Matthew 5:14-16 14You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill is not able to be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all the people in the house. 16So, let your light shine before people, so that they might see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
In the next image, Jesus calls kingdom people the light of the world. He uses two different images followed by the application. The first image in verse 14 is a city on a hill. Many cities in the ancient world were built on hills for easy defense. These hills often grew higher over the millennia as more layers were added. The mounds today are called “tels.” Today, we have satellite photos of how bright the earth is at night because of the lights of cities. The smallest light can be seen from a long ways away. The second image in verse 15 is of a lamp under a basket. The average houses of that time were one room. One light could serve the whole house and benefit everyone who lived there. Today, we might put a shade on a lamp. A dark shade keeps the light from shining all over the room. The application of these images is given in verse 16: our light can be a witness of God’s glory to the people around us.
The critical question of these verses is the meaning of light. Jesus leaves the meaning of this word wide open and unstated. Since both metaphors of salt and light come after the beatitudes and at the beginning of the practical teachings that follow in the Sermon on the Mount, it is likely that salt and light refer to the lifestyle of disciples that Jesus will give in the rest of the sermon. The way followers of Jesus should live as salt and light is given in the kingdom lifestyle.
Light has several relevant characteristics. Light gives direction and shows the way to go, especially when it is dark. Light shows what is hidden so it can be fixed. Light penetrates the darkness and shows things that are hidden. The darkness likes to hide things, but these things cannot be hidden from the light. Light gives life, especially through photosynthesis. Without light of the sun, the world would not have life. Light guides the best way to go and reveals dangers. Something needs to define what moral corruption is, and that is what God’s laws and commands do for us If we remove these, we may and likely will fall into sin. Light chases away the darkness. Light and darkness cannot be in the same place. Even a little bit of light shines in the darkest of spots. In fact, the darker it is, the brighter the light shines. The world can be a dark place, with little or no light of its own. Some external source of light is needed. Even ancient people understood this and worshipped the sun as the source of life. Nature goes dark on its own. Everything deteriorates without light.
Light in the Bible represents the presence of God, such as the pillar of fire at night in Exodus 13:21 and the overwhelming light of God’s presence for Moses in Exodus 34. Light in the Bible also often represents holiness. As the light of the world, we spread goodness, purity, and righteousness. Without the Christian light, cultures will deteriorate, be filled with fighting and chaos, and eventually collapse. There has never been a truly Christian empire. Whenever the Christian light has gone low or out, a culture and nation will collapse under its own darkness.
In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 3:19-20 expresses the challenge we face and why we are the light of the world: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”
Jesus says we are THE salt and THE light. Christians are not just in the mix with others, but we are the very ones God uses to fulfill his plan of redemption in the world. Jesus is not describing some characteristics of salt and light but the very essence of the nature of these two things. Salt by nature preserves, seasons, and penetrates. Light by nature shines in darkness. Jesus describes that our light is good works. People will see how we live. Our light is not for our glory but for God’s glory. How we live points to our Savior. We are not light to be on display but to bring praise to God. Peter may have been reflecting on the sermon on the mount when he wrote in 1 Peter 2:12, “Have your conduct good among the nations so that in when they accuse you as evil doers, when they observe your good works, they might praise God on the day of visitation.”
If we lift Jesus up, he will draw all people to himself (John 12:32). We need consistency all week and in all situations: church, home, family, work, school, play. When people see us, they know there is goodness about us. But we should not always expect people to embrace and hug us. The darkness does not always like the light, so we should be prepared for people trying to snuff out our lamps. God has created us to find our hope in Jesus Christ. God has recreated us in Christ because the people around us need the salt and light that we have. If we fail at our job, we not only become a roadblock to others but we find ourselves out of sync with God and God’s kingdom.
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