The two parables of salt and light appear in the Sermon on the Mount after the beatitudes. These two parables set the direction of the sermon. God's children must be salt and light in the world. Those who fail in this task will be declared worthless. The sad fact is, we have all failed and are therefore worthless. Yet, there is one who is salt and light and if we identify with him, then we are no longer worthless.

v13. In this verse Matthew records the parable of the salt.

At Mount Sinai, Moses proclaimed God's law and declared that Israel was to be salt in a pagan world. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus demands a similar ideal. His disciples are to be the preservative of a corrupt world. Yet, to be this salt they will need to attain a righteous that exceeds that of the Scribes and the Pharisees. They must be "a moral disinfectant in a world where moral standards are low, constantly changing, or non existent. They can discharge this function only if they retain their virtue", Tasker. The disciple who fails to do this will be rejected by God. Yet, Jesus' intention is not to repeat the Mosaic exhortation and its curse, but rather remind his hearers that all now stand under the curse. Salt we must be, but salt we are not.

How shall the new Israel of God escape the curse? How shall we escape the rejection of God? The beatitudes answer the question. The broken one, the rejected one, the humble one, the one who desires mercy from God, is the one who receives mercy. The person who hungers is the one who is fed. Thankfully, there is one faithful Israelite who is the salt of the world and by grace through faith we who desire mercy can be salt in him. Once we identify with Jesus we no longer face condemnation.

Yet Jesus still calls on the new Israel (the Christian community) to be salt in the world. In the fullest sense, Jesus is the salt of the world. His righteousness has become the righteousness of all who desire it. He is the faithful Israelite, the son of God, the pure salt. So first and foremost, it is Christ who savors the world. All we can do is bask in his faithfulness. Yet in a secondary sense, the church, as the body of Christ, must strive to be salt as Christ is salt. We must be that "moral disinfectant", and so "convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement", Jn.16:8.

v14-16. Matthew goes on to record the parable of the light.

Unlike the other gospel writers, Matthew applies this parable in v16. The disciple must shine. We must let our light shine before men that they might see our good deeds and praise the Father in heaven. Yet in what sense is Jesus encouraging his disciples to display God's glory in their good works?

Bonhoeffer puts it this way, "flight into the invisible is a denial of the call. A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him." "The good word without the good walk is of no value", Stier. Of course, Jesus has in mind the heart of the deed, not the outward show. In dealing with piety he makes the point, "be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them", Matt.6:1-18? Much of the hypocrisy of institutional Christianity is found in the desire to display ecclesiastical piety before the wider community. It is believed such righteousness validates the faith and so gains an opening for the gospel. The ends justify the means! The only trouble is "our righteousness is but filthy rags" and when we try to show ourselves otherwise, our hypocrisy smells to high heaven.

Israel was to be a light to the Gentiles. The "wisdom of Solomon" (truth, the prophetic word, proclaimed and applied in the life of the covenant community) was to radiate to a broken and lost world. This light glorifies God for it serves to gather the lost from the ends of the earth. Jesus gives the same purpose to the new Israel of God.

Yet, in this demand for exceeding righteousness Jesus has another and far more important purpose. His instruction reminds us that, like Israel of old, we don't shine, and can't (perfectly) shine. Light we should be, but light we are not. "Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" There is one person who properly serves as "the light of the world." Jesus is that light on a stand; he is the city set on a hill. In the fullest sense, Jesus is the light of the world. The true light is the Suffering Servant, Isa.42:6, 49:6, and Jesus is that light, Matt.4:16, cf. Jn.8:12, 9:15, 12:35, 1Jn.2:15. He is the true Israelite who knows the truth, proclaims the truth and lives the truth. He has faithfully followed God's way, and so in his life, death and resurrection, has brought "praise" to his "Father in heaven." By grace through faith we bathe in his light; we are light in him.

Yet, Jesus still calls on the new Israel to be the light of the world. As Paul explains in Ephesians 5:8-9, because we are light in Christ, there is a natural prompt for us to live as children of the light. We are called to live in love and thus exhibit Christ's redemption to our broken and lost world. So let us become what we are, light in the midst of darkness.

1. How can salt loose its saltiness?

2. In what way was Israel to be salt in the world?

3. How is Jesus salt and how do we be salt in him?

4. How was Israel to let their light shine?

5. Who is the true light and how does his light shine?