Faithful Witness and the Fulfillment of Scripture
Matt 5:13-16 – The Christian’s influence in the world.
Jesus now uses three metaphors to tell how we can influence and impact the world: (1) Salt of the earth, (2) light of the world, (3) city built on a hill which cannot be hidden.
You are the salt of the earth/land
Salt:
- Comes from the sea, the mountain, and salt marshes
- Nothing changes salt, but salt changes everything it touches, so it’s used to enhance the flavor and quality of what we put it in.
- Salt is used as a preservative. Because there was no refrigeration in days of old, it was used to slow down corruption and decay in foods like meat and fish so they can last a long time. This method is still being used in many countries today to preserve meat and fish.
- Salt is used in many products today to prolong its shelf life and is in just about everything: toothpaste, bath soap, bleaches, and dyes; it treats icy roads and carpet stains.
- Salt is used healing antiseptic
- Salt is needed for life. We cannot live without salt.
Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
1 Timothy 4:12: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
Inference: Some believe it is instruction for us to “change” the world through moral and spiritual purity. The world apart from God is rotten because of sin and it is through His power and His disciples (that’s us), that the preserving and purifying effect takes effect on others when we live a godly life. (Some of us believers have lost our ability to “salt” anyone because we are just like the world.)
Salt makes you thirsty
Inference: We should make a non-believer thirst for and want what we have by exhibiting the joy, satisfaction and peace we have as a Christian.
Salt used as currency
The word salt comes from the Latin word sel. In Christ’s day salt was valuable and served as currency. It was the monthly salary/payment of the Roman soldiers. This salt payment was called salarium, which is where we get our English word salary from. It’s also where the expression “worth his salt” comes from which means he is valuable because Romans considered salt as more precious than gold, and when they were paid in salt, they could then sell it to make a profit.
Inference: So for the disciples to be called “the salt of the earth” they were considered valuable and precious to God.
Salt was used in every offering made by fire unto the Lord. One example: Exodus 30:35 “and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.”
A Covenant of Salt was an agreement or compact (contract) between individuals that would last for all time. They were usually ratified by eating a meal together seasoned with salt. (Gen 31:44, 54; Ex 24:7–11) which signifies the permanence and inviolability (not to be violated) of the treaty or covenant being made or remembered (2 Chr 13:5; Ezr 4:14 RSV).
How does salt lose its saltiness and what does Jesus mean by this statement?
From The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Strictly speaking salt – sodium chloride - cannot lose its saltiness as sodium chloride is a stable compound. (You can put salt in a jar for years and it will still remain salty). But most salt in the ancient world was derived from salt marshes or the like, rather than by evaporation of salt water, and therefore contained many impurities. The actual salt, being more soluble than the impurities, could be leached out, leaving a residue so diluted it was of little worth.
How can we lose our “saltiness”?
We can lose our “saltiness” when we start behaving like the world and no one can tell if we are a follower of Jesus or not. We lose our distinctive and positive influence and are no longer useful because we would have lost our inherent quality or effectiveness of spiritual or ethical significance.
What does it mean for us to be the salt of the earth/land?
Just as salt is a very important and vital commodity for life, so we believers as disciples are very important to the work of the Kingdom.
- From The Message of the Sermon on the Mount – “The notion that Christians can exert a healthy influence in the world should bring us up with a start. What possible influence could such a small minority in the world achieve? As followers of Jesus, we are called to be His agents, acting in the middle of our dead and dying world, bringing life, growth, and change everywhere we go. How? By preparing the people around us to receive the “seed of God’s word” through faithful living and sacrificial love.”
- From Salt and Light Ministry – Salt is a unique and distinct substance and there is no substitute for it. The church, a distinct and unique entity is designed by God for God. It is distinct and unique from all other religions because it is called out by God. It was made by the covenant of the blood of Jesus. Like salt which affects whatever it is applied to, you/we are the salt of the earth/land and as children of God are to affect the world positively by our actions, speech and behaviors, as explained in the beatitudes and throughout scripture.
You are the light of the world…let your light so shine – Matt 5:14-16
There are many sayings or metaphors using the word ‘light.’ For example,
- When you’re drawing a picture of having an idea, you would draw a lightbulb over the head.
- When you finally understand something, you say “I see the light.”
- When you have a clever realization it is a “bright idea.”
- When you’re almost finished with a project you say “I see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
- Asking somebody to explain something more clearly you would say “Enlighten me” or “can you shed some light on this.”
The Bible is filled with verses using “light” as a metaphor. For example:
Isaiah 9:2 – “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”
2 Corin 4:6 (NV) – “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 2:15 – “That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”
John 8:12 – Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
Salt and Light Ministry: It applies to all arenas of life. When things around us are confusing and difficult, “let your light shine.” When you face problems and difficulties, “let your light shine.” When someone needs the Gospel, “let your light shine.” If we allow God to work in our life, the joy and the strength of the Lord will shine through us wherever we are and people will be attracted to our light. A hidden light is a useless light. That’s the radical calling of the church.
What are some things that can obscure our light? Greg Laurie says compromise. He gives this quote about compromise from Graham Scrogee:
- “It prompts us to be silent for fear of offending when we ought to speak.
- It prompts us to praise when it is not deserved, to keep people our friends.
- It prompts us to tolerate sin and not to speak out because to do so might give us enemies.”
- Greg Laurie continues: Blending in with the crowd - not wanting to offend others. (Think about Lot – he blended in so much that when the angels came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, his sons-in-law didn’t believe him and thought he was joking.)
- Being inconsistent – Not practicing what we preach which can turn away a non-believer.
- Settling for anything that is convenient or comfortable rather than what’s best or pleasing to God.
We are called to be the “light of the world,” and be like “a city that is built on a hill that cannot be hidden” (like a lighthouse). We should strive to be like Jesus the True Light of the World. Because our lives are visible to others like a “city that is built on a hill and cannot be hidden,” we are called to live right with others and to do good works that will glorify our Father in heaven.
The fulfillment of Scripture – Matt 5:17-20
The Law and the Prophets
The Law (or Torah which means instruction) and the Prophets had a specific audience (Israel) and a specific purpose (be a light to the world and show the way to Yahweh God). Jesus said he did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, meaning he did not come to do away with or undo, or to dismantle or tear down. He came to fulfill them: that is to give them their full meaning; to accomplish the purpose for which the Law was given; to reveal the full depth of the meaning that the Law was intended to have; to (ESV) to complete and clarify the intent and meaning of the Law.
Jesus said that heaven and earth will not pass away before every ‘jot or tittle’, or ‘stroke of the pen’ is accomplished in the Law. Tim Mackie: “God’s words will stand and is enduring as the most enduring things like the sun, moon, stars and the heavens (skies). Lands change because of flood or volcano; seasons change: dying in winter and renewing in spring. These will pass away but HIS WORD will not, because of the enduring eternal nature of God’s word (the Torah, prophets -OT and NT). Nothing in the law will fail or pass away before heaven and earth is renewed. Everything in the law will be accomplished.
He also warned that those who relax (or rejects-CEV; or do away with-Amplified; ignores-NLT) the least of the commandments will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, and those who keep and teach (obey) them will be called greatest in the kingdom.
To relax the law:
- To set aside, disregard, or break even a minor divine command by treating it lightly or deciding certain rules do not apply to oneself and teaching and encouraging others to do the same.
- Could also refer to the desire to be freed from the authority of a commandment by lowering its standards, either by focusing on technicalities, or treating it as a set of rules to be followed for outward appearance or easily accomplished tasks to feel good about oneself.
Jesus is calling us to a new kind of righteousness (Matt 5:20) which needs to exceed that of the Pharisees (the hyper-conservative community leaders) who took the original commands given only to priests and applied them to all people, i.e. ritual washings and food restrictions which they themselves could not keep; or the Sadducees (the priestly ruling group) whose righteousness was an outward act. They were just going through the motions.
This from Michelle Jones, BibleProject: Remember that word, righteousness? It's the Hebrew word, tzedekah, meaning doing right by others and by God. That way of living that aligns with God's will: having a pure heart, showing mercy and justice, being humble. Maybe you're like me and all this talk about living a greater righteousness makes you feel a little bit uncomfortable. I mean, doesn't God accept me as I am? Yes. Isn't it true that I can't do righteousness without God's Spirit helping me? Yes. Won't I fail at this over and over and over again? Yes, and yes. And yet, Jesus is giving us a brave vision, where as much as we fail, we also begin to succeed. Jesus wants to transform our character, and so transform our relationships, and in doing that, transform entire communities. So what does that look like?
Although Jesus does not require sinless obedience, he is still calling for a new, radical, inwardly produced, different kind of righteous living. He does not call us to live moral lives or to love in order to earn a place in his kingdom. No. He first reminds us of our identity as his followers: We are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. It is not about what we do, it is a new identity that we receive as a gift. Only when we embrace this new identity in Christ can we then live it out. What a relief! We do not obey to become Christ’s; we obey with a sincere obedience from the heart because we are already his. –From Sermon on the Mount Study Book.
