Text for the Week: This Is Us!

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-20

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷ “Don’t even begin to think that I have come to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I haven’t come to do away with them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ I say to you very seriously that as long as heaven and earth exist, neither the smallest letter nor even the smallest stroke of a pen will be erased from the Law until everything there becomes a reality. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever ignores one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called the lowest in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps these commands and teaches people to keep them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ I say to you that unless your righteousness is greater than the righteousness of the legal experts and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Questions

1. What is the purpose of the metaphor of salt losing flavor, is it meant to highlight the impossibility of this happening or the importance of salt?
2. Create a mental image of Christians being the light of the world, what do you see?
3. What does Jesus mean that he is “fulfilling” the law and how is that different from “doing away with it”?
4. Do verses 17-20 relate to verses 14-16 or are they distinct thoughts, if there is a relationship between the paragraphs what is it?

Background

Related Scriptures: Isaiah 51:4, Daniel 12:3, John 1:1-5, Colossians 4:6

The word Jesus uses translated “loses its saltiness” is a play on words, when used with food it means insipid or lacking flavor, but it also can be used of a person who is foolish or lacking in spiritual maturity.

Most translations will render verse 13 as “But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again” but it is probably more accurate to say “if the salt is insipid (flavorless) what will have flavor.”

The word translated “earth” in verse 13 is often used of the physical land and not of the earth as globe or planet and often symbolizes Israel and not a wider base. This means it is possible that Jesus is saying to the disciples “you are the salt of Israel and the light of the whole world”.

There are three distinct analogies in verses 14-15 on the theme of light, the sun as light of the world, a city on a hill, and an oil lamp illuminating a house.

Jesus’ fulfillment of the law and prophets cannot be limited to simply his death and resurrection fulfilling prophecies, since the law was meant to help people regulate their lives around God we must understand Jesus’ message as fulfilling the ability for humanity to live lives in line with God’s desires.

For more background you can watch my video here

Reflection

The passage before us contains two distinct but interconnected metaphors and an explanation of how Jesus views his ministry. On one hand each of these paragraphs is a discrete message to be thought of for its own meaning, but they also work together to help us understand the Christian life more richly. Jesus first compares his followers to salt, and though it might be tempting in the light of modern science to think about salt as an essential element for life, which is not the direction that Jesus is thinking. His thinking is like Paul’s in Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Jesus is comparing his followers to the seasoning that makes food desirable. His point is that salt can be used to make even the blandest food palatable, but if the salt itself has no flavor it has no better purpose than being trampled underfoot. Jesus is not warning his disciples about salt losing its flavor he is posing a question, “What is going to be seasoning for salt if it has no flavor?” He is telling his followers that so long as they live like him, upholding the ethical core of the law by loving God and neighbor, they will reflect him and so draw people to themselves who want to proverbially enjoy the well-seasoned food. This is where understanding the term “earth” as a reference to Israel might be helpful, Jesus is telling his followers that they are what gives religion (particularly for him the Jewish faith) a decided flavor, which many will want to experience. But without Jesus’ followers, religion will be bland and while essential (like food) it will not be eagerly received.

The metaphor of the light goes a different path and seems to consider passages like Isaiah 51:4 which says that Israel will be a light to the nations. Jesus wants his followers to think about light from three vantage points, the sun which lights the whole world and is essential to life, a lit city on a hill which is a beacon to the traveler, and a lamp that brings comfort to a home. Each of these metaphors is true of Christians, we are to light the world providing essentials for the flourishing of society, we are to be a guide for those looking for rest and safety, and a comfort for those who are already living in the home. Our commitment is to qualities such as integrity, honesty, and justice without which civilization will collapse. We are people committed to peace, respect, and righteousness which will shine out to the weary traveler looking for a place to find rest. And we embody love, humility, and grace which make the home a comfortable place for us all when the surrounding culture is wrapped in darkness. The Christian life is the lamp that shines out in the darkness, but when we are collected, we are meant to act like the sun dissipating the darkness and bringing light, warmth, and life to the world around us. These metaphors are meant to help us understand that we, the followers of Jesus have both an essential role in the world and are meant to be the substance that helps people desire God.

Jesus follows these metaphors with a summation of his role in comparison to Israel’s scriptures. This paragraph can easily trip people up since Christians have traditionally drawn a clear distinction between the requirements of Jesus and those of the Old Testament Law. But in this passage Jesus draws clear continuity between his own mission and the law and prophets. This continuity is more than simply Old Testament prophecies that point to his life and work. Jesus wants us to understand that the ethical requirements that stand behind the law are essential for following him. This is how we are the salt and light to the world, not by keeping every Old Testament law, but by living out the moral center which motivated those laws.

Takeaway

Christians are always meant to live out a lifestyle that reflects God’s desires for the world, the righteousness, justice, and love expressed throughout the law. Jesus embodies this perfectly and our goal is to reflect his lifestyle for the world around us. Our lives should be the flavor that makes religion look appealing and the light of the sun essential for existence.