From the Pulpit...

The gospel of Matthew is an account of the birth, life, and death of Jesus of Nazareth. Matthew, also known as Levi and a tax collector, wrote about the birth of Israel’s Messianic king, described the early announcement of the kingdom and the teaching of its king and his followers, recorded authenticating signs done by the king, explained how he was rejected by the leaders and many of the people of the nation, his further teaching to his followers, the persecution he experienced, and his death at the hands of the Romans and Jews, after which he arose from the dead and left important instructions for his followers to carry out in his long-but-temporary absence from the earth.

Matthew’s message to the church is that we need to become followers of this king and obey his teaching, and then persuade our neighbors to do the same.