Matthew 5:13-16 — Sermon on the Mount
The King's Children Reveal God
Kingdom people serve as salt and light in the world, spreading goodness and revealing God's character through their transformed attitudes and actions in everyday life.
Introduction
Think about the people who have influenced your life. Other than family, most of us can think of two or more people who have played a vital role in helping us develop into the people that we are today. As we think about those people, for most of us, those that influenced us are unknown. Yet, we realize that without these people our lives would be very different. The truth is that we influence people as well. A mother took her young son shopping. After a day in the stores, a clerk handed the little boy a lollipop. “What do you say?” the mother said to the boy, to which he replied, “Charge it!”
When we look at our world, what we may tend to focus on is the lack of positive influence. Too much evil, not enough light. People today look to government and politicians to solve the ills of society and to make things better for all of us. We hear the cry more and more often that what is truly needed is education. Educate the masses we are told and life will become infinitely better. Certainly education will promote a society of intelligence, but it will not promote a society of ethics and values which God endorses. We now live in a world where experts are called on to explain everything from murder to infidelity. Experts tell us that circumstances are to blame for improper behavior. People cannot be held responsible for the wrong they do. And our world listens and nods in agreement as we all relive the inequities of life.
The words of Jesus have something to say to the children of the king. We are looking at the Sermon on the Mount and today we will see that Jesus’ words are intended to give us direction and focus as his people. The king calls his children to approach this world with different attitudes and actions. These attitudes bring God’s blessing and favor. Following the discussion of the kingdom’s attitudes, Jesus gives us a mission—a mission of influence in our world. A mission to make a difference. Our challenge is to reveal the king’s influence in this world.
Fertilizer
The chemical sodium chloride or salt is a stable compound. Salt can sit on the shelf for a long time without losing its salty flavor. What does Jesus mean when he says that unsalty salt is worthless? Does he have in mind regular salt? No. In Israel there are two kinds of salt. One is like ours—table salt. The other is a mixture of salt mixed with gypsum. This second kind of salt is good for the earth. When Jesus says you are the salt of the earth, he is saying that we are good for the earth. Arndt & Gingrich in their Greek lexicon define this word to mean “fertilizer.” This fertilizer is good for the earth. We find this even more clearly defined in Luke 14:34-35.
Jesus isn’t talking about kingdom people being preserving agents in this world. Remember Jesus is talking to first century disciples who live in poverty, in a world filled with political intrigue and corruption, in which the rich abused the poor, and those with absolute power ruled absolutely. Certainly Jesus isn’t saying that kingdom people will preserve that kind of society. But if we understand Jesus to be talking about fertilizer then his words take on fresh meaning.
Fertilizer is intended to help things grow. It finds the seeds of life and helps them sprout to full growth. This is what Jesus is saying. His people will seek out the good and help it to grow. Kingdom people permeate our world and help goodness grow. Fertilizer is scattered out. In lumps it burns and destroys. Fertilizer must be spread out to do its best work. Isn’t this what Jesus commands in Matthew 28:19: “Go into all the world and tell people the good news”?
What Jesus has in mind is that his people will make a difference in our world. Our mission is to influence our world positively. The King’s children treat their enemies differently, we look at people in a different light, we do not work for current political-economic empires but for God and his kingdom. As fertilizer we show people new beginnings; we reveal to men and women that things can be changed through the power of the kingdom. We show that God’s intention is to bring life.
Light
Jesus turns to another image which is easier to understand: light. Light is intended to dispel darkness. It doesn’t make darkness go away, but it does allow us to penetrate the darkness so that we can see. Jesus even said about himself that he is the light of the world in John 8:12. John’s gospel also says that Jesus came as light into a dark world, John 1:5. And although the darkness rejected the light, Jesus continued his mission in John 9:5. In some way we are to continue the mission which Jesus began. We are to reveal the power, goodness, and holiness of God in our words and actions. But what does Jesus mean when he says we are like a city on a hill?
A city is a collection of individuals who together become known as a whole rather than as each individual. We live in Memphis. While our phone book lists separate names and addresses, none of us would even begin to try to define our city by listing every name. No, we understand that if we say Memphis, that we mean every person who lives in the same locale. Any statement made about Memphis includes each one of us. Whether the statement is accurate for each person does not matter. Collectively we are seen in certain ways. For instance, Memphis is said to be a racially divided city. Whether we are racist in attitude is inconsequential. The statement is intended to make a general statement about the conduct and attitude of our city.
How are kingdom people to be known? Jesus says like any city on a hill we cannot be hidden. What do we want the world to know about us? You see by using this image, Jesus is affirming that it is impossible for us to isolate ourselves from the world. He is not calling on us to live monastic lives. He is rather saying that we are going to be seen by those who are not part of the kingdom. What is the message we want them to understand about us? What light are we going to bring into the world?
The analogy continues with the idea of illuminating a dark house. To claim to be the King’s child means that we want to bring light into darkness. We want to help people to see God’s way. What does it mean to be light in our world? In a world of violence, it means that we have learned self-control. In a world which turns humans into objects of lust, we see them as persons. In a world where people cannot keep promises to their mates, we maintain our families. In a world where people do not tell the truth, we keep our word. In a world where people live for revenge, we turn the other cheek. In a world where hatred rules, we love those who do not love us. We demonstrate an alternative approach to life in which anger, truth, enemies, and wealth are seen differently.
This is done so that people will see God in us. We want to attract people to our Father by our actions and words. Such actions and words are not for our benefit but so that others will know that God’s intent for their life is one of fulfillment. There can be no isolation. There can be no compromise. We are the King’s children on a mission to help men and women change their lives. We are the King’s children with radical attitudes and with a radical mission—to influence this world for good so that God will be praised.
This is not the time to throw up our hands and say things are useless. Jesus’s view is that we “are” salt and light. This is not what we can become, it is what we are in our deepest recesses. We have a mission. As important as politics, education, and government are they are not the vehicles for our mission. Our mission is in spreading out among our neighbors and co-workers and demonstrating for them what kingdom living looks like. Our mission is gathering as a congregation and to be known for our concern for others and to be known as people who want to help others come to know our God. Individually we fertilize our world, collectively we dispel darkness. All for one purpose—so that God can be praised. Let’s not lose sight of our mission. Kingdom people with kingdom attitudes help others see God and turn their attention to him.
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