SALT & LIGHT - MATTHEW 5:13-16

 

Salt Of The Earth

5:13

In Jesus’ time, salt was used primarily as preservative. If you rub salt into meat, it slows down the decay process so the meat lasts longer. 

For example, in the novel “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, the Joad family slaughters a pig, butchers it, and packs it in a barrel with salt so they could take it with them on the way to California. 

You may have eaten some version of salt pork in your life. I had it in the cafeteria in school when I was in 6th grade. It was basically government surplus the school acquired. It was fried and salty to the taste. I had to ask my parents what it was. 

So, Jesus was saying that disciples who lived out the beatitudes would preserve the culture of those around them. And, by preserve, he meant to keep it from descending further into depravity. 

If the disciples lost their saltiness, i.e., quit living according to kingdom standards, they would become useless. They would not preserve the cultures or countries around them.

One of the “new atheists” is prominent author and speaker Richard Dawkins. He recently expressed the view, however, bemoaning the loss of Christian values in Great Britain. Although remaining an atheist, he now says he is  “cultural Christian”. 

Even Friedrich Nietzsche, one of Christianity's fiercest critics, worried deeply about the consequences of the "death of God." He feared that abandoning Christian belief would lead to nihilism unless new sources of meaning and value were created. Nihilism is the belief that life has no objective meaning, purpose, or value.

The other side of the coin is that, if we as believers do not live as citizens of the kingdom are supposed to live, we are “no longer good for anything”. We are no good to the kingdom and we are no good for the culture. In fact, we may be a harm to it. 

We have seen this in the USA in the decline of the so called “mainstream” Protestant denominations. They embraced the changes in culture, adopting the moral standards and thus became so like the culture they became largely useless. 

We have seen this in the USA in the decline of the so called “mainstream” Protestant denominations. That is why Paul wrote:  “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” (Romans 12:2) 

Light Of The World

5:14-16

Next, Jesus calls us the light of the world. This makes sense because we are in Christ, in the one who is the light of men that is not overcome by the darkness. (John 1:4-5; 8:12)

The symbolism of light and darkness is a recurring theme in the Bible. Light represents good, knowledge of God, and even the presence of God. Dark represents evil, ignorance or rejection of God, and separation from God.

God is light and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5) So Jesus says that, in Christ, we are the light of the world. We bring the knowledge of the glory of God to the world. And we are not to hide that light as we might be tempted in order to fit in with those in the world, in darkness, or to avoid confrontation with the world. 

So we act as children of God, shining light into the world by our good works and moral behavior. And that brings glory to God. (16) 

We shine our light in big ways. We build hospitals, orphanages, and schools. We send food to those in famine. We assist those who have needs of all kinds. 

But we also shine our light in small ways. We are kind to people. We are humble. We care about each other and show it by our actions. We show mercy, we respect people, and we live faithfully and responsibly toward our families, friends, neighbors, those we come into contact with in our daily lives.

There is also a battlefield here. The battle is between the children of God and the cultures they live in. We might call that the world. God’s children seek to win the culture to God, through Christ, to glorify God in all things. The culture seeks to penetrate the church and influence it to accept its ways. Who will prevail over the other?

The Fundamentalist movement made errors in this regard in the USA. First, they withdrew from the culture. They advocated avoiding everything outside of the church. 

That movement led churches in the 1980s to create worlds of their own. They built campuses with recreational facilities so that you could avoid non-believers while you played or exercised. They put coffee shops in their foyers so that you could get gourmet coffee while avoiding the pagans at the coffee shops. I visited one church that had a gift shop in the foyer. You could buy gifts from the church and not to the mall. They did not believe in being salt and light to the world. They believed in avoiding the world. 

Then the seeker friendly church went the other direction. At its extreme, they designed their worship services to having nothing confrontational or upsetting to non-believers. Some adopted practices of the entertainment industry to draw people in. They were not being salt and light. The focus became attendance rather than witness. 

Neither of these extremes fit the model Jesus lays out in these verses. When we live and act in accordance with the Christian character set out in the Beatitudes, we can be salt and light to the world. We are then the greatest influence to the world both in restraining evil and in witnessing to the transforming power of Jesus Christ. 

This glorifies God. 

And it results in our being blessed. 

THE BEATITUDES PART 2- MATTHEW 5:7-12

 

The Merciful

5:7

The remaining beatitudes deal more with our attitude to other people, whereas the first beatitudes dealt more with our relationship with God.

Mercy includes forgiveness and compassion for those who are suffering or those who are in need even if it is a consequence of their own actions.. Those who show mercy to others will receive mercy from God. 

Our ability and desire to show mercy flows from the other characteristics Jesus has mentioned. If we are poor in spirit, recognizing our own spiritual weakness, if we are meek, if we seek to be righteous, we find it easier to be merciful.

For example, how do you treat a church member who has done something bad and is repentant? How do we treat someone who has failed in some area of life? How do we treat someone who is the victim of bad circumstances? How do we treat the poor, the disabled, the sick?

If we are proud of ourselves, or if our image is important to us, we may shun the church member, or criticize them and even those associated with them. The disciples attributed a man’s blindness to sin, either his or his parents. We often have the same attitude. (John 9:2)

For example, when I was a child, my best friend’s father left the family for another woman. Their church shunned them even though it was the father’s sin, not theirs. Parents would not let their kids invite these kids to their house and would not let their kids visit the house of the abandoned kids. I remember my friend showing up at my house crying over it. My friend never got over it. 

Jesus also told a story about this. We call it the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. A priest and a Levite crossed the road to avoid the man. But a Samaritan bound the man’s wounds and doctored them. He put him on his own animal and took him to an inn. He paid for the man to stay there and recover.  He was the one who showed the man mercy. Jesus said to go and do likewise. (Luke 10:29-37) 

We often do not show the mercy our gracious heavenly Father has shown us. We judge, we gossip, we speculate, and we shun. But Jesus said mercy is a trait of those who are in the kingdom. 

John Stott wrote: “Nothing moves us to forgive like the wondering knowledge that we have ourselves been forgiven. Nothing proves more clearly that we have been forgiven that our own readiness to forgive.” 

The Pure In Heart

5:8

The pure in heart are  blessed for they shall see God. The pure in heart are those who are sincere. Their lives are free from falsehood. They are transparent, devoted to God with all of their heart, not just acting like it and observing rituals.

This was part of Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees. They were dedicated to outward observances of law and ritual, but their hearts were not devoted to God. Jesus condemned them, saying: 

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside, they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25)

Only the pure in heart will see God, both now and in eternity. Only the pure in heart can stand the glory of the Holy God. 

The Peacemakers

5:9

Christians are to be peace makers. There are two elements to this. 

First, we should not be creators of conflict or the cause of it. God has called us to peace. (1 Corinthians 7:15; 1 Peter 3:11) Have you ever known someone who likes to “stir the pot”? One of my places of employment had a woman who did this. She would create situations of conflict, pitting one person against another or the group against one person. It kept the staff in turmoil.

Church members can create conflict with gossip, false accusations and faulty assumptions. These people are not peacemakers, they are peace destroyers.

The second part of peacemaking is seeking the reconciliation of others who are in conflict. This may involve talking to both parties about the reason for the conflict, or leading the parties to sit down and talk about it between themselves. 

Jesus was the ultimate peacemaker. He reconciled people to God through his death on the cross. (Romans 5:11; Colossians 1:20) He also made peace between Jews and Gentiles, abolishing the wall of the law to make one man of the two, making peace. (Ephesians 2:15) And Jesus prayed for the unity of the church, that we might be “one” people in agreement with each other as the Son and Father are. (John 17:22) 

That is why peacemakers are called sons of God. 

Yet, we cannot pursue peace at any cost, peace at the expense of truth. The Ecumenical Movement told us to ignore differences and unite in loving Jesus. But, true doctrine is vital. There can be matters we disagree about without losing unity, but the truth of the gospel is not one of them. 

This is not always easy, for it may be difficult to ascertain which doctrines are vital and which are secondary. We see this continually as denominations and churches divide over doctrinal matters. We must stand for truth, but even then, we can do so with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15) 

The Persecuted

5:10-12

The final blessing involves persecution. This one is different than the others in that there is a longer explanation. 

This one also is somewhat foreboding because it presumes persecution will come. He says “when” not “if” you are persecuted. (11) 

First, you may be persecuted simply for your faith, because you believe in Jesus for salvation. That may range from intellectual disdain to physical torture and death. 

The world is full of people who think Christians are stupid to believe as they do. Social media is full of it. Books and articles are written to proclaim it. You may encounter it in social interactions. Paul explains this for us: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned”. (1 Corinthians 2:14) 

Formerly Christian countries including Great Britain and Canada have arrested pastors for preaching Biblical truth. 

But physical torture and death also have happened and happen today. It began with the stoning of Stephen. (Acts 7) It continues today as Muslim groups slaughter Christians in places like Nigeria. Government persecution  against Christians happens in China, North Korea, and other places. 

This is what Jesus means says you are blessed when persecuted for righteousness sake. 

Second, you may be reviled and accused falsely, not only for your faith, but for living a moral life according to Biblical standards. You may be accused of thinking you are better than others simply because you will not engage in behaviors they do. Or, you will be accused of being judgmental and unloving.

In all these things, you can rejoice. In the midst of persecution, you know that you are the object of God’s favor and you will be greatly rewarded in heaven. You will be like the Old Testament prophets who were persecuted by their own people. 

Jesus ends the blessings the same way he began them, saying you have the kingdom of heaven. Standing firm in the faith in the face of opposition shows you have a place prepared for you with Christ for eternity. And those who suffered for the faith will be rewarded by the Lord.

This ends the Beatitudes. So, it is a good time to reflect on the traits of kingdom citizens and to resolve to live accordingly. 

THE BEATITUDES (PART 1) - MATTHEW 5:1-5

 

Jesus Discipling

5:1

Seeing the big crowd, Jesus went up on the side of a mountain to separate from the crowd and teach his disciples, those who were committed to following him. 

Jesus sat down. This was the posture of teaching for a rabbi. He would sit and his disciples would sit around him. Sitting was a sign he was about to teach. The crowd would know this and sit to hear him. 

This teaching became known as the Sermon on the Mount, as named by Augustine. It comprises chapters five through seven. 

The Beatitudes

5:1-2

This chapter begins the Sermon On The Mount, and the sermon begins with what we call the Beatitudes. The name comes from the Latin word “beatus”, which is translated as “blessed”.

There is debate about who the Beatitudes apply to. But, we know that Jesus has been preaching the gospel of the kingdom. (4:23) And he begins the Beatitudes with a statement about the kingdom of God. So, we can ascertain that he is talking about the characteristics of those who belong to the kingdom, i.e., believers. He was saying “this is what believers should look like”. 

The words “he opens his mouth and taught them” carry weight because it indicates a teacher speaking with authority. He was teaching them that his kingdom brought a new way of thinking and living. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament and now teaches what attitudes and behaviors the New Covenant requires and results in. 

“Blessed” means uniquely favored by God. This person has the approval of God. It means much more than “happy”, as some have tried to teach. For example, Robert Schuller wrote a book called the “Be Happy Attitudes” teaching that these eight attitudes lead to a happy life. It is not about our feelings, it is about God’s attitude toward us and our relationship with him.

The Poor In Spirit

5:3

The first people Jesus says are blessed are the “poor in spirit”. You are poor in spirit if you have confidence only in God’s grace for your good standing with him. This is similar to the Old Testament phrase “contrite in spirit”. God said he would dwell with the person who is of a contrite and lowly spirit. (Isaiah 57:15)

This is the picture conveyed in the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. (Luke 18:9-14) The Pharisee trusted in himself that he was righteous and help others in contempt.Even his prayers were bragging on himself. 

In contrast, the tax collector prays for mercy and acknowledged that the was a sinner. He left in good standing with God,  but the Pharisee did not. 

Some commentators refer to it as an acknowledgement of “spiritual bankruptcy”, meaning one who realizes he is unworthy of God’s favor on his own and who is dependent on God. 

The poor in spirit have the kingdom of heaven. They have eternal life in fellowship with God. They enjoy the reign of Christ and living in the kingdom. This is not just a promise of the future, but of the present life in Christ. 

Certainly the full state of blessedness with only come when the kingdom is consummated. But, with the inauguration of the kingdom and our entry into it, we already share in the present blessedness of the kingdom.   

Those Who Mourn

5:4

Also blessed are those who mourn. This means mourning for sin, both personal and corporate. We mourn and weep over our own sin. This is repentance. 

This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said: And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment”. (John 16:3)

We also mourn for the sins of the church, of the nation, and of a world living in opposition to God. 

The apostle Paul confronted the Corinthian church over its tolerance of sin. He wrote: “Ought you not rather to mourn?” (1 Corinthians 5:2)

The Old Testament prophets are an example. They wept over the sins of Israel. For example, the Psalmist said “My eyes shed streams of tears because people do not keep your law”. (Psalm 119:136) 

We once held a service next door to an abortion clinic that was opening. We confessed and mourned the sin of our nation in sponsoring abortions.

When we mourn and repent of our sin, we are comforted. That comfort comes in the form of forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) 

Matthew also alludes to Isaiah 61:1-4, which speaks of the time of the Lord’s favor, when the Messiah\Christ will bring good news to the poor, bind up the broken hearted, and give those who mourn beauty for ashes. He will bring the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit, or spirit of despair. 

So, the first two beatitudes tell us that citizens of the kingdom should be aware of their sins and grieved by them, becoming aware of the greatness of God’s grace in bringing us into the kingdom through the death of Christ. 

The blessings come now in part, but are fully realized at the consummation of the kingdom as pictured in Revelation 7:17, when Jesus guides us to springs of living water and wipes away every tear from our eyes. 

Charles Wesley captured these thoughts in his hymn “O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing”:

"He speaks, and, listening to His voice,

New life the dead receive;

The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,

The humble poor believe.”

The Meek

5:5

The next blessed group is those who are meek. Meekness is a gentle spirit that is free from malice and vengeance. It is a humble spirit toward others. 

Jesus modeled it for us. He said “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls”. (Matthew 11:29 KJV) He seems to be referring to Psalm 37, which says not to fret about evil people because “the meek shall inherit the earth”. (Psalm 37:11) That tells us that meekness, or a gentle spirit, was desired by God even under the Old Covenant. 

Even Moses, the leader of Israel who stood up to Pharaoh, was meek. “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth”. (Numbers 12:3) Meek does not equal week. 

The godless may exert power at present. Even so, believers, as “the meek” may still enjoy the earth now and rejoice in knowing it belongs to Christ. They also know they ultimately inherit the new heavens and earth. 

Revelation 21:1-7 gives us a picture of this new heaven and earth. God says it is the inheritance of those who believe in him. No one else will have a part in it. And it will be beautiful and perfect and in the presence of God.  

Meditate on these things this week.

Are you poor in spirit? Do you mourn sin? Are you meek? 

Confess your shortcomings, receive forgiveness, and live according to Jesus’ instructions.