Intro
Immediately following the Beatitudes, Jesus uses two metaphors to declare the task given to his followers in the world. Those two metaphors are salt and light. We have examined the first one. Now we want to learn from the second metaphor, light. Our text today is Matt 5:14-16:
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
The Beatitudes depict a glorious work of sanctification that transforms the followers of Jesus from self-centered creatures seeking to live independently of God to sons of God whose face is forever turned toward the Lord in love, whose character increasingly reflects the nature of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). By the grace of God, they become something wonderful. They were once children of darkness. They are changed into children of light (Eph. 5:8). The divine light has shined in their hearts, and that light now illuminates the world around them (2 Cor. 4:6).
Early yesterday morning I was gazing out my window into my backyard. A bright red cardinal landed on a branch. As I admired the beauty of that little bird, the thought came into my mind: That cardinal probably has no idea how beautiful he is to me. He simply does not have the capacity to know that. At that moment, the Lord spoke into my heart: And neither do you know how beautiful you are to me. We look into the mirror and see our many faults and shortcomings. We know that we have a long way to go to be fully developed into the person described in the Beatitudes. But the Lord knows his own ability to get us there, and he encourages us along the way. So that Paul was able to say, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Tim. 1:12). The Holy Spirit is at work conforming you into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). And he is able to do what he sets out to do. Like that tiny bird, our comprehension is limited. But the Lord knows his thoughts toward us, and he loves us with an everlasting love.
The emphasis in the Beatitudes is on the character of Christ’s disciples. In our text, that emphasis has turned to their assignment in the world. God has a purpose for you and me that must be central in our lives. It cannot be a token thing we do on Sunday morning. It must be something that defines us and motivates us in all that we do. Being a disciple of Jesus is not a part-time endeavor. Our hearts are to be fully set to glorify the Father and finish the work he gives each of us to do.
My bucket list is not to jump out of a hot air balloon and tour Paris. My bucket list is to do the will of the Father. When I come to the end of my days, I want to be able to say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course” (2 Tim. 4:7 KJV). When your heart is filled with God’s purpose for your life, nobody will have to motivate you. The motivation will come from within. The motivation will come from God himself. To stay on course, you will have to say no to many other things. And that will be to the dismay of others. You will have to push aside many potential distractions. You will have to say again and again, “This one thing I do” (Phil. 3:13 KJV). Are there any such distractions that you must deal with now? Are there any timewasters that are robbing you of God’s best? Today might be a good time to identify those and push them aside.
The last issue Jesus dealt with in the Beatitudes was persecution. Throughout history, God’s people have been persecuted. The brighter their light shined, the more intense the persecution tended to be. The temptation could easily be to retreat into a safety zone, avoid the confrontation with darkness, and simply focus on one’s own spiritual wellbeing. Our text screams a big “no” to that way of thinking. While there may be seasons of solitude with God, we are not to live in monasteries. We must not hunker down in the four walls of our churches. We are here to be salt and light to a world that is stumbling around in darkness. The primary point of our text is that we must let our light shine. First, consider with me the nature of this light.
NATURE OF THIS LIGHT
It is divine light.
It is light that no one can manufacture within himself. There is only one source of this light. In the opening of his gospel, John proclaimed Christ as the light of the world. He wrote,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. [That is a clear declaration of the divinity of Christ.] 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” {John 1:1-4). The life that is in Christ is “the light of men.” No substitute will do. Buddha is not the light of the world. Mohammad is not the light of the world. The Greek philosophers are not the light of the world. Science is not the light of the world. Artificial Intelligence is not the light of the world. The only light true light is Jesus. The only light that brings eternal life is Christ. John goes on to say the forerunner, John the Baptist, was a witness to that light. But he makes it clear that John the Baptist was not the light. Jesus is the light of the world. Then in verse 9 John says this about Christ, “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” There is only one source of the divine light, and that source is Messiah Jesus.
Life-giving
This light is life giving. When this light comes into a person’s heart, God’s divine life enters as well. The two cannot be separated. If you have the life of God, you have his light within you for God is light (1 John 1:5). When a person is born again (regenerated) the life of God enters through the agency of the Holy Spirit. At that time the person’s spirit is made alive in God (Eph. 2:1) and illuminated with the light of Christ. That person becomes a carrier of God’s light. At his core, that person is no longer darkness. Jesus promised in John 12:46, "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.”
Pure
This light is pure. First John 1:5 affirms that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Light expresses the holiness of God. Darkness includes anything contrary to that purity. In him is no darkness at all. In the next verse John continues, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” The test as to whether a person is abiding in this light is the lifestyle. If the person is walking in darkness and claiming fellowship with God, it cannot be true because “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
Evident
The light of Christ is an evident light. Jesus illustrates this by saying in Matthew 5:14, “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” The world may defiantly close their eyes to it, but God’s light is shining, and they will give an account for it. Even if some Christians hide their light under a basket, there always have been and always will be some who let their light shine. Even in the darkest of times, there will be a Luther who shines so brightly that Christ’s light cannot be denied. There will be a Wesley and Whitfield who function as salt and light. Their ministries arose when England was in a darkened moral state. But under their leadership, revival transformed the social state of England. “Some historians have maintained that the revival so altered the course of English history that it probably saved England from the kind of [bloody] revolution that took place in France.”
CARRIERS OF THIS LIGHT
While Jesus was in the world, he provided that light directly to all who would receive it (John 8:12; 9:5). But at his ascension, his followers were commissioned to continue his work and provide light to the world. In Philippians 2:15 Paul referred to Christians as “lights of the world.” He wrote, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life. . . .” (Phil. 2:14-16).
And in our text' Jesus looks at his followers and plainly says, “You are the light of the world.”
In 2 Corinthians 4:6 Paul wrote, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” The light of Christ in you is a treasure of infinite value. In an act of amazing grace, God deposits that treasure in us. In verse 7 Paul adds, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” In the heart of every believer is a treasure described as “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” The carriers of this light a frail, imperfect people like you and me. Even in our lowly, mortal state you and I are the light of the world. What a sobering thought.
The “you” in Matthew 5:14 is emphatic in the Greek, indicating, “You and you only are the light of the world.” You who have entered the kingdom of God by faith and are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit are the only illumination this dark world has. Do not think this privilege is only to exceptionally gifted leaders in the church. We all have a testimony of God’s grace and mercy in our lives. We all have the privilege of sharing the good news with others. And who knows what the long-term results of your ministry will be?
Edward Kimball was an unknown Sunday School teacher. On April 21, 1855, he visited a young boy in his class who was working in the stockroom of Horton Shoe Store. Through Kimball’s witness, that boy received Christ as his savior. You have probably never heard of Edward Kimball, but the boy’s name was D. L. Moody. Who knows how many Moody led to the Lord? Do what you can and leave the results with God.
My wife, Jeanie, taught Sunday School when she was a teenager. One of the children in her class was Troy Bohn whom she led to the Lord. Years later, Troy attended our church, and we mentored him and his wife, Melanie, in ministry. For the last 30 years, they have ministered on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, developing other ministers and leading hundreds to the Lord. “In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good” (Eccl. 11:6).
It is encouraging that believers do not have to produce the light for the world. God puts it in us by his grace, and our responsibility is to simply let that light shine through our lives. Why did God mercifully put his light into your heart? It was certainly because he loves you. But his purpose goes beyond you. He wants to use you to bring others into the light. His thinking about that is revealed in Matthew 5:15: “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”
RESPONSIBILITY TO LET THIS LIGHT SHINE
You and I are light carriers so that others might see. That is a high and holy assignment. It’s such an honor, we might expect it to be given to Seraphim, Cherubim, and Archangels. Who am I that I should be honored as the light of the world. We are lowly mortals. We do well to remember our own limitations and be poor in spirit. But we must also recognize the magnificence of the light we carry. It has the power to awaken a soul to righteousness and transform a rebellious heart into someone who loves God with all his heart. We do not boast in ourselves as the carriers of this light. But we do boast in the light that is in us, for it is the solution to all of man’s problems.
The severe consequences of not letting that light shine are obvious. What if no one’s light had shined into your life? You would spend eternity in eternal darkness. We never become the ultimate source of this light. God is light and he is its only source. But when Christ comes into our hearts, we then reflect his light as the moon reflects the sunlight. Our reflection of his light points people to “the true Light which gives light to every man” (John 1:9). Saint John of the Cross used a different metaphor when he indicated that “the followers of Jesus are to be windows through which the divine light enters the world.” The world is groping in darkness, but the true light which is Christ has come and that is the hope of the world. The question we must consider is this: How do we let this light that is in us shine?
Walk in the Light
We are responsible to walk in the light that we have. We must live according to the light of Christ. We are painfully aware of our own inadequacies. But we have this promise in 1 John 1:7: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” The cross provides daily cleansing for the believer so that if we sin “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). Our compassionate High Priest stands at the right hand of the Father advocating for us on the basis of his cross. God has provided everything we need to live godly lives (2 Pet. 1:3). The one thing we must do is choose to walk in the light and not in darkness. When we do that, our lives reflect the character of God, and our light is shining.
Walk in Love
As we walk in the light, we walk in love toward God, toward one another, and toward the world. The light shines through individuals, but it also shines through communities of believers. The world is intently watching the church to see whether it’s claims are genuine. Is our church a loving community or does it reflect the same self-serving motives they already see in the world. To let our light shine we must reflect the holiness of God and the love of God in our individual lives, in our families, in our churches, and in our cities.
Francis Shaeffer made the following observation.
“In the flesh we can stress purity without love, or we can stress love without purity; we cannot stress both simultaneously. To do so we must look moment by moment to the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Without that, a stress on purity becomes hard, proud, and legalistic; likewise, without it a stress on love becomes sheer compromise. Spirituality begins to have real meaning in our lives as we begin to exhibit simultaneously the holiness of God and the love of God. Without this simultaneous exhibition our marvelous God and Lord is nt set forth. It is rather a caricature of him that is shown, and he is dishonored.”
To walk in love, we must form communities in which believers care for one another. The New Testament contains a number of “one another” passages that teach practical applications of this. For example, Ephesians 4:32 tells us to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” We are told to serve one another (Gal. 5:13); submit to one another in the fear of God (Eph. 5:21); comfort and edify one another (1 Thess. 4:18); and so forth.
In John 13:34-35 Jesus said to his followers, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” When we are loving one another as Christ loved us (sacrificially), our light is shining. When the world can see us loving one another, they are arrested by the light of Christ. Paul puts a premium on doing good to fellow believers when he writes, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10). Tradition tells us that the world said about the early church, “Behold, how they love one another.” This is one reason they turned the world upside down with the light of the gospel (Acts 17:6).
To walk in love, we must treat our neighbor as we would like to be treated (Matt. 7:12; Luke 6:31). The second great commandment is that we would love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:39). This extends the commandment to love beyond the Body of Christ toward all humanity, even our enemies (Matt. 5:44). To love them is to seek their highest good. To love them is to relieve their pain as much as possible. To love them is to provide for their spiritual needs but to also care for their material needs. “Let me say it very strongly again:” wrote Francis Shaeffer, “there is no use talking about love if it does not relate to the stuff of life in the area of material possessions and needs. If it does not mean a sharing of our material things for our brothers in Christ close at home and abroad, it means little or mothering.” The Good Samaritan did not just talk the talk, he walked the walk. He made a personal sacrifice to help another human being in need (Luke 10:25-37).
To think like that Good Samaritan, we must recognize the dignity and potential of every human being. Man’s fallenness has marred the image, but every person is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). That’s why Peter tells us to “Honor all people” (1 Pet. 2:17). At the very least, we can honor them as a fellow human being. And as a human being they have the potential to be an eternal child of God.
In Matthew 5:16, Jesus commands, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” We have seen the importance of walking in the light and in love so that our light is shining brightly. When we live that way, people can see our good works and glorify God for them. We are to live our lives for the glory of God. “Therefore,” wrote Paul, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
This is a key distinction between a devoted follower of Christ and a carnal person. Carnal people seek their own glory. The Pharisees did their good works “to be seen of men,” to personally receive admiration and glory from them. Jesus condemned their self-exaltation (Matt. 23:5-7). In contrast, we do not do good works for personal recognition. We do what we do to bring honor to the Lord. Motivation matters. Proverbs 25:27 warns, “It is not good to eat much honey; So to seek one's own glory is not glory.” If we live for God’s glory, he will honor us as is appropriate. Our good works are done, not to call attention to ourselves, but to call attention to the light that is in us so that people can be saved.
Stephen’s response to his persecutors was a bright light for Saul of Tarsus to see (Acts 7:60). Because Stephen let his light shine, Saul of Tarsus was prepared for the transformation he experienced in Acts 9. Abundant glory has come to Christ through that one convert who came be known as the Apostle Paul. Stephen let his light shine in two ways; by the actions that he took and by the words he spoke. We let our light shine by our works and also by our words.
Preach the Gospel
The gospel must be preached (Rom. 10:14). Our witness is not a silent witness. We are to boldly and unashamedly proclaim the truth, even though it may provoke persecution. “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words,” Jesus said, “of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26). Our message is not ourselves or even the church. Our message is Christ.
“It is said that John Fletcher, an early Methodist and contemporary of John Wesley, had a reputation of being a very godly person. One Sunday morning, a man walked down the road on way to church. A friend shouted at him, ‘Where are you going?’ The reply came, ‘I am going to see and hear John Fletcher preach today.’ A few hours later, on the return to his home, the same man was asked: ‘Well, did you see John Fletcher today?’ There was a long pause. The man had trouble speaking. Finally, he replied: ‘No. I saw Jesus Christ and Him crucified.’ [2 Cor. 2:2]”
We are here to declare Christ for when people see Jesus, they are changed at the very core of their being.
The book of Matthew progresses toward its central message which we know as the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen” (Matt. 28:19-20). Our text is pointing toward this magnificent conclusion. “Let your light shine;” “Go therefore and make disciples.” To do one is to do the other.
One of the “good works” addressed in the great commission is “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Too often people restrict their concept of good works to material benevolence. Certainly, it includes that, as we have already noted. But giving the words of life is also a good work. In Scripture, truth is sometimes symbolized by light. For example, in 2 Cor 4:4 Paul uses the phrase “the light of the gospel.” “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Cor. 4:3-4). In verse 6 light is associated with knowledge. “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” When we teach the truth, we are giving people something of great value, and it is a good work.
Mark’s version of the Great Commission focuses on preaching the gospel. “And He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:15-18).
Verses 17-18 lists supernatural good works like Jesus did for people. Is healing the sick a good work? Is freeing someone from demonic oppression a good work” Often in the gospels when people saw Jesus do these works, the comment is made that they “glorified God.” Paul said, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Cor 2:4).
What compels us to go into the world with the gospel? We desire the glory of God. We desire the salvation of lost people. The better we comprehend the glories of heaven and horrors of hell, the greater our motivation to seek that which is lost. Shaeffer writes, “I have a question in my mind about us evangelicals. We fight the liberals when they say there is no Hell. But do we really believe people are going to Hell? Do our actions and priorities indicate a biblical belief in hell? Do we comprehend the desperate situation lost people are in?
“An atheist once told William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, “If I believed what you Christians say you believe about a coming judgment and that impenitent rejecters of Christ will be lost, I would crawl on my bare knees on crushed glass all over London, warning men, night and day, to repent of their sin and turn to Christ who is their only place of refuge.” May God stir our hearts toward his mission to seek and to save that which is lost (Luke 19:10).
As a part of fulfilling the command to let our light shine, we must go into all the world and preach the gospel. Are you available? Are you willing to go anywhere the Lord sends you? Are you willing to preach the gospel to every creature? This may mean going to a difficult workplace and letting your light shine. It may mean sharing Christ with a friend or neighbor. And it could mean crossing the ocean with the good news. One thing is certain. If we are willing, God is willing. He does not put his light in us to hide it under a bushel. Brunner writes, “What no one does with lamps, the Lord will not do with disciples. He will not light us (’Follow me!’), beatify us nine times, tell us twice that ‘you folks are the most important people in the world!’ and then stick us under a bucket!” (emphasis Brunner’s). God knows how to place you where you can be effective. As Brunner puts it, “The one who lights us up will also put us on the table.” Let your light shine where you are. Don’t fret about the placement. Let God direct your steps.
Keep the light burning. “Nor do they light [kaiousin] a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” The Greek word translated light in that verse “lays the emphasis less upon the act of lighting than on keeping a thing burning.” The day you were born again, the lamp was lit. But you maintain the flame through your daily consecration to the Lord. The lamps in biblical times were clay vessels containing oil with a wick that passed through holes in the lamp. As Lloyd-Jones points out, the wick has to be delicately trimmed on an ongoing basis for the light to function properly.
In the Old Testament, the priests were commanded to keep the light burning in the Tabernacle. We read in Exodus 27:20-21, “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually. 21 In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.” Are you keeping your lamp burning? If you will, God will situate you where your light can shine for his glory.
ENDNOTES:
i The connection between the Beatitudes and these two metaphors is important to understand. The Beatitudes teach what we are to become, and these two metaphors teach how we are to impact the world around us. See the introduction to “Being Salt” for a more extended discussion of this.
ii All Scripture quotes are in the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
iii Cf. Jer. 29:11; 31:3.
iv Cf. Matt. 6:23; Luke 11:36.
v Cf. Isa. 9:2; Luke 1:79.
vi We know that we become children of light by believing in Christ, the true light. In John 12:36 Jesus told his disciples, “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
vii For an extensive exposition of 1 John 1:5-7 see Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019), 24-38
viii Diane Severance, “Evangelical Revival in England,” May 3, 2010, Christianity.com. Accessed at https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/evangelical-revival-in-england-
11630228.html. Cf. Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1988), 58.
ix “But Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6 may well be Jesus’ primary source for his saying: he himself would fulfill the servant’s mission (Mt 12:17-21, but expected his disciples to assume the same responsibility (20:26-28). If Jesus is the prophesied light (4:16; Is 9:2; Mt 17:2), so are his representatives (Mt 12:17-21.” Craig Keener, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 175.
x “Meet D.L. Moody,” Moody Bible Institute. Accessed at https://www.moody.edu/about/our-bold-legacy/d-l-moody/. For additional detail, see Paul Lee Tan, ed., Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times, 1979 (Rockville, MD: Assurance Publishers, 1985) s. v. “How Moody Got Saved” by James H. Semple, 1397.
xi “A vessel was caught in a storm on Lake Erie, and they were trying to make for the harbor of Cleveland. At the entrance of that port they had what are called the upper lights and the lower lights. Away back on the bluffs were the upper lights burning brightly enough; but when they came near the harbor, they could not see the lights showing the entrance to it.
The pilot said he thought they had better get back on the lake again. The captain said he was sure they would go down if they went back, and he urged the pilot to do what he could to gain the harbor. The pilot said there was very little hope of making the harbor, as he had nothing to guide him as to how he should steer the ship.
They tried all they could to get her in. She rode on the top of the waves and then into the trough of the sea, and at last they found themselves stranded on the beach, where the vessel was dashed to pieces. Someone had neglected the lower lights, and they had gone out. . . .Let us have our loins girt and our lights brightly burning, so that others may see the way and not walk in darkness [Luke 12:35].” D. L. Moody, “True Wisdon—Soul Winning” in Curtis Hutson, compiler, Great Preaching on Soul Winning, Murfreeboron, TN: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1989), 233.
xii Saint John of the Cross as quoted by W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew, vo. 1, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1988), 475.
xiii Francis A. Schaeffer, A Christian View of the Church in The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, vol. 4 (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982), 98.
xiv Francis A. Schaeffer, Two Contents, Two Realities in The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, vol. 3 (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982), 420.
xv Francis A. Schaeffer, A Christian View of the Church in The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, vol. 4 (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982), 64. Cf. James 1:27; 2:15-16; 1 John 3:18).
xvi First Corinthians 10:31. Cf. Col. 3:17.
xvii Cf. John 7:18; 8:50.
xviii Jesus did not seek his own glory (John 7:18; 8:50), yet God has honored him above all (Phil. 2:9-12). Cf. 1 Pet. 5:6.
xix R. T. Kendall, The Sermon on the Mount (Minneapolis, MN: Chosen Books, 2011), 79. Kendall continues with the following story.”By the way, Wesley’s generation was also the generation of the French atheist Voltaire, an ardent opponent of Christianity. Voltaire was asked, ‘Did you ever meet anybody who you thought might be truly a Christian?’ Voltaire replied, ‘I once met a man by the name of John Fletcher.’” Fletcher apparently let his light shine quite brightly.
xx Cf. Ps. 119:130; John 6:68;
xxi Cf. Matt. 9:8; Mark 2:12; Luke 5:26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15.
xxii Francis A. Schaeffer, A Christian View of the Church in The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, vol. 4 (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1982), 93.
xxiii Lou Nicholes, “Atheist - If I Believed What You Say You Believe,” Family Times. Accessed at https://www.family-times.net/illustration/Refuge/202197/#:~:text=An%20atheist%20once%20told%20William%20Booth%2C%20founder%20of,Christ%20who%20is%20their%20only%20place%20of%20refuge.%E2%80%9D\.
xxiv Frederick D. Bruner, Matthew: A Commentary. Volume 1: The Christbook, Matthew 1-12, rev. ed., 1987 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 191-192.
xxv Frederick D. Bruner, Matthew: A Commentary. Volume 1: The Christbook, Matthew 1-12, rev. ed., 1987 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 192.
xxvi Luke approximates this saying twice: Luke 8:16; 11:33-35.
xxvii Bauer, Walter, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Christian Literature, translated and edited by W. F. Arndt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University Press of Chicago, 1979) s. v. “kaio,” 499.
xxviii James M. Freeman, Manners and Customs of the Bible (Plainfield, NJ: Logos International, 1972), 336. In some cases the wick simply floated on the oil.
xxix Martin Lloyd-Jones, Studies In the Sermon on the Mount: Two Volumes in One (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 176.
xxx The two ingredients of fire and oil are both symbolic of the Holy Spirit. In the Parable of the Ten Virgins Jesus taught the importance of maintaining our lamps so that we are ready and available for him (Matt. 25:1-13).
xxxi Cf. Luke 12:35.
