“You… are Salt and light.”

Epiphany 5a

Matthew 5:13-20

[Mt 5:13] “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

[14] “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; [15] nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. [16] “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

[17] “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. [18] “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.[19] “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

[20] “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:13

Four Gospels; four purposes

When we began studying the Beatitudes we realized that the Gospel writers had to pick certain themes and fit their writings to those overarching premises. It doesn’t mean they made anything up; it means that there was so much that Christ did it could not be contained in a single book:

John 21:25

[Jn 21:25] And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books that *would be written.

Luke practiced this when he combined all three of the Lord’s visits to Jerusalem into one final march. John does this by holding himself to the seven ‘signs’ and the seven ‘I am’ statements of Jesus. Mark does this by trying to quickly get on paper the teachings of Peter while they are still fresh in his mind. And, Matthew does this by combining the major teachings of Jesus into basically six lengthy discourses. The teachings on salt, for example are found much later in both Mark’s and Luke’s Gospels [Mark 9:49-50 and Luke 14:34-35]; by that time Jesus had already sent the disciples out to experience the power of the Gospels. In Mark’s Gospel, the transfiguration had already occurred which is near the end of Luke’s Gospel.

We just need to remember when we read the Gospels that we have four books with four purposes. Each bears the truth from a complimentary perspective and each provides a greater fullness to our understanding of the greatness of the Messiah and God’s eternal plan.

“You are the salt of the earth...”

In this reading we have four commands made by Jesus:

1) We are called to be active salt;

2) We are called to be displayed light;

3) We are called to fulfill the heart of the law;

4) And, the heart of the law is compared to righteousness; the aspect of the law which was most important and which the Pharisee’s lacked.

Salt was used for seasoning, but also for healing and preserving. The earliest scriptural reference to salt is in the Old Testament:

Leviticus 2:13

[Lev 2:13] ‘Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.”

Here, in Leviticus, the people are taught how to prepare the offering of their first fruits to the Lord. God demanded the offering of the people’s first fruits to remind them that He alone was to be first in their lives. Salt, a preservative, was to be added to these first fruits to also remind the people that God alone preserved them from slavery. Jesus was God’s first fruit offered as the perfect sacrifice. He alone preserves us from the slavery of our sins. He is the salt, the preserver, we are called to both remember that in communion and to be salt to the world. How will we keep him uppermost in our lives? How will we always remember him? How will keep in mind and carry out to others that it is Christ alone that makes our lives tasteful and keeps us from rotting? How will make sure we don’t become tasteless like the Pharisees?

The word ‘tasteless’ [GSN3471 moraino] in Greek also means to become a fool; to be made foolish. When does a believer become a fool? Let’s see what Paul and Peter said about that:

Hebrews 6:1-8

[Heb 6:1] Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, [2] of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. [3] And this we will do, if God permits. [4] For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, [5] and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, [6] and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. [7] For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; [8] but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

2 Peter 2:17-22

[2Pe 2:17] These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. [18] For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, [19] promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. [20] For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. [21] For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. [22] It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

To Paul it was the believer who sampled the true taste of the freed believer and then returned to a religion of ritual and self-righteousness. Even more, the condemnation is for the one who falls back into religiosity and then tries to force it upon others. Some of these harsh criticisms were leveled by Paul at Peter!

Galatians 2:11-21

[Ga 2:11] But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. [12] For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. [13] The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. [14] But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?

[15] “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; [16] nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. [17] “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! [18] “For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. [19] “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. [20] “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. [21] “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

Peter writes his words nearly 15 years after he is challenged by Paul in Galatians (also called ‘The Charter of Christian Freedom’). Paul is already arrested in Rome and the situation looks dire. Peter writes with the renewed vigor of the Diaspora (the Christian churches are taking root all over the Roman Empire). Yet, Peter is hunted as well and his time is nearing; there is no doubt that the prophecy is nigh. When Peter pens his words about losing salt he is also, by now, writing for a largely Gentile church. To him tasteless salt is the believer who let Jesus in but also clung to the old life; to sin and its impurities. The Christian becomes tasteless—becomes a fool—when he thinks he can have both worlds. When that happens, we, as salt, become tasteless, foolish, worthless; we curdle the stomach not enrich the hearts.

Most of Israel’s salt supply came from the Dead Sea but because of its impurities; it could easily lose its taste. It was also a highly traded commodity and it wasn’t unusual for unscrupulous traders to mix it with white sand in bulk sales. When one says, “He’s not worth his salt,” he was originally speaking about an unscrupulous trader.

Are we worth our salt? Are we trying to mix impurities or sand in with our salt? Are we the dog returning to its vomit or the pig returning to its mire? Or, will we adhere to the pure, the beautiful, and the life worth living in Christ’s eyes?

There is another time that Paul uses salt for a different purpose; that is in our kindness to one another.

Colossians 4:6

[Col 4:6] Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

We are salt when we are both truth and grace to a world filled with promises that are not ‘worth their salt.’ Our question will be, “Were we?” “Were we worth our salt?”

Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world...”

John begins his Gospel by telling us that Jesus is both The Word and The Light. Here, in Matthew, the emphasis is deepened; Jesus tells us we must become light to the world. We cannot just to look to Jesus in praise of his light; indeed, we praise Jesus when we take his light to the world.

The word Matthew uses for light [GSN5457 phos] is important. It comes from a root word [GSN5316 phaino] which means to appear as light. We have the word phosphorescence which implies a light that is chemically-induced internally as opposed to powered from an external source (such as fire or electricity). The Hebrew words are similar [HSN216 or] [HSN215 or] and mean not just too see light but to become light.

The use of these words is both personal and communal. Christ challenges the disciples while Isaiah charges ‘the People.’

Let’s look at some of Isaiah’s prophetic challenges:

Isaiah 9:2

[2] The people who walk in darkness

Will see a great light;

Those who live in a dark land,

The light will shine on them.

Isaiah 42:6-7

[6] “I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness,

I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,

And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,

As a light to the nations,

[7] To open blind eyes,

To bring out prisoners from the dungeon

And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

Isaiah 49:6

[6] He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant

To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;

I will also make You a light of the nations

So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

The promises God held out to Israel were to make them the light; but they were to be that light to others. This is a light that was never meant to be self-contained; it is meant to draw others to its luminescence. In fact, when Jesus says, “A city set on a hill cannot [GSN1410 dunama] be [GSN3756 oh, ouk, ouch] hidden [GSN2928 krupto],” the words literally mean that, “There is no power that corrupt it,” or, “nothing anywhere can prevent it.”

Proverbs 4:18-19

[18] But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

[19] The way of the wicked is like darkness;

They do not know over what they stumble.

Paul examines this further by saying we need to keep our light pure at all times:

2 Corinthians 6:14

[2Co 6:14] Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnerships have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

This does not mean we avoid unbelievers; in fact it is quite the opposite. Paul says we are not to share our mission with them completely in the sense that we do not seek their opinion regarding the validity of our purpose. Our light must constantly be an invitation to the non-believer but we would never ask a non-believer if what we stand for makes good sense. Of course it will not!

So, we stand as lights; counter-cultural to the darkness around us:

Philippians 2:14-17

[Phl 2:14] Do all things without grumbling or disputing; [15] so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, [16] holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

There is another thing to note about our light. The individual is never excused by a communal lack of initiative. We must shine bright regardless of whether or not we stand alone. In fact, those times when our light burns loneliest in the darkness are often the times when we become most prophetic.

And, why do we keep burning in the darkness? Because of the glorious day ahead when our light will join the community of light promised us by our Lord:

Revelation 21:21-27

[Rev 21:21] And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

[22] I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. [23] And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. [25] In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; [26] and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; [27] and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The time of great light is fast approaching when we will no longer see the world through shadows and fog. That monumental day lies near when the sun will rise and never set. Praise the Lord, we are but a few breaths away; so let us endure.

We shine for a singular purpose—not for ourselves—but for others and the kingdom that is coming.

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:17-19

[17] “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. [18] “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. [19] “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

[20] “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

“I did not come to abolish but to fulfill...”

Fulfill and accomplish; this was the work of Jesus Christ. It was what he was prophesied to do; it was what he promised to do and it is what he did. Our Lord Jesus Christ is himself the fulfillment and accomplishment of God’s promise. These two words are very important. Already in Matthew we have seen this word, fulfill [GSN4137 pleroo], used multiple times. All told, Matthew will use this word no less than 18 times in reference to the work of our Lord Jesus. Perhaps the word could best be interpreted as ‘filled full’ rather than fulfilled. For Jesus ‘filled full’ the promises of God. Through Jesus our God’s love overflowed onto humanity.

The word accomplished [GSN1096 ginomai] is used even more extensively by Matthew (83 times). This word means not only accomplished; but completed, ‘it came to pass,’ it has been fulfilled, the contract has been realized.

Herein is the work of Jesus the Christ to fill full and complete the unbreakable covenant of our Most High God to His people.

However, once again we see how Christ turns the focus of the Gospel message to not just point to himself. That message inevitably points to us! We are to fulfill the covenant. We are told we are not to annul [GSN3089 luo] (to release or remove or dilute) one single word of the promise of God. Once again we are reminded: Jesus is the salt; but we are to become salt to the world. Jesus is the light; but we are to become light to the world. Jesus is the fulfillment of the covenant; but we are called live it fully to the world.

In fact, Jesus also uses the word called [GSN2564 kaleo] in this scripture which means ‘to be summoned,’ ‘to call to the party’ and to be an ‘invited guest’. We are the ‘called’ people and we are called to live out the fullness of God’s covenant to this world.

The next question might well be; “What is the fullness of the covenant or the completion of the law?” To the Hebrew, the law could be reduced to two important commandments or what was called ‘the Shema.’

Deuteronomy 6:4-6

[Dt 6:4] “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! [5] “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. [6] “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.”

Leviticus 19:34

[Lev 19:34] “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.”

Jesus reiterated the importance of these two commandments in a discussion with a Sadducee lawyer:

Matthew 22:36-40

[Mt 22:36] “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” [37] And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. ’[38] “This is the great and foremost commandment. [39] “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ [40] “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

In the beatitudes, Christ tells us that; “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

He singles out the word ‘righteousness’ as the primary quality of the fulfillment of the law. It is not ritual that is singled out, not legalism, tradition or judgmental attitudes, it is righteousness and there is no ‘self’ in this righteousness. Matthew chooses the word dikaiosune [GSN1343] for righteousness the root of which is dikaios [GSN1342]. It means to ‘act rightly,’ or even ‘seek to do right actions’ and on seven occasions in the New Testament the word is used for justice or just behavior.

Throughout the Old Testament and into the New, justice is the value we ascribe to and righteousness is the action used to obtain it. They are part and parcel and used so frequently together that we should be reminded that they are complimentary sides of singular truth. Justice (the goal) without righteousness (the action) is hypocrisy; righteousness (the action) without justice (the goal) quickly becomes ‘judgmentalism’. It was ‘judgmentalism’ that defined the behaviors of the Pharisees.

Here is the heart of the law; here is what Jesus says will allow us to ‘enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Does our love of Jesus compel us to action? Are our actions bringing about the fulfillment of the law; the law which is centered in justice?

Am I worth my salt? Do I preserve the memory of Christ by liberally pouring myself out on the wounds of this world; healing and cleansing at the same time?

Am I light to the world? Do I point out darkness with my presence and illuminate the lives of those lost and forgotten?

Am I fulfillment of the law; my daily life filled full with the goal of justice and the acts of righteousness?

Those are the questions of life.

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