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 I have been invited to speak on four verses of Matthew’s gospel - Matthew 5:13-16

Before we get on to these vital verses, lets step back and consider what Matthew’s gospel is.

 I find it works to think of it as a discipleship manual. Each of the four gospels contains the narrative and teaching of Jesus but each approaches it in a different light.

Mark is an eye witness to some of the events and a companion of Paul. He constructs the story as a journey from Galilee to Jerusalem.  He is concerned with the narrative moving to the climax of history.

 Luke wrote a carefully research history in 2 volumes. Volume 1 we call Luke, volume 2 we call Acts. He embeds the Jesus story in the history of the day, He is detailed about when and as a medical doctor, gives us real insight into the sicknesses that Jesus healed.

John writes probably after the others so he does not repeat a lot of the story that already exists. Instead the story is a framework for the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God. Miracles are signs which lead to Jesus’ self declarations. For example Jesus heals and blind man and says I am the light of the world. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead and declares I am the resurrection and the life. 

 Matthew has a teaching purpose. So the teachings of Jesus are collected into 4 sections. The first we are in tonight is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount.

In this teaching Jesus spells out what following him means. First The beatitudes tell us of the disciples’ character. 

Then verses 13-15 tell us our purpose.

Then what follows is  the disciples standard’s relating  by  a right understanding of the law.

If you have turned from your sin and  put your faith in Jesus for salvation, you have received new life and the Holy Spirit is within you.  You are a disciple and someone who is the recipient of grace. So this book is for you to learn and carry out the instructions.

 Let’s read what Jesus has to say to those who aspire to follow him.

Matthew 5:13-16

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

So what does the word salt conjure up in your mind?

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks?

Salt in Stafforshire?  Film with Angela Jolie?

Cut down on your salt!

Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) says the 6g figure was picked as an achievable food industry target.

The World Health Organization's 5g target could save four million lives a year worldwide, BMJ online suggests.

Cash wants a 4g target, but the Food Standards Agency backs its 6g target. A UK adult averages 8.6g of salt daily.

So being the salt of the earth is not culturally a good thing!

Salt March of 1930

Britain’s Salt Acts prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt, a staple in the Indian diet. Citizens were forced to buy the vital mineral from the British, who, in addition to exercising a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt, also exerted a heavy salt tax. Although India’s poor suffered most under the tax, all Indians required salt.

The Salt March, which took place from March to April 1930 in India, was an act of civil disobedience led by Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) to protest British rule in India. During the march, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from his religious retreat near Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea coast, a distance of some 240 miles. The march resulted in the arrest of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself.

Google salt.

Salt is a mineral substance composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of ionic salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in the sea where it is the main mineral constituent, with the open ocean having about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. The tissues of animals contain larger quantities of salt than do plant tissues; therefore the typical diets of nomads who subsist on their flocks and herds require little or no added salt, whereas cereal-based diets require supplementation. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.

So the bad boy of our diet is an essential ingredient of our diet!  When Jesus said these words, it was known for its perseverative  and taste enhancing qualities.

The salt metaphor  is also found in Mark 9:50 and Luke 14:34–35. (See also Col 4:6 )  It is difficult to know which specific natural quality of salt (e.g., preserving, purifying, seasoning , fertilizing , if any, he intends. There is, moreover, the possibility of salt as a metaphor for wisdom, as well as various other associations—sacrificial (Lev 2:13a; Ezek 43:24;, covenantal (Num 18:19; Lev 2:13b), and moral.  Given that it is not explicit in the text., one has to assume it is to do with discipleship and therefore Christ-likeness which is an amalgam of these rather than one of them. Righteousness is all the Christ-like characteristics, behaviour and fundamentally comes from his death on the cross.

 So Jesus is saying you are the preserver of society and the taste enhancer of society – your world.  If you are a disciple of his, that is your role in life. You are here on earth to stop the world going rotten!  Well Ok, lets leave the rest of the world for a moment, you are here to stop your family going rotten, your workplace, your friends, whatever social groups you belong to.

Some Christians have taken this expression as a justification for demanding Christians standards in society,

Others that Christians are somehow superior to the rest of the world.

The question you have to answer is, in what way are you the salt of your community?

It is a serious question because Jesus goes on to say:

But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Now I know that scientifically Sodium Chloride is stable, but it is thought that extracting salt was somewhat inexact and some salt traded was tasteless, so it was used as weed-killer.  In fact the greek word translated “lose its saltiness” is actually a word for “to become foolish” . The Hebrew word for losing saltiness is the same as becoming foolish so Matthew has chosen to translate the word in the context of discipleship. So are you weed killer or preservative. A throw-out or an essential for your society? Foolish or righteous?

How can you be essential to your community ?

First, we need to understand God’s view of our community. God’ purpose for humanity is to enjoy his friendship for ever. That is why he created Adam and Eve, and you were created for the very same purpose. SO when you came to Jesus for salvation, you were born again into the family of God. You began living as God intended you to. You are spiritually alive in a world which is dead. And you are transformed by the Holy Spirit to exhibit the character of God so that your community can have hope that there is a better way and a purpose for life. By sharing of this good News of salvation your saltiness grows as others receive Jesus and start to demonstrate what God does in the life of a believer.  So it is not writing letters to John Randall MP, however good that maybe, that changes society but the infusing of your Christ-likeness into the society in which you live. That means it boils down to “are you living like you have been transformed by Jesus? Is the Holy Spirit making a difference in your life?

Lets move on.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world.

Jesus now changes the metaphor. In John 8, Jesus says “I am the light of the world”, Here he says “You are the light of the world”. In John 8 he continues. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Here Jesus points out that the purpose of lighting a lamp is for it to be seen. He then jumps metaphor and inserts

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

In Israel you will find many tells. Big mound, I mean really big. You didn’t build your city in a valley but on a hill-top. There are several reasons for this. One is that hill-tops are natural defence positions. It is a safe place. But also these days the nation of Israel still builds on hill-tops as the valley floor is more likely to be suitable for farming.  So you live on land you can’t farm. As opposed to London which is built over a fertile valley, leaving the hills which are poorer agricultural land as ‘Green Belt’ But of course being built on a hill-top has a down-side militarily, you can’t be hidden! Well often that is an advantage because it makes your enemy think twice before passing by. Remember Monte Casino? The threat of a hilltop fortress was the only reason for one very bloody battle in WW2.

 Jesus is clearly saying that Christians should be visible. We shouldn’t hide our light under a bowl. The silent, hidden Christian is not God’s way, even where persecution is happening.  It what way you are visible depends on your gifts and your calling.

Today we celebrate the day when the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples at Pentecost. In Acts 2:2-4 The Holy Spirit is described in these terms ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit….

Each of us has the Holy Spirit, the presence of Jesus, God with us. God is light and therefore you are  a lamp in a dark world because you have the light of God in you - Jesus. And together as the body of Christ, the light is multiplied as each builds the Kingdom of God by the outworking of the gifts that God has given you. At Pentecost we celebrate God turning the light on in the church!

But what do we mean by being the light of the world? John writes on this subject and so provides a commentary on this passage. In John 1: 4 we read these words:

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

Later in John 8:12  Jesus speaks of himself like this:

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

So Jesus was life and his life is the light for all mankind. What is more, if we are followers of him  we do not walk in darkness but have the light of life – Jesus.

So when Jesus says “You are the light of the world” he is saying that your light is what gives life to the world. Your community needs you to find its way. And you are a light when you let the life of Jesus shine through you.

And that light, that life, that power running through the church has transformed the world, so that today in every land, in every province, people worshipped the risen Saviour and rejoiced in the presence of God. They walk in the light, they are the light of the world.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

If the light that you have is the light of God, then as it shines out it will bring glory to God. If you are getting the glory, it is because you are trying in your own strength for your own glory. The disciple’s light is Jesus.

So how does this work? Well, quite simply, God has gloriously saved you to be the light and life of your family, workplace or community. If you don’t live out the life of Jesus and don’t tell of his salvation, your community will remain in the dark.  I want to go further, you are so essential to your community. Your prayers will effect the community, your holiness will affect the community your telling the Good News of Jesus will affect the community.  And Jesus does not beat about the bush. You have light to show it not to enjoy for yourself.

These verses are the fulcrum between the beatitudes and the the whole passage about followers conduct that follows. If you want to understand how to be  salt and light you have to understand that Jesus is calling you to be characterised by a new code:  Poor in spirit, mourner, meek, Hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaker,  persecuted. Those are the characteristics of the disciples life. Those characteristics are what makes you salt and light. But also your conduct has to be different. The ten commandments are not to be rules for others, your life must be transformed to reflect Christ’s values in anger management, relationships, integrity, passive under persecution, loving your enemies. Giving, prayer, fasting, are all transformed. Your investment is about eternity not pension…. Jesus is saying that you are to be salt and light and that begins with a close relationship with him, based on his righteousness, your forgiveness by grace, your life in the Spirit.

 So you are to be visible, not because you are jumping up and down drawing attention to yourself but because your life is so different because you have Jesus.

Is it?

Is the light shining through you?

I want to pause and ask an awkward question. Do the people around you know that Jesus is living in you? To our shame, to often our lives are no better than our neighbours and the rest of the family so when we speak of Jesus, they don’t see him in our lives, so they are under-impressed. 

But I want to encourage you tonight to be salt and light. Quite often you don’t realise that you stand out because you behave as Christ-imitators and your struggle is that you know your weakness. So don’t be down-hearted, God’s love shines through you as you obey his commands. So open your heart to the Holy Spirit of Jesus to set you alight, to make you the life-giving ingredient for your road, your family, your work place.