Matthew 5:13-16

And as you turn there, I want to begin by just asking a couple questions.

! Who are we?

And in asking this, I'm thinking specifically of the church.

! Who are we as the church?

Number two, what do we do?

And number three, to what end?

While we could spend several weeks answering just one of those questions,

who are we, what do we do, and to what end,

I find that when traveling through such difficult questions,

these big worldview questions,

it's easy to get lost in the weeds and the swamps of challenges and nuances

with such questions,

that we can actually be helped by stepping back

and looking at our map and compass, so to speak,

getting our bearings, figuring out where we actually are and where we are going,

and then going back to the challenges and nuances that we need to address.

And so that's kind of the goal for this morning,

to ask these big questions, to get our bearings.

And my goal this morning is not merely to fatten anyone's head with these big questions,

though that's a good and necessary first step.

The goal is a bit more ambitious.

I want you all with me to examine our lives.

not as a rebuke at all,

but as a brother who wants to press you all and be pressed by you,

such that we can all say in the end, by grace,

we have fought the good fight,

we have finished the race,

we have kept the faith.

I want to examine our way of being in this world such that when it is all said and done,

we can say we were trees of life here and now for those who know us.

As Proverbs 11.30 says,

the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

and whoever captures souls is wise.

So today as we examine our lives for maximum kingdom work and fruitfulness,

it is good and helpful to remind ourselves who we are,

what we are to do,

and to what end.

And so with these things in mind,

please read with me Matthew chapter 5, verse 13.

Matthew 5:13

This is the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus says,

You are the salt of the earth.

But if salt has lost its saltiness,

how is it to be made salty again?

It is good for nothing except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men.

You are the light of the world.

A city on a mountain cannot be hidden,

nor does anyone light a lamp and place it under a basket,

but on a lampstand,

and it shines its light before all in the house.

In this way,

your light must shine before men,

so that they may see your good works,

and they may glorify your Father,

who is in the heavens.

So as the church,

who are we?

The answer to this question serves as our first heading,

if you're taking notes.

We are signs of the new covenant.

Who are we?

We are signs of the new covenant.

Read verse 13 again.

You are the salt of the earth.

But if salt has lost its saltiness,

how is it to be made salty again?

It's good for nothing except to be cast out,

trampled underfoot by men.

There are many interpretations

on what this salt metaphor is intended to convey.

Perhaps most famously,

we've probably all heard at some point

from faithful Christians,

they'll lean into this idea of salt as a preservative,

and so we're meant to be agents of preservation,

is kind of the idea.

Others have talked about it being a tasty thing,

and so the point is to live lives that are tasty.

I don't know.

Be good, pleasing,

perhaps nutritious is kind of the idea there.

And while these ideas are certainly true theologically,

we should be agents of preservation,

we should live tasty lives,

they're secondary at best, I think.

I want to convince you these ideas

are not actually the primary thrust of this metaphor.

Rather, Jesus intends to convey that

we, his disciples, the church,

we are the new covenant people of God.

Salt in Scripture is often tied to covenant.

You can think of places like Leviticus 2.13,

Numbers 18.19.

But I want to read to you 2 Chronicles 13.5,

because I think it makes this point clear.

Samuel writes,

Ought you not to know,

in other words, you better know, right?

Ought you not to know

that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel

forever to David and his sons

by a covenant of salt.

So notice that.

Something about this Davidic covenant is forever.

It is made with David,

but it affects his sons.

The new covenant fulfillment of this

is the new David, Jesus Christ,

and his disciples.

So the salt of the Davidic covenant

is a sign of the permanence

of God's promises to David.

And so likewise, amazingly,

Jesus is saying to you and I today,

to his disciples on the mount in Matthew 5,

he's saying,

you are a sign of the new covenant.

You are a sign of God's faithfulness

to his redemptive plan.

You are a sign of the day and age

in which we live,

which is the last days.

And Jesus' packed words,

you are,

you and I together,

are

salt

of the earth.

Now, perhaps some of you

aren't totally convinced

of this covenant tie-in just yet,

but as the commercials used to say

when I was a kid,

just wait.

There's more.

Look at verse 14 with me again.

Matthew writes,

you are

the light

of the world.

A city set on a mountain

cannot

be hidden.

So this verse is parallel

to verse 13.

You have the

double construction.

You are,

you are,

you are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world.

And because of its repetitive structure,

we should already be thinking

these are mutually interpretive.

In other words,

these two metaphors

help us understand

the other.

And so the word

or the idea of light,

as you all well know,

is a

polyvalent term

in scripture,

right?

Your mind's probably already running

with all these things

light can convey.

Light as truth,

light as wisdom,

light as beauty,

light as glory,

or revelation

or so many other

good and true,

wonderful things.

And I think that's,

that's all in play here.

Nonetheless,

I also think with

many interpreters

before me

that Jesus

is primarily

speaking of our

identity as

signs

of the new covenant.

That through this metaphor,

he's telling us

we are

the people

of God.

God speaking

through Isaiah

says in Isaiah 42

Isaiah 42:6

verse 6,

he says,

I am the Lord.

I have called you

in righteousness.

I will take you

by the hand

and keep you.

I will give you

as a covenant

for the people

a light

for the nations.

I think that's where

this light of the world

language is coming from.

And so

in Isaiah 42

6,

there is this

both and aspect

to this.

On the one hand,

Isaiah 42 6

is about Christ.

John 8,

12 makes this clear.

Jesus says,

I am the light

of the world.

But on the other hand,

as we've seen,

Jesus also says

in our text today

that we,

his church,

are the light

of the world.

And so marvel at this.

Such,

such is our identity

with Christ

that just as he is

the light of the world,

we too get to claim

by grace through faith

that we

are the light

of the world.

You and I.

Paul,

in his own words,

touches on this

in Ephesians 2.

I'd love to read

the whole passage,

but I'm just going to read

verses 6

and jump to verse 9.

But Paul writes,

stating,

this mystery

is that the Gentiles

are fellow heirs,

members of the same body

and partakers

of the promise

in Christ Jesus

through the gospel.

He continues on

in verse 9,

describing his own ministry,

and he says,

to bring to light

for everyone

what is the plan

of the mystery

hidden for ages

in God

who created all things,

so that through

the church

the manifold wisdom

of God

might be made

known.

Paul's mystery

and his reference

to the church

displaying that mystery

by bringing it to light

is synonymous

with Jesus' teaching

in Matthew 5.

We are heralds.

We are announcing

this new age,

this new dawning

of salvation,

revelation,

and light of Christ's coming

and the new covenant.

So don't miss

what Jesus says.

He says,

we are the light

of the world.

This is anticipating

the universal possession

and blessing

as promised

to Abraham.

This is covenantal.

The new covenant

does not merely promise

the geographical land

called Israel today,

but it entails

all of the new earth

with Jew

and Gentile

alike.

And additionally,

I want you to notice

Jesus compares

the visibility

of light

in this passage

with the visibility

of a city

on a mountain.

And this is no

strange thing

in his

context.

In the ancient world,

light is a scarce thing.

They had no concept

of light pollution

the way we do today.

Things got really dark

at night.

And so if you did

see a light at night,

if you saw things going,

it's because something

was burning.

And so it was

an expensive endeavor

to keep the lights on

in a city especially.

And while he doesn't

make it explicit,

I think Jesus

is picturing

a well-lit

city.

In other words,

not only is this city

so visible

because of its

prominent position

on high,

but it's actually

lit up

in a dark

world.

I think that is

the picture

he's creating.

The city

is a beacon.

And this is in

contrast

to the Romans,

by the way.

You may know

the famous Roman

Cicero,

for example,

refers to Rome

as, quote,

the light of the world

and the refuge

of all nations.

Wonder where he got that.

And so Jesus

is saying something

that is inherently

anti-Roman.

But more importantly,

more foundationally,

I think Jesus

is describing

a specific city.

In other words,

I don't think

Jesus is just

describing any

old generic city

for argument's sake.

I think Jesus

is teaching

on the

new

Jerusalem,

the Jerusalem

from above.

His audience

would have understood

this.

They have Old Testament

scripture that speaks

to this.

These symbols

are so alive

in their minds.

Just one example,

Zechariah 8.3.

We have this connection

of a renewed Jerusalem

and the holy mountain

of God.

Zechariah 8.3,

Thus says the Lord,

I have returned

to Zion

and will dwell

in the midst

of Jerusalem

and Jerusalem

shall be called

the faithful city

and the mountain

of the Lord of hosts,

the holy mountain.

So he's anticipating

a day where Israel,

Jerusalem,

are living rightly

with their God.

And so not only

do we have this

Old Testament

anticipation

of this new city

and this mountain

following these things,

but going along

with the covenantal

contours of Matthew 5

regarding the salt

and the light

and bear in mind

the setting

of the sermon,

right?

Jesus goes up

on a mount

in Matthew 5.1

and as the new Moses

begins to teach

on the law,

the Sermon on the Mount,

right?

When you input

all this imagery,

the natural output

in verses 13 through 16

is that Jesus

is describing

the new Jerusalem.

And he does this later

in the Sermon on the Mount

as well.

If you look at Matthew 6.10

in his prayer,

he models this

and asks the Heavenly Father,

he says,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

In other words,

Father God,

bring down

the new Jerusalem.

And of course,

the new Jerusalem,

the new creation

is associated

regularly with light.

Revelation 21,

23 through 24

makes this perhaps

most plain.

Where John writing

of the new Jerusalem

says,

the city has no need

of sun or moon

to shine on it

for the glory of God

gives it light

and its lamp

is the lamb.

By its light

will the nations

walk

and the kings

of the earth

will bring their glory

into it.

God's saints

will be the saints

of the earth

So who are we?

Friends,

we are not only

God's saints

as the saints

of old were,

but uniquely

we are God's

new covenant

people

here on

earth.

We are the

first fruits

of a new creation.

We are already

citizens

of this new Jerusalem

that is yet to come

in full.

And so we uniquely

in hindsight

get to proclaim

the victory

of our God

through his son

in light of his

finished work.

You and I

as heralds

of this new covenant

get the transformed

hearts promised

by the prophets

produced by the

indwelling spirit

such that our

very lives

are signs

of the work

of God

signs of

the new

covenant.

And chiefly

as I preached

previously

our love

for one another

in particular

demonstrates

this

truth.

We are

the salt

of the earth.

We are

the light

of the world

because we are

Christ

and we are

in Christ

by grace

through

faith.

Jesus is so

serious about

identifying us

in this way

with him

that both

these metaphors

come with

urgent words.

If you look

at verse 13

again regarding

the salt

metaphor

he says

you are

the salt

of the earth

but if salt

has lost

its saltiness

how is it

to be made

salty?

It's good

for nothing

but to be

cast out

trampled

underfoot

by men.

Likewise

with the

light

metaphor

he says

in verse

15

nor does

anyone

light a

lamp

and put

it under

a basket

you can

hear the

absurdity

in that

nobody

does that

but he

puts it

on a

lamp

stamp

and it

shines

before

all

in the

house

and so

Jesus

has a

certain

implied

warning

and

exhortation

here

the warning

is

don't

become

useless

be

who

you

are

you

are

the

sign

of

the

new

covenant

this

identity

has been

given

to you

by grace

fulfill

it

be it

embody

it

and so

the implied

exhortation

here is

this

if you're

salt

be

salty

if you're

light

don't be

hidden

but expose

the good

news

of Jesus

Christ

and his

new

covenant

on all

and so

we

are

the salt

of the

earth

we are

the light

of the

world

we are

signs

of

the new

covenant

but what

kind of

activity

or what

kind of

work

does this

actually

entail

right

moving

moving

beyond

but not

without

these

metaphors

what are

we to

actually

do

as

signs

of the

new

covenant

right

what's

our

job

as

citizens

of

the

new

Jerusalem

here

and

now

this

is

our

second

question

what

do

we

do

second

heading

we do

good

works

before

a

watching

world

we do

good

works

before

watching

world

look

back

at

verse

16

with

me

Jesus

says

in

this

way

your

light

must

shine

before

men

so

that

they

may

see

your

good

works

being

the

light

on a

lamp

stand

being

a

city

on

a

mountain

being

the

light

of

the

world

how

could

the

world

not

see

us

and

yet

Jesus

command

here

shows

us

he

is

aware

we

often

fail

to

live

up

to

the

identity

we've

been

given

by

grace

as

salt

in

light

and

so

he

says

in

the

manner

of

such

a

city

in

the

manner

of

such

a

light

in

the

manner

of

salt

we're

to

live

our

lives

such

that

we

are

noticeable

why

will

we

be

noticeable

not

because

of

worldly

standards

it

won't

be

because

of

our

wealth

it

won't

be

because

of

our

our

looks

or

our

intelligence

it

won't

be

because

of

our

positions

of

authority

or

power

in

this

fallen

world

no

none

of

these

things

but

what

are

good

works

our

light

shining

is

our

good

works

what

are

good

works

well

he's

talking

about

righteousness

and

not

just

the

judicial

imputed

righteousness

that

Paul

talks

about

as

good

and

as

important

as

gospel

as

that

is

we

need

that

but

in

the

gospel

of

Matthew

when

this

word

righteousness

is

used

he's

actually

almost

always

talking

about

practical

righteousness

in other

words

the

actual

heart

disposition

and the

ensuing

actions

from that

heart

that

are

righteous

that

are

good

and

this

righteousness

is a

it's a

heart

and a

life

ultimately

marked

by

mercy

if you

want some

Matthew

theology

big

picture

stuff

that's

it

like

mercy

is

the

quintessential

virtue

of a

righteous

life

another

sermon

for

another

day

but

even

that

big

idea

of

mercy

is

this

tapestry

interwoven

throughout

Matthew

and

inseparable

from

love

kindness

peace

patience

faith

giving

generously

proper

ordering

of one's

loves

love

for

God

first

and

from

that

love

for

neighbor

among

so

many

other

good

things

in

fact

the

entire

sermon

on

the

mount

is

actually

about

this

true

righteousness

this

inner

righteousness

that's

Jesus'

thesis

statement

of the

sermon

if you

look at

Matthew

5

20

he

says

for

I

tell

you

unless

your

righteousness

exceeds

that of

the

scribes

and

Pharisees

you

will

never

enter

the

kingdom

of

the

heavens

well

how can

our

righteousness

exceed the

scribes

and

Pharisees

this is

his

point

it's

that

by

being

internally

righteous

and

then

living

out

that

righteousness

remember

the

Pharisees

are

white

washed

tombs

they

are

hypocrites

they

are

dead

on

the

inside

that's

their

big

problem

but

you

and

I

by

grace

as

salt

and

light

we

are

good

trees

that

bear

good

fruit

we're

actually

made

whole

by

Christ

such

that

our

yes

is

our

yes

and

our

no

is

our

no

in

other

words

our

hearts

are

aligned

with

our

actions

and

we

have

this

this

integrity

this

wholeness

brought

about

not

perfection

but

wholeness

and

this

is

the

greater

righteousness

the

exceeding

righteousness

of which

take

that

right

this

this

internal

heart

of flesh

that we've

been given

in fulfillment

of the new

covenant

take

that

and make

it shine

before

men

let them

see

your good

works

your

righteousness

righteousness

to play

on the

title

of Cal

Newport's

book

which has

nothing

to do

with

this

be

so

good

they

can't

ignore

you

now

someone

might

wonder

doesn't

Jesus

forbid

this

doesn't

he say

we ought

not

sound

the

trumpet

before

us

when

we

pray

does

he

not

tell

us

in

Matthew

6

1

beware

of

practicing

your

righteousness

before

others

Jesus

point

there

is

not

that

we

ought

to

hide

our

righteousness

if

it

was

then

he'd

be

contradicting

himself

because

it's

very

plain

in

13

through

16

he

wants

us

to

be

loud

and

proud

right

to

be

righteous

to

be

a

light

on

a

hill

his

point

rather

in

Matthew

6

1

and

these

other

texts

where

he

warns

against

this

practicing

of

righteousness

is

when

we

beware

of

practicing

your

righteousness

before

other

people

in

order

to

be

seen

by

them

that's

the

concern

but

for

God's

people

who

have

been

saved

by

grace

through

faith

on

account

of

the

personal

work

of

Jesus

Christ

we

actually

are

signs

and

we

are

to

demonstrate

the

faithfulness

of

God

by

our

righteousness

if

you

are

indeed

a

saved

citizen

of

this

well-lit

city

on

a

hill

you

cannot

be

hidden

and

you

must

not

be

hidden

but

to

what

end

it's

not

for

the

sake

of

being

seen

by

others

that's

clear

from

Matthew

6

1

our

inner

righteousness

gifted

to

us

by

grace

what

is

this

all

for

here

and

now

in

this

fallen

world

what

are

we

aiming

at

to

what

end

our

third

question

heading

number

three

to

the

glory

of

our

father

to

the

glory

of

our

father

look

at

verse

16

again

with

me

Jesus

says

so

your

light

must

shine

before

men

so

that

they

may

see

your

good

works

and

they

may

glorify

your

father

who

is

in

the

heavens

we

do

good

works

before

the

eyes

of

a

watching

world

to

the

glory

of

our

God

our

father

our

text

is

climaxing

with

this

very

progression

note

how

Jesus

begins

with

the

salt

of

the

earth

he

moves

to

the

light

of

the

world

and

to

our

father

in

the

heavens

as

signs

of

the

new

covenant

we

are

meant

to

be

a

guide

to

others

so

that

they

too

in

response

to

seeing

our

good

works

that

they

may

glorify

our

father

right

that's

that's

just

logical

if

I'm

going

around

announcing

the

goodness

of

Jesus

Christ

the

goodness

of

the

gospel

the

truth

and

reality

of

the

new

covenant

and

the

hearts

promised

within

that

new

covenant

yet

myself

not

living

righteously

not

actually

embodying

the truth

I'm

proclaiming

why

would

anyone

take

me

seriously

they

couldn't

they

shouldn't

and so

beloved

while we

need to

share

the

gospel

with

our

words

so

that

they

can

hear

it

and

faith

be

produced

and

Romans

10

17

kind

of

things

as

important

and

good

and

essential

as

that

lest

our

words

be

empty

not

perfect

lives

but

demonstrably

transformed

and

trustworthy

lives

lives

that

commend

themselves

that

commend

the

gospel

that

adorn

the

gospel

just

consider

Peter's

encouragement

in a very

specific

and difficult

context

to

Christian

women

married

to

unbelievers

he says

in 1st

Peter

chapter 3

verses

1

through

2

likewise

wives

be subject

to your

own

husbands

so that

even if

some

do not

obey

the

word

they may

be won

without

a word

by the

conduct

of their

wives

when they

see

your

respectful

and pure

conduct

and so

our very

lives

are

evidence

of God's

goodness

and when

the world

sees it

they may

glorify

God

now at

this point

it's important

to recall that

just before

our text

this morning

we began

in verse

13

but if you

go back

to verse

10

through 11

Jesus

concludes

the beatitude

section

and he

says this

blessed

are those

who are

persecuted

for righteousness

sake

for theirs

is the

kingdom

of heaven

blessed

are you

when others

revile you

and persecute

you

and utter

all kinds

of evil

against you

falsely

on my

account

in other

words

Jesus

in our

text

today

he's

not

promising

everyone

will

love

you

in

response

to

your

righteousness

clearly

he says

we should

expect

persecution

from some

for our

righteousness

but even

in their

persecution

though they

do not

intend it

they glorify

our

father

Peter

speaks to

this as

well

in 1

Peter

2

12

saying

keep

your

conduct

among

the

Gentiles

and by

Gentiles

he means

unbelievers

right

keep your

conduct

among

the

unbelievers

honorable

so that

right

this is

the reason

so that

when

they speak

against

you

as

evildoers

they may

see your

good deeds

and glorify

God

on the

day

of

visitation

so

thus

everyone

who

responds

to our

good

works

when we

are

shining