Message
Matthew 5:10-16
Being Focussed
When you become a Christian it doesn’t take too long for you to hear about the Beatitudes.
We find them in Matthew 5 … open your Bible to that place … Matthew 5.
(Read Matthew 5:3-10)
Jesus uses these Beatitudes to introduce what it means to have a kingdom focus.
We see the pattern … blessed are those … for theirs.
That pattern could perhaps cause our minds to think, “What Jesus is saying here is for ‘those’ people.”
So just to be sure that we understand what is happening here Jesus changes the language and makes it much more personal.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
That just raised the stakes – didn’t it – for all of us.
Because the language here is not “you” singular … as in ‘you’ and ‘you’ and ‘you’ … it is “you” plural.
Us, not as individuals, but in fellowship.
In fellowship we are being shown how to be focussed as disciples.
Let’s keep reading … I’m reading from verse 11 Matthew 5:11-16 (read)
That is a really distinct life call. Being distinctive focussed disciples.
It is a call that recognises our identity in Christ will make us stand out
In these verses Jesus teaches us two ways that we can stand out
Firstly distinctive focus disciples are salt.
Remember that Jesus is speaking into a first century context.
In that context salt was very important. As an example of just how important salt is let me show you a section from a Hebrew document written in the 2nd century BC called Sirach. In that document we read.
26 The basic necessities of human life are water and fire and iron and salt and wheat flour and milk and honey, the blood of the grape and oil, and clothing.
Sirach 39:26
You are the salt … you are a spiritually basic necessity for the culture in which you live.
Salt had a preserving effect – it stopped meat from going off as quickly.
Salt was used as a flavouring – to give food extra taste.
Salt was a readily available spice in Israel – it was in abundant supply at the Dead Sea – the saltiest piece of water on earth.
When Jesus says, “you are to be salt” people easily understood the meaning.
As kingdom people we are to be a beneficial influence and taste in society.
But there is more to it than that. We look to the Old Testament.
13 Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.
Leviticus 2:13
The purpose of the grain offering was to thank the Lord for His mercies and for supplying their needs. The process symbolized the need to dedicate every aspect of their daily lives to the Creator. The ingredients could vary, but salt was always added.
You are the salt of the earth. In thankfulness to God as you go about your daily life this is your calling. You keep making this offering on a daily basis. Living in response to the gracious covenantal love of the Father which is sealed by the Holy Spirit within you.
To preserve.
To flavour.
To be the essential ingredient.
It is who we are to be in fellowship – because this is an effective way to live as disciples.
Later when writing the book of Colossians Paul will make the same point.
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:5-6
Be focussed on leaving a good taste behind you for to all the outsiders. That is the call here.
The reason we do so is that we live in a world where many people who are just so stubborn.
How many times have you been in this situation …
If you are a parent you have definitely been in this situation.
There is all this food which has been lovingly set out on a table. And then there is that person.
A younger person. An older person.
“I don’t like it.”
“Have you tasted it before?”
“No I have never tasted it before but I don’t like it”.
“So you have never tasted it before but you know you don’t like it”
“No I don’t like it.”
“But why won’t you try?”
That happens at the table. But how many people are like that with God?
How many people think that they don’t like God … but they are also not willing to try and taste.
You talk to them about the wonders of Christianity and how it has changed your life. And you say to them, “Do you want to …”
“I don’t like it.”
“How do you know you won’t like it if you haven’t tried?”
“I just know that I won’t”
As we seek to be salt Jesus is focussing us on being those who help the earth get a taste of the grace of the Lord.
These same people who “don’t like God” can look at our lives and say, “I like that moral standard which you hold to.” And “I like the way your family runs.” And “I like the way that you deal with each other in your relationship together and the way that you speak.”
Here is a call to be a distinctive focussed disciple.
Being salt. Giving people a taste of the relationship which they themselves think they don’t need – and then seeing what that taste does.
It is such an important calling Jesus tells us what happens when we lose our focus.
But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Matthew 5:13
This part of the verse has caused a lot of unnecessary consternation. People make the point that salt is a stable compound and can’t lose its saltiness.
That is true.
But in the days of Jesus, when salt was collected, it was not always pure.
The presence of other minerals caused the salt to “lose its saltines” – because it would dilute the strength of the salt.
The application is clear. As we engage with the world one of two things is going to happen.
We are going to remain undiluted and keep having a “salt-filled” impact.
Or we will allow ourselves to be diluted – and eventually have no impact.
Focussed … distinct … and being salt.
Unfocussed … diluted … and bland.
These are the possible outcomes.
Distinctive focussed disciples stand out. They stand out by being salt.
They also stand out by being light.
The imagery of light is one of the most common metaphors in Scripture.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:5
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
As the One who is the light of the world Jesus comes to bring God who is light to shine into the darkness of our lives. To lead the way to transformation. To bring life where there is death. The deal with guilt, sin, shame, punishment.
This has always been the plan.
The build the kingdom of God, by gathering all the nations.
When speaking about the begging of the ministry of Jesus, which was initially based in Capernaum, Matthew says
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
Matthew 4:15-16 (quoting Isaiah 9:1-2)
Jesus came to give light – to all nations. And the light gives us a focus.
We are to the light which comes from a town on a hill. Many towns in Jesus day were built on hills. They were easier to defend. They were safer to live in.
At night time, within the city, the people of the town would light their lamps to light their houses. Collectively that light would be seen from a distance.
Those who may have still be travelling in the darkness would be able to see the light and know the direction to go. There was comfort in knowing where to head.
Unless you turn off all the lights you can’t hide a city like that.
The smallest bit of light will shine.
That is who we are. The town on the hill.
It isn’t an image of one conspicuous individual shining all of the light. Rather it is the collective impact of the whole community. In fellowship together focused and shining.
We are also to be light on a stand. So now we are zooming into the city and looking what happens in each of the homes. Houses back then were built around one central communal area. Most of the activities of the house happened in that area.
When evening drew near and darkness fell a lamp would be lit and placed on a stand.
A single source of light, but one which impacted everyone in the room and was necessary for everyone in the room. When Jesus mentioned the idea of someone taking a bowl and putting it over the light … well it is a picture of foolishness.
It is a reminder of the calling we have to shine as light in the space the Lord gives to each one of us. From a distance the light from the city doesn’t change too much if there is one less house light lit.
But that one less light makes a huge difference to the one house, and the people who are influenced by that house.
As disciples we have a distinct focused calling. To keep shining.
Wherever we are.
Knowing that, as we shine in our part of the world we are also adding to the light the is on the hill. Helping people to see who Jesus is, by reflecting Jesus.
It is a distinctive and important focus and calling.
Think about it this way.
You can’t gaze at the sun, the light is too bright.
But you can easily gaze at the moon – the reflected light of the sun.
When people are thinking about their spiritual, and the need for a spiritual connection, there will be some who find gazing at God is too much.
It is overwhelming.
It all seems to difficult.
There are too many changes to make.
There may even be people who find reading the Bible, and prayer, and meditation to be too much as well.
But here we are – shining – reflecting the light of Jesus. The very act of reflecting Jesus points people towards the greater light of God and faith and eternal matters.
In this space Peter gives us a great example.
1 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
1 Peter 3:1-2
Here is a common issue in the early church. A Gentile woman has come to know Jesus, but her husband has not. Now how does she live?
She is light.
So doesn’t have to say anything.
She doesn’t have to nag him into heaven.
She just gives the example of what it is to be Jesus on earth and reflect the light of Jesus.
What is the result?
Actually the result may varying.
When people insult and persecute you … rejoice and be glad.
They may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Which will also cause us to rejoice and be glad.
No matter what happens – we rejoice and be glad.
Sandwiched between these two outcomes is the call to distinctive focussed discipleship.
Keep being salt – and don’t be diluted.
Keep being light – that is not hidden.
Keep encouraging each other in this calling no matter the response.
In fellowship together being focussed distinctive disciples.
Prayer
