Before he met Jesus, a Jewish man named Levi, who lived in Capernaum, worked in a booth collecting taxes for the Roman Empire. Because of his profession, Levi was the most hated man in town until Jesus walked by and said to him, "Follow me." About thirty years after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, Levi, whom Jesus renamed Matthew, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down his version of Jesus's life, the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew presents Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, King, Prophet, Son of David, and Son of God. Jesus ushers in and establishes the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the rule and reign of God here on earth. Jesus calls his citizens to embrace Him as king through faith, teaches them about this "new world order" as a prophet, and then calls them to follow Him as the redeemer by going out into the world to tell the nations. Because Jesus is King, he has all authority; as Prophet, what he says is true, and as Savior, only he can offer redemption.

Read or listen to Matthew's gospel. Look for King Jesus exerting his authority over the natural world through healing and the supernatural by casting out demons. Pay attention to what the crowds say about him. Listen to Prophet Jesus as he teaches, rebukes, and tells about who he is. See him as Savior life and the way to the coming Kingdom.

Each of the four gospels uniquely depicts the story of Jesus. The story is so vast that it takes four Holy Spirit-inspired men to attempt to capture it. Matthew organized his story around five of Jesus' discourses, teachings, and sermons. The sermon series walks through the discourses.

• 1st Matthew 5-7 Kingdom Law
• 2nd Matthew 10 Kingdom Mission
• 3rd Matthew 13 Kingdom Nature
• 4th Matthew 18 Kingdom Authority
• 5th Matthew 23-25 Kingdom Judgement

According to Pastor Bill, the big idea of Matthew's gospel is, "Come to Jesus and learn about the kingdom of God, then go into the world to advance His kingdom by following Him in faith." May you, like Matthew and countless others, come to Jesus, follow Him in faith, experience heart transformation, and advance His Kingdom in your home, work, neighborhood, and the world.

Raphael, the rock star of the Renaissance, organized his painting of fifty-three of the most outstanding scientists, mathematicians, philosophers, poets, and artists of all time thematically into five groups. Front and center are the Greek philosophers, Plato pointing up and Aristotle pointing down. Plato points up because he believed that the changing world around us is just a shadow of a higher, true, eternal, unchanging reality that includes things like goodness and beauty. For Plato, this otherworldly reality is the ultimate reality and the seat of all truth, beauty, justice, and wisdom. Aristotle holds his hand down. He taught that the only reality is the one that we can see and experience by sight and touch, which is the exact opposite of Plato.

Matthew shows us that Jesus is the true and greater prophet who unites knowledge of heaven, truths known and experienced only through him, with earthly ephemeral realities that can be experienced and described empirically but understood through him. Jesus most likely preached hundreds of sermons, so why does Matthew only include five? Most scholars believe Matthew presents Jesus as the true and greater Moses. Most theologians credit Moses with writing the first five books of the OT. Matthew organized his narrative of Jesus' life around what Jesus taught. He wanted to show that we come to Jesus to hear and learn about the Kingdom of God. He organized Jesus' teachings or discourses thematically into five sections: Kingdom Law, Kingdom Mission, Kingdom Nature, Kingdom Authority, and Kingdom Judgement.

Raphael placed Plato and Aristotle in the center to show that they represent the pinnacle of human philosophy. They were the "prophets" of their day. Matthew's gospel shows that Jesus is the prophet like Mose, who speaks the very words of God but is greater than Moses because He is divine. One of the more powerful and purposeful verses in the Gospel of Matthew comes in Matthew 17 when the disciples see Jesus transfigured before them, His whole being shining as Moses' face shone in the OT but even greater. At that moment, the disciples heard God speak from heaven, and this is what he said: Matthew 17:5 He was still speaking when behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." In the same way that God spoke to Moses on Mtn and commanded the people to listen to Him, now even more so, God speaks to the disciples on a mountain, commanding them to listen to Jesus.

Raphael chose a forum from ancient Rome as the setting. A forum was a public venue for debates and discussions. Why would Raphael stage Greek philosophers in a Roman venue? It's all about power. The pope who commissioned the painting was Julius II. When a man became a pope, he chose a new name. Matthew was the new name Jesus gave Levi, the tax collector when he called Levi to follow him. But Jesus didn't provide Pope Julius his name. The pope wanted to show that the Roman Catholic church was the most powerful institution in the world. The pope named himself after Julius Caesar, implying he was as powerful as a Roman emperor. The School of Athens served as propaganda for the pope. By choosing the name he did, the pope sought to be known for his power and authority. Few people remember Julius II. Matthew is known and loved by millions, though his life’s ambition was to follow Jesus. He told the good news that in Jesus Christ, we have victory and kingship because he is the greater son of David, the Messiah.

One more thing. Notice in the School of Athens how each discussion seems open as if the viewer is invited to join the group to follow the teachers. Like Matthew, come to Jesus and learn about the Kingdom of God, then go into the world to advance His Kingdom by following Him in faith. Come to Jesus to hear and learn about the Kingdom of God, follow Jesus in faith to be a part of the Kingdom of God Him, and serve Him in advancing that Kingdom.