Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
In this study of the Sermon on the Mount we have climbed the ladder of the beatitudes. We have studied Jesus’ text, the truth that the sermon will unfold. The beatitudes are the essential expression of God as King, of His kingdom and of the character of the citizens of that kingdom. From the beatitudes we are launched into verses 13-16 which reveal clearly and powerfully the purpose of those who have become what the beatitudes describe and promise. The salt of the earth, as we discussed last week and then today, the light of the world, are a specific group of people, they are those that have surrendered to Jesus, been transformed by His death and resurrection, been baptized by His Spirit and have yielded themselves to Him and Him alone. In his book The True Vine, Andrew Murray writes about Jesus’ words in John 15, “I am the vine you are the branches.” Jesus goes on to say “Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Murray writes that abiding is “unbroken communion”, that it is “an act of the will and the whole heart” and finally that abiding is “the wholehearted losing of ourselves in Christ and His life.” The salt of the earth and the light of the world are not those who “try Jesus” or “claim Jesus” or even “confess Jesus”, they are those who have died to self and are alive in Christ, those that have traded all to follow Him, those who have been redeemed, reconciled and completely transformed. Everybody doesn’t have a little salt and everybody doesn’t project a little light, the salt of the earth and the light of the world are those who are new creations in Christ, in whom the old has passed away and all things have become new.
Last week we discussed at length the qualities of salt. It preserves that which is decaying, it can kill the germs of that which is becoming infected, it can add flavor and causes thirst. Our ultimate deduction from our study of salt is that it effects change. The salt of the earth is a calling to be different, to be distinct, to stand apart and to create change. Salt is a substance that is different from that which it is added to so that it can cause change, we are to be different, we are to be added and we are to cause change. The salt of the earth and the light of the world are not two metaphors describing the same thing, there is distinction between them, they are separate components and yet, they work together to cause one miraculous outcome. Salt effects change and light reveals truth; they are the components of salvation, repentance of sin and surrender to Jesus. I believe we have a biblical picture of them in John the Baptism baptizing for the forgiveness of sin and Jesus baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire. We are the salt of the earth, sent by God to live holy lives that effect change and cause sin to be exposed; we are also the light of the world, called to reveal the greatness, the beauty, the worth and the magnitude of Jesus. When joined together, salvation comes, God is glorified and His kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven. This morning we will concentrate on the light of the world, its purpose in revealing truth, its creation in being the reflection of God and its method of shining through good works.