to serve others humbly, avoiding unnecessary offense. The episode concludes with a reminder that true freedom involves discipline and prioritizing others' well-being over personal rights.

As heard by us

A trip to Caesarea Philippi opens into a reflection on Jesus' identity and the discipline of laying freedom aside.

This teaching turns a moment in Matthew into a compact meditation on identity, spiritual pressure, and the cost of freedom. It opens at Caesarea Philippi, with Jesus asking the disciples who people say he is against a charged backdrop of idol niches, a cave associated with the…

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Press play when a tax question turns into a serious look at Jesus, his identity, and the freedom that sometimes chooses restraint.

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