Salt, Light, and Law in the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:13-16, NIV
13 "You are the salt of the earth. 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.
14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16In the same way, let your Light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Commentary
13. "You are the salt of the earth. 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.
When Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth/light of the world (Mt. 5:13-14), remember that his direct audience is the disciples. The "you" refers to those people who actually live out the things he is saying. But he immediately puts these folks in context: they are living out his principles in the world. And they have an effect on it. Jesus expresses this effect with nice Hebrew parallelism:
"You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light of the world."
Salt of the Earth
It seems common, at least in the U.S. to think that we should pass laws to legislate morality. But I do not believe that is what Jesus is talking about here. It should be our day to day interactions with the people around us that positively influences them. Our lives should counter the corrupting influences of our secular and ungodly society.
Salt can be a seasoning, but it can also be a preservative. The idea that believers are a preserving presence in the world is an excellent theological note. It does have scriptural support (Gen. 18:20-32; Acts 27:21-25). However, it does not fit the parallelism. The most important purpose of salt in the ancient world was to act as a preservative. Without a refrigerator, meat would quickly spoil. But salt could draw out the moisture and allow the meat to last much longer.
We are to act as a preservative, preventing the world from going bad. We should have a positive influence on those around us. Furthermore, that is most likely what Jesus had in mind here.
The Sermon on the Mount starts with the Beatitudes, and then Jesus has something to say about the role of his followers. He calls us the salt of the earth as well as the light of the world. Rather than withdraw from the world, we are to be engaged with it, making a difference through our presence.
Light of the World
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your Light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. ----Matthew 5:14-16 NIV
Light and darkness are used frequently to refer to spiritual conditions. John says Christ is the world's Light (John 1:4-9). As his followers, that same light should shine out from him, through us, into a world that is still dark. Moreover, his light shone into the spiritual darkness of this world.
That light is within us. However, what will we do with it? Jesus warns us not to hide the light. However, to put it on display for all the world to see. The world will resist that light, making it tempting to hide it and avoid conflict. We must resist that temptation and boldly let his Light shine through us for the world to see.
The noticeable feature of light is that you notice it. It makes a distinct difference. Salt as flavoring has that immediate impact in a way that salt as a preservative does not. If you add salt to something you eat, you notice the difference immediately, just like if you turn the lights on in a room. (Also, the verb Jesus uses in 5:13 could very well be translated as "become bland.”)
So Jesus is saying that people who live out the kingdom life are distinctly different. It is noticeable–in a good way. Dropping the metaphor entirely, the result is, "That [the world] may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Mt. 5:16).
Jesus is saying that people who live out the kingdom life are distinctly different.
What good deeds?
Like most things in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus takes our understanding of "good deeds" and turns it entirely inside-out.
The Sermon on the Mount has two significant discussions about what we should do: fulfilling the heart of the law (Mt. 5:21-48) and avoiding a religious show (Mt. 6:1-18). Introducing the discussion in chapter 6, Jesus calls visible religious acts–giving, praying, fasting–"righteousness" (Mt. 6:1). Elsewhere he refers to almost the same things as "deeds" (Mt. 23:5). He uses "good deeds" and "righteousness" interchangeably in this context.
So it would be effortless to conclude that these "righteous" acts–giving, praying, fasting—are the "good deeds" that the world sees, which then glorifies God because of them. Except they are not. The whole point of the discussion in chapter 6 is to keep those things to yourself. Do them in secret precisely so that the world does not see them. The world thinks they are weird, anyway. Moreover, his light shone into the spiritual darkness of this world. Moreover, his light shone into the spiritual darkness of this world—that is impressive.
So that leaves the last half of chapter 5. However, the whole goal of the discussion is to point not to external acts but to the heart.
The focus is on character–heart attitudes that show how we treat others. This is what Jesus is interested in. This is what he wants the world to see–a heart that he has transformed.
These attitudes are not what the world is used to: respecting others by refusing to have contempt for our brothers and trivializing our sisters; communicating sincerely; living from a heart of grace; loving even those who are harming us. That way of living is distinctly different. It is noticeable. And it makes things better.
When the world sees us living that way, it begins to think that God might not be so bad.
So is that what the world is seeing?
Now, I realize that we are fighting an uphill battle on this one. The "rigid, angry religious person" is a convenient literary figure. That narrative is familiar and comforting and can generate many internet clicks. But we have to own that it would ring hollow if it ran counter to most peoples' experiences. But it does not. So we need to ask ourselves two questions:
#1 – Is the world seeing us at all?
Or have we successfully walled ourselves into our colonial-era missionary compounds? We have tons of social get-togethers and meeting places, our schools, our entertainment, our own news, and even our dating sites. We have everything we need to do in life without interacting with those filthy pagans. If that sounds at all familiar, stop it. That is direct disobedience against the second command in the Sermon on the Mount.
"Let your light shine." (Mt. 5:15).
If you are ambitious, the gold standard for building cross-cultural understanding is working together toward shared goals. Learn your neighbors' names. Talk to the people you encounter at work. Even better, listen to them. If there is a hobby you enjoy, join a club. Maybe even revive the ancient practice of having people over for dinner. However you do it, be around people not of your tribe. You just might end up making some new friends.
The second question is much harder:
#2 – Are we being transformed?
A city on a hill could be easy to miss if no lights are on.
I was interviewing for a position at a local Christian school once. The subject of transformation came up, and one of the faculty members asked/commented, "I keep hearing people talk about transformation, but I am not sure what that means." I responded, "I think it just means growing in our ability to love God and other people." I wanted to add, "If that is not happening, then everything we are doing here is a waste of time."
A friend of mine was talking to a retired minister. In all his decades of ministry, he asked him how many lives he saw truly changed. The answer was two.
In his interview on a local podcast, my friend talked about a meeting he had with a former Sunday School teacher. This man had since left the faith because the Christian Story said that people should change. However, he did not see people changing. This became a faith crisis for him and his family, who went through the crisis with him.
It is a question we need to ask ourselves seriously. Do we see Christians radically transformed so that they are living out the Kingdom life? Or is Christianity just a convenient framework for constructing our tribal identity?
My friend, let us call him Tom, did not get any resolution to this question until he did some overseas work. There, he encountered Christians following what Jesus taught–things like praying for your enemies. As Tom puts it, they were doing the stuff. They were distinctly, noticeably different. Moreover, Christ was present so powerfully that miracles were happening. The Story works.
The problem with the relative lack of transformation we see in America is not with the Church itself. It may just be the American Church. The world does not see our light because, on the whole, the American Church may be profoundly sick. That is no good because Jesus' discussion includes a dire warning.
"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." (Mt. 5:13b)
Forget all the chemistry involved–that salt cannot lose its saltiness. However, if that were possible–if it could lose just the property of taste but not any of the others–how would you fix it? Add salt? It's done. You are not going to put that in your food anymore. All you can do with it now is use it for weed killer.
In contemporary terms, Christianity in America has become a poisonous brand. Good luck selling that.
The only hope we have of turning this around, of avoiding the ultimate consequence of being "thrown on the ground to be trampled by men," is to listen to what Jesus is saying.
As Tom says, we need to start "doing the stuff." Let the Kingdom take hold of us, shake us, convict us, change us. Otherwise, we are just offering more of the same. The world does not need more darkness. It does not need more predictability. It needs to see something noticeably, distinctly different. It needs us to be transformed.
14. "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
In the previous verse, Jesus compared His disciples to salt (Matthew 5:13). Now He compares them to light. He calls them the "light of the world," light was an important symbol in the Jewish worldview. Just as Greek culture prized knowledge, Roman culture valued glory, or modern American culture touts freedom, Hebrew culture's ideal standard was light. This concept heavily influences biblical explanations of godliness and truth (Proverbs 4:18–19; Matthew 4:16; John 8:12; 2 Corinthians 4:6).
Spiritually speaking, there is no light in the world apart from Jesus Christ. His light, though, shines through every person who belongs to Him. In this way, the Light of Christ is distributed into the darkness in every corner of humanity. That this light is meant to be visible to the world is also essential. Jesus adds to this metaphor by referring to a city positioned on top of a hill. It is not meant to be hidden; a city on a hill is predestined to be seen and found even in the darkness of night. During the time of Christ, the walls around a city on a hill were often made from white limestone, which would be relatively easy to see, even at night.
In the same way, the Light of Christ is not meant to be hidden on the earth. It is meant to shine out brightly from all who belong to Christ. It is meant to be discovered, in this way, by those still in the darkness. Jesus will add to this point in the following verse that Christ's Light should not be covered up in the lives of His followers. It is meant to be seen.
A city on a hill could be easy to miss if no lights are on.
Jesus will later warn us about doing our acts of righteousness to be seen by men. That is a warning against drawing attention to ourselves. This passage is different. We are to live good lives before the world to point them to our Lord. Our lives should be radically different from those in the world. So much so that others will notice the difference, be attracted to it, and ultimately glorify our Lord. Being the salt of the earth and the world's light should be how all of Jesus' followers live.
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, giving everyone in the house light. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
15. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, giving light to everyone in the house.
Neither do men light a candle/lamp, etc. The same illustration comes in Luke 8:16 (Mark 4:21), immediately after the parable of the sower, and again in Luke 11:33, immediately after the reference to the repentance of the men of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah. All four passages have too much verbal similarity to admit they are independent. Mark 4:21 has the most significant number of peculiarities. The two passages in Luke agree very closely with each other, but of the two, Luke 11:33 most resembles Matthew. The close agreement here with the context seems to point to this being an original position of the utterance. Of the other two contexts, Luke 11:33, if we must choose, seems the more natural. Godet says, "This passage has been placed in the sermon on the mount, like so many others, rather because of the association of ideas than from historical reminiscence." Neither. The inherent position, so to speak, of Christ's disciples, as of a city set on a mountain, is not accidental. It answers to the purpose of their being disciples, as is explained further by the illustration of a lamp. A candle; Revised Version, a lamp; i.e., the flat, saucer-like Eastern lamp, in which sometimes the wick merely floats on the oil. The description applies to the typical houses of the people. There was one principal room where they ate and slept; the lampstand, with its single light, the flour-bin, and the bed, with a few seats, were all its furniture.
16In the same way, let your Light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
"Let your Light" — The Light of that doctrine which you receive from me, and the light of your holy conversation, so shine before men — Be so evident and apparent to men, that they may see your good works, and glorify "your Father in heaven." Seeing your good works, they may praise God for sending such a religion into the world, and embracing your faith may imitate your holy example or be moved to love and serve God as you do, thereby glorifying him. Here, our Lord tells us, in plain words, what he intended by the comparison mentioned before.
"That they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" - The proper motive to influence us is not simply that we may be seen (compare Matthew 6:1), but it should be that our heavenly Father may be glorified. The Pharisees acted to be seen by men; true Christians glorify God and care little what people may think of them, except that others may be brought to honor God by their conduct.
Glorify your Father - Praise, honor God, or be led to worship him. Seeing in your lives the excellency of religion and the power and purity of the Gospel, they may be won to be Christians and give praise and glory to God for his mercy to a lost world.
We learn here:
1. that religion, if it exists, cannot be concealed.
2. that where it is not manifest in life, it does not exist.
3. that "professors" of religion, who live like other people, give evidence that they have never been truly converted.
4. that to attempt to conceal or hide our Christian knowledge or experience is to betray our trust, injure the cause of piety, and to render our lives useless. And,
5. that good actions will be seen and will lead people to honor God. If we have no other way of doing good - if we are poor, unlearned, and unknown, we may do good in our lives—no sincere and humble Christian lives in vain. The feeblest light at midnight is of use.
"Let your light shine (giveth light) before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Nobody lights a lamp only to cover it up, but places it so conspicuously as to give light to all who need light, so Christians, being the light of the world, instead of hiding their light, are so to hold it forth before men that they may see what a life the disciples of Christ lead, and seeing this, may glorify their Father for so redeeming, transforming, and ennobling earth's sinful children, and opening to themselves the way to like redemption and transformation.
"and glorify your Father, which is in heaven." Our Father is said to be in heaven because, though his essential presence filleth all places, he is pleased there, more than anywhere, to manifest his glory and majesty. You are not doing good deeds when glorifying yourselves, to be seen by men (Matthew 6:1), nor merely doing good to others; good works are to be maintained for necessary uses, Titus 3:14, but having primary and principal respect to the glorifying of your Father; for, John 15:8 - Herein is my Father glorified, if ye bear much fruit: not that we can add anything to God's essential glory, but we may predicate and manifest his glory; which we can do by good works, if they proceed from mere power and liberty of our wills, not from his special effectual grace, is hard to understand.
For the first time in the Gospel, Christ's unique name for God, "Father," occurs. One might have expected so important a topic as the nature and name of God to have formed the subject of a different lesson. However, Christ's method of teaching was not scholastic or formal. He defined terms by discriminating use; Father, e.g., as a name for God, by using it as a motive for noble conduct. The motive suggested throws light on the name. God, we learn, as Father delights in noble conduct; as human fathers find joy in sons who conduct themselves bravely. Jesus may have given formal instruction on the point, but not necessarily. This first use of the title is very significant. It is complete, solemn, impressive: your Father, He who is in the heavens; so again in Matthew 5:45. It is suggestive of reasons for faithfulness, reasons of love, and reverence. It hints at a reflected glory, the reward of heroism. The noble works which glorify the Father reveal the workers to be sons. The double-sided doctrine of this logion (a saying attributed to Jesus) of Jesus is that the divine is revealed by the heroic in human conduct and that the moral hero is the true Son of God. Jesus, Himself is the highest illustration of the twofold truth.
Fast Facts
• after the blessings stated in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins to discuss witnessing.
• Witnessing has some persecution attached to it; such persecution will be rewarded.
• Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth…."
• A few comments on the way this is written are in order.
• Greek writers do not need to use pronouns.
• It would be like saying in English, "Open the door."
• The Greek verb determines the proper pronoun.
• The language has pronouns, and when used, it is mainly for emphasis.
• Here, the pronoun is used.
• Next, there are no rules for word order in a Greek sentence.
• English generally starts with the subject, is followed by the verb, and ends with the direct object.
• Greek writers do not have to do that.
• They can put the words in any order they choose.
• Typically, the most important word or phrase is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
• That is the one they want the reader to remember as they go along.
• It is not uncommon for the subject to be the last word.
• Well, in this particular case, the pronoun "you" is not only written, but it is also first.
• So this is like someone pointing a finger and shouting, "YOU, you are the salt of the earth!"
• Precisely you people who are persecuted and slandered, YOU, "you are the salt of the earth!"
• So what does it mean to be the salt of the earth?
• Salt has many purposes in antiquity.
• Refrigerators do not exist, so salt is used to preserve food.
• Salt is also used to flavor food.
• It is used in temple rituals.
• It can also be used, in the right way, as a fertilizer.
• Since salt is essential to life, perhaps Jesus is saying that the disciples are essential to the world's life.
• Since it is a preservative, the disciples are meant to combat spiritual and moral decay.
• The disciples are to prepare the soil for the Gospel as fertilizer.
• Salt is not salt for itself but for its uses.
• The disciples do not exist for themselves but others.
• This is not to compliment them on their character or privileges.
• Instead, it is to illustrate for them that membership in the Kingdom is not for their enjoyment but the benefit of others.
• This becomes doubly significant as one considers the capacity of salt to create thirst.
• Anyone who has eaten something salty knows the thirst that follows.
• As the disciples express their qualities of salt, that thirsting must follow; it will be a natural consequence.
• Jesus also says, "but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled underfoot."
• There is a sense of responsibility with salt. Moreover, there is a warning: we can lose our saltiness.
• Disciples can compromise so much with the world that it does not matter anymore. That can happen. Once it happens, the salt is worthless.
• A word is a form of "to become or make foolish."
• So the phrase means that to lose one's saltiness is to become foolish.
• Then, Jesus says, "You are the world's light."
• Light is open, manifest.
• Light is a critical metaphor in the Bible.
• Light dispels the darkness.
• Even the tiniest night light at night lights up an entire room.
• Moreover, now the disciples are the light of the world. The word is cosmos; it now has cosmic significance.
• The disciples are, once again, indispensable to life.
• "A city built on a hill cannot be hidden."
• Even from far away, a city on a hill can be seen.
• (This could be a reference to the Temple in Jerusalem built on a hill.)
• "No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house."
• The light of the disciples must shine before all.
• "Similarly, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."
• This is the crowning statement.
• They exist for the benefit of others.
• All these verbs are in the present tense, indicating continuous action.
• Disciples are to let their Light shine; let it keep on shining.
• They are to do—to keep on doing—good works so that people may glorify their Father in heaven.
• Works are to be transparent.
• Jesus does not promote his glory nor permit his followers to seek any for themselves.
• There is no warning here like there was about losing their saltiness; there is only a promise.
• Disciples need both warning and encouragement.
• The salt and light metaphors indicate that the disciples are merely changed, individuals. They have the Kingdom within and must witness to it.
Fulfillment of Law — Matthew 5:17-20
• Jesus continues, "Do not think I have come to destroy the law and the prophets.
• The "law and the prophets" refers to their scriptures
• This is what Jesus studies. It is his Bible, his library.
• His statement follows the form of the most vital possible prohibition in Greek. It is like saying, "It is unthinkable that I have come to destroy the Bible. How could something like that even cross your mind?"
• However, it has crossed someone's mind, or he would not need to be discussing it now.
• Scholars assume that Jesus' teachings on the law are so out of step with contemporary thought that a firm denial is necessary.
• Scholars disagree on whether this would have been a valid concern in Jesus' ministry.
• Many claim that it probably reflects Matthew's concerns 50 years later.
• At this point in his ministry, Jesus has done nothing to warrant such concerns.
• Later on, it will be very different.
• Palestinian Jews are very sensitive about any and all tampering with the law.
• Therefore, God, Himself has given the law and is perfect and not subject to reform.
• Yet, there will be times in Jesus' ministry when his activities will appear to oppose the Jewish understanding of Mosaic law directly.
• The scribes and Pharisees will become very hostile, seeing his teachings as dangerous to their Jewish way of life. Their opposition will eventually result in his death.
• This statement intends to anticipate those fears and put them to rest regardless of whether they come before or after the fact.
• When Jesus says, "I came," or "I have come," he is claiming a sense of mission.
• God has sent him.
• He is not here to destroy the Holy Scriptures, set them aside, relax, or make them obsolete.
• He did not "come to destroy, but to fulfill" them, to fill up full, to fill up completely, to be obedient with meaning, to bring it to its intended meaning.
• He is saying the law is valid. True, it has been interpreted to stress the acts; it is externalized and legalistic.
• However, he fills it up with meaning. He stresses the doer. He is saying, "Put it inside, internalize it." He is saying character is essential.
• It is the letter-spirit argument. The letter is not enough.
• Then in 5:18, he says, "For truly I tell you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
• He introduces these remarks with great solemnity.
• The law will be there as long as there is a heaven and earth.
• It will be around as long as it is needed.
• The metaphor of "jot and tittle" refers to the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the tiniest stroke of a pen. It is an image reaffirming the importance of the law.
• It says that nothing will be removed from it, not even the smallest detail. It is there for our protection, and it is all valid.
• Jesus adds, "Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
• Pharisees are known to distinguish between more or less essential commandments.
• The one who does or teaches others to do will be great in the Kingdom of heaven.
• Observing the law is not enough; it must be taught to others.
• This is all leading up to Jesus' final statement, stating that "unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
• That sounds almost impossible. The Pharisees are about as meticulous in conduct as anyone can be.
• Their days are filled with observing the minutiae of the law.
• Is he suggesting followers try to outdo the Pharisees in their careful adherence to the law? Probably not.
• Jesus is ushering in a new and higher sense of righteousness.
• It is not the quantity of observance but the quality of it.
• This is another way of saying that obedience to the law needs to be inner, not outer; living the law is not a show for others but a reflection of what we already are.
• Then adherence to the law can be genuinely unlimited as opposed to limited to the letter; it will be spontaneous, not forced.
• This is what is required in order to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
• Although this has a causal ring to it—do this, and you will get this—these words must be remembered in light of the gifts of the beatitudes.
• These words are addressed to those who have already been given the Kingdom—"for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Being in the Kingdom and righteousness—following Jesus' teachings—go together.
• Implicit in this command is the recognition that strict adherence to the law does not guarantee godliness.
• However, it also recognizes that the scribes and Pharisees are righteous.
• They are the people most esteemed for their fidelity to the law.
• The only valid criticism might be that they are too conscientious.
• In their zeal for the minutest details of law and tradition, they are apt to lose sight of the larger moral purposes that the law is meant to serve.
