Salt, Light and Law / Matthew 5:13-26
Good morning, church! How is everybody doing today? We are in the last two days of 2018. Some of you are saying, “Good riddance!” And for some of you, you’re thinking, “Man, keep it going!” Whatever this past year has looked like for you, we are so glad that you are celebrating the end of the year here with us today as we open God’s Word.
Would you turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5? We are going to pick up in verse 13. We are continuing our Sermon on the Mount series, looking closely at the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:13–20. That is where we will be camping today.
Hearing the Words of Jesus
A few years ago in February, I found myself standing on a hillside in Northern Israel, just outside the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum, at a place called the Mount of Beatitudes. It is a beautiful, spacious area that overlooks the water. I was there on a tour with Brad and some other folks, and I had the chance to experience my Bible in a whole new way. It was truly an amazing experience.
Our group gathered, and at every historical site, someone would step up to teach and share the background, history, and environment. At this spot, a young lady named Kelsey Forbes stepped forward. I pulled out my Bible and my notepad, ready to take a bunch of notes. She looked at us and said, “Hey, will you just put those things away? Would you do me a favor? Just close your eyes. Close your eyes and listen.”
So we obliged. We closed our eyes and listened, and Kelsey proceeded to recite from memory the entire Sermon on the Mount—chapters 5 through 7, 111 verses, 2,470 words. And she nailed it. The tone, the passion—other than it being a female voice, you literally felt like you were standing there listening to Jesus speak.
I experienced many powerful moments on that trip to Israel, but that one stood out as one of the most profound. It was not just because of what Kelsey had accomplished, but because of the way I was forced to listen to the words of Christ. I had to allow myself to be one of the thousands in attendance that day when Jesus gathered His disciples on the mountainside and taught them. As I have continued to study the Sermon on the Mount, I am constantly challenged not just to hear the words of God and marinate on them, but to live in obedience to them. My prayer for our time today is that we would hear the Word of the Lord with fresh ears, see with fresh eyes, and respond with willing hands.
The Upside-Down Kingdom
Prior to Christmas, we looked at how Jesus was touring the Galilean area. He was teaching in the synagogues, casting out evil spirits, healing diseases, and caring for people. Large crowds began following Him everywhere. Jesus had become something of a rock star with an entourage, drawing people from all over the region—from the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and beyond the Jordan. You had religious and irreligious folks, Jews and Gentiles, young and old, wealthy elites and poor peasants, all gathering to follow this carpenter’s son from Nazareth.
In the midst of that momentum, Jesus walked up onto a hillside and gathered His disciples around Him. He sat down, as rabbis did, and began to teach them. What we have here in Matthew 5–7 is the longest recorded continuous teaching of Jesus in Scripture.
He started by talking to them about the kingdom of God—the rule and reign of God. The disciples naturally had their own ideas about what that kingdom would look like. They assumed it would be political and military. They thought Jesus was going to overthrow Roman oppression, liberate Israel, and usher in a new era of national prosperity and power, with them sitting at His right hand.
Jesus immediately blew up that paradigm with the very first words of the sermon.
Matthew 5:3 (NASB)
’Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Those words completely defied their expectations. In their minds, the kingdom was about power, recognition, popularity, and acclaim. Instead, Jesus declared that His kingdom is marked by humility, sacrifice, grief, and meekness. Poverty of spirit, mourning, and persecution were not high on the disciples’ priority list. They were thinking strongest, not weakest; greatest, not least; first, not last. They were anticipating conquest, not persecution and the cross.
Yet Jesus pointed them toward something infinitely greater than a political regime. He pointed them to the gospel. He showed them a kingdom that will last for all eternity, an inner freedom from the spiritual slavery of sin, and eternal spiritual riches in the heavenly places.
This kingdom is not earned by the self-righteous, nor is it grasped by the indifferent. The kingdom belongs to those who come to the end of their rope—those who are deeply aware of their sin, who are humble before a holy God, and who hunger and thirst for His righteousness. These are the people who recognize their desperate need for grace and cry out for mercy.
Jesus tells His disciples that this is where life in the kingdom begins. We do not approach the Sermon on the Mount as a mere ethical playbook or moral checklist. It is a portrait of inside-out gospel transformation that changes our hearts first and then flows into our conduct.
I love church history and rich theological hymns. Recently, I was reading about William Cowper, an eighteenth-century poet who struggled profoundly with severe depression. After spending time in an asylum, he came to live in the parish of John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace.” They forged a deep friendship, and Cowper helped write hymns for their congregation. In 1772, he wrote a hymn called “Love Constraining to Obedience.” The final stanza captures the gospel so beautifully:
“To see the law by Christ fulfilled, And hear His pardoning voice, Changes a slave into a child, And duty into choice.”
Cowper recognized that religious performance can never earn salvation. Our sin separates us from God, and only through the pardoning work of Christ and adoption into God’s family are we truly set free. We live differently not because we have to, but because we get to—not out of cold duty, but out of grateful delight.
You Are the Salt of the Earth
With that gospel foundation established, Jesus turns to His disciples in verse 13 to describe their identity and calling in this world.
Just as Kelsey asked me to do years ago on that hillside, would you close your eyes for a moment? Picture yourself on that Galilean hillside among the crowd, listening to the voice of Jesus.
Matthew 5:13-20 (NASB)
’You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty [again]? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. ’You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does [anyone] light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ’Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. ’Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ’For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ’Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others [to do] the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches [them], he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ’For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Notice what Jesus says in verse 13: “You are the salt of the earth.” He does not say you ought to be salt, or you might consider becoming salt, or you have the latent potential to be salt. He states it as an undeniable fact: You are the salt of the earth.
The question is not whether you are salt; the question is what kind of salt you are going to be. Because of God’s grace and the salvation we have received in Christ, we are given our marching orders. We are saved from sin, but we are also saved to a purpose. We are called to function as salt in this world.
What does salt do? It seasons, it preserves, it cleanses, it creates thirst, and it is essential for life. In the ancient world, salt was an invaluable commodity. Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt, which is where we get our word salary. Salt brings out flavor. It permeates meat when you marinate it, making food taste the way it was meant to taste.
When Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth, He means that His followers are called to bring the flavor of the kingdom into this world. Christians are meant to be in the thick of culture—permeating, preserving, and enriching the spaces we inhabit. Just as salt transforms food, believers are called to transform their environments. We are to be salt in our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, hospitals, boardrooms, and civic halls.
If salt seasons, we should make Christ attractive to the world. If salt preserves, we should stand against moral decay and injustice. If salt cleanses, we should lead people to the cleansing forgiveness found in Christ. And if salt creates thirst, our lives should cultivate an appetite in others for the living water of the gospel.
Salt never draws attention to itself. When you eat a great meal, you never say, “Man, that salt was delicious!” You praise the food. You only notice salt when it is missing. But Jesus also gives a sober warning:
Matthew 5:13 (NASB)
’You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty [again]? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
In the ancient world, salt collected around the Dead Sea was often mixed with other minerals. If moisture leached the actual sodium chloride away, the remaining residue was tasteless and useless. It was thrown onto pathways to be walked on.
Jesus is warning us against losing our spiritual distinctiveness. If we blend in entirely with the culture and compromise our witness, we become ineffective. In rabbinic thought, salt was often associated with wisdom. To lose saltiness meant to act foolishly. The church faces a real danger when it retreats into a holy huddle, preoccupied only with its own comfort, failing to permeate the world with the gospel. We are called to leverage our lives, our vocations, and our church resources to make an eternal impact for Jesus Christ.
You Are the Light of the World
Jesus moves immediately to a second metaphor:
Matthew 5:14-16 (NASB)
’You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does [anyone] light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ’Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Throughout Scripture, light represents truth, holiness, and life. Its purpose is simple: to illuminate darkness and make things visible.
A few days ago, I was in Shaver Lake with my family. One night, I stepped outside to get some fresh air and look at the stars. It was breathtaking. I started walking down the path, and before I realized it, I was deep in the forest in pitch-black darkness. I could not see my hand in front of my face. A wave of panic hit me as I heard noises rustling in the woods. I spun around, saw the warm light glowing from the cabin window, and made a quick beeline back to safety. I was profoundly grateful for that light.
We live in a world engulfed in spiritual darkness. You only need to scan the headlines or look at the brokenness around us to see violence, human trafficking, addiction, broken families, and profound despair. As a pastor, not a week goes by where I do not sit with someone walking through the agonizing reality of that darkness.
Humanity has always tried to overcome the darkness through education, politics, philosophy, or sheer willpower. But the Scriptures make it clear that the only true remedy for darkness is the light of Jesus Christ.
John 8:12 (NASB)
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’
1 Peter 2:9 (NASB)
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR [God’s] OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Jesus has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, and now He commands us to reflect His light to the nations. We do not produce the light; we reflect Christ. Like a city set on a hill, our faith is never meant to be concealed under a basket of fear or complacency.
How does that light shine? Jesus says it shines through our good works.
Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Our good deeds are designed to point people away from us and toward the Father. Jesus explicitly warns us in Matthew 6 not to practice our righteousness to be seen by men. This is personally convicting for me. By nature, I am a driven achiever. I am up early, checking off lists, and my flesh wants to broadcast what I have accomplished. But kingdom living is not about building our own resume; it is about magnifying God’s glory.
Someone once said that good deeds produce goodwill, and goodwill opens the door for the good news. I think of Oren and Archelous Bell, who went to northern Haiti as missionaries in 1947. Madame Bell would walk through the villages with a small medical kit, cleaning and bandaging the ulcerated feet of the local people while speaking broken Creole. At first, the villagers were suspicious of her motives. But over decades of consistent, sacrificial love, the light of Christ broke through. Today, more than seventy-five years later, that ministry has planted churches, built schools and medical clinics, and raised up indigenous leaders who continue to shine the light of the gospel. That is what it looks like to let your light shine before others.
Christ and the Fulfillment of the Law
Finally, Jesus addresses the authority of God’s Word:
Matthew 5:17-18 (NASB)
’Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ’For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
The religious leaders accused Jesus of undermining the Law of Moses because He challenged their man-made traditions, healed on the Sabbath, and ate with sinners. Jesus refutes their accusations directly: “Do not even think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets.”
Jesus held the highest possible view of the Old Testament scriptures. As a boy, He studied them deeply in the temple. When tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He quoted Deuteronomy with complete authority. He did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it.
The Law was given to bless God’s people by showing them how to live in covenant relationship with Him and flourish in community. But the Law also served as a mirror, exposing our utter inability to meet God’s perfect standard of righteousness.
Jesus drops a bombshell on His listeners in verse 20:
Matthew 5:20 (NASB)
’For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
To the scribes and Pharisees, these words were deeply offensive. They prided themselves on external rule-keeping. But to the ordinary person in the crowd, Jesus’ statement must have felt utterly hopeless. If the most scrupulous religious elites could not qualify for the kingdom, what chance did anyone else have?
Jesus was driving them to the gospel. The Law reveals our sin, but Jesus removes our sin. The Law demands perfect righteousness, and Jesus provides that righteousness as a free gift through faith.
We do not discard the Old Testament. The gospel does not cancel the Law; it establishes and fulfills it. We study and honor the whole counsel of God’s Word because it points us to Christ and provides the pattern for a life of joyful obedience. We obey God’s commands not out of legalistic fear to earn His love, but out of filial delight because we have already been redeemed.
Walking as Disciples in the New Year
As we step out of 2018 and enter 2019, the words Jesus spoke on that Galilean hillside speak directly to our hearts today.
If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ, you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. You are called to delight in God’s Word and reflect His character in every sphere of your life.
I know how easily I fall short of this high calling. I do not always season my conversations with grace. I do not always shine brightly in the midst of darkness. But God’s grace is greater than our failures. He invites us, empowers us by His Spirit, and uses ordinary disciples like us to make an eternal difference in this world.
May we enter this coming year committed to living out our true identity for the glory of our Father in heaven.
Let’s pray.
Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You that from Genesis to Revelation, all of Scripture points us to Your Son, Jesus Christ. It is solely by Your grace that we are redeemed and called to be salt and light in this broken world. Holy Spirit, guide our steps, align our hearts with Your truth, and empower us to live in such a way that others see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven. We pray all these things in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.