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Matthew 5:13-16

A multitude of Jews had begun to follow Jesus in Galilee, drawn to Him through His preaching and His
miracles. His words and works pointed to Him as Israel’s Messiah; and now these Jews were attentively
listening to His teaching, for they wanted to secure for themselves a place in God’s kingdom.

So that is where Jesus began - teaching them just what it took to enter the kingdom of God, and what
characterized the residents of the kingdom.

It all began with the recognition of being poor in spirit; that no man can earn his entrance into the
kingdom, because of sin; because of the lawlessness in his heart. The man must instead depend on God, to
make the way for him. Once a man comes to that realization, the kingdom of heaven is effectively his - for
the rest of what is needed is sure to follow.

This includes mourning - repenting of his sin - turning away from it, and turning to God, in order to be
saved from his sin. And as the man turns to God, he is shown the way into the kingdom; through the Savior
God sent, who has now come - through Jesus.

And as the man meekly submits himself to Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he is delivered from sin and death,
as he is born again, a child of God - a son of God’s kingdom - a joint heir with Christ. And as such, the
man’s inheritance in the kingdom is secure.

As a son of God, the man’s character undergoes a transformation. He desires to be righteous, for the very
first time; and God equips him for exactly this. Christ’s righteousness is accounted to the man, and he also
receives Christ’s life and the Holy Spirit, which enable the man to live the righteousness accounted to him.

Having received the mercy of God, the man now develops compassion for those who are still in their sin,
desiring to extend the love of God to them.

And that love of God draws the man ever onward in the new life he has received, walking according to the
Spirit’s leading, becoming more and more sanctified, one day to be face to face with God (1 Jn 3:1-3) - and
holy, as God is holy (Rm 6:22, 1 Pet 1:15). But until that day, the man is about his Father’s work on earth -
reconciling other men to God, that they too might become His sons.

This is the gospel of the kingdom (4:23) that Jesus preached in His first coming to the earth, by which any
man could enter into the kingdom, and become a son of God - and any Jew could have done so that day, by
believing into Jesus, to be their Messiah, their Savior. No doubt, some did.

However, Jesus knew that as a collective, His nation would harden their hearts against Him, at this time.
The intensive suffering of the Tribulation would be required to soften the heart of Israel to her Messiah -
which Jesus spoke of in the last blessing He proclaimed - the eighth - for a new beginning of sons, for
God’s kingdom, with the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth.

As Jesus went on with His teaching, He continued to address the Jewish multitude specifically, drawing on
imagery familiar to them from nature, but also with significance for them as Israel - as the people of God.

We continue with verse 13.

[Matthew 5:13-16]
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Now, it is a little difficult for us to understand these verses, because we come to them with preconceived
notions about what they mean, usually based on teaching we’ve had, in the past. As mentioned before, the
entire Sermon on the Mount is most often taken as an address to Jesus’ disciples, who are believers - and
then is extended to us as believers, in the true church.

It is certainly true that when Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom through the Beatitudes, that is the
same way that we came into the kingdom; there’s only one way. But we have to remember who Jesus was
actually intending His teaching for, which is particularly important, here. Who is Jesus teaching? A
multitude of Jews - unbelieving Jews.

So as Jesus speaks of “you” being the salt of the earth - and the light of the world - does He mean you
personally? No, He doesn’t. Does He mean the church? No again - the church is still a mystery at this
time.

Jesus is speaking to Jews, and He means the Jews - and until He gets to the end in verses 15 and 16, He
means the Jews, collectively - as the nation of Israel - they are the salt of the earth; they are the light of the
world. Let’s take a closer look, and think it through, together.

Jesus begins, You Jews - you, the nation of Israel - are the salt of the earth. Obviously, Jesus is speaking
metaphorically, so let’s pursue the metaphor. Salt is a compound that is obtained from the earth; in that
region and time, from the edges of a salt marsh, or the edges of the Dead Sea. It was collected by
separating it from the dirt or sand.

This is Israel as the nation that God made for Himself, out of one man, Abraham - one man who was
separated from the sea of humanity to be made God’s nation.

Now, salt is a unique compound, with unique qualities - qualities that are desirable, to men. What are two
important qualities which give salt its value and distinctiveness? It gives flavor to food; and it also
preserves food.

In what sense did Israel have these properties? After all, historically, the nation never believed into the
LORD; yet Jesus is saying, they are the salt of the earth.

It’s not Israel in themselves; it’s what they possessed - what made them special; unique, of all other men of
the earth. To Israel, and Israel alone was given the Word of God; the LORD entrusted this revelation of
Himself and His Savior, to Israel.

The Word of God contains the words of Life - eternal life. That’s the very meaning of life, for a man - the
very purpose, for his existence. As salt makes the flavor in food come alive, the Word of God makes men
come alive - they are born again, as God’s sons. And as salt preserves from corruption, the Word of God
preserves men from corruption, as ever-living sons - they are saved from death, forever.

These qualities of salt, to flavor and to preserve from corruption, were reinforced for the Jews through their
Scriptures. The grain offering was always to be offered to the LORD with salt - this communicated the idea
of flavoring, as salt made the offering fitting for the divine appreciation. Then the grain offering was
consumed by the priests - the food by which they always lived.
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The salt of the grain offering also communicated the idea of preservation - the salt represented the
incorruptibility of the coming Messiah as the perfect Man. In fact, the LORD called this salt, “the salt of the
covenant of your God” (Lev 2:13), pointing to the eternal covenant - the covenant for eternal life that
would be ratified in the blood of the coming Messiah (Num 18:19, 2 Chr 13:5).

So as the salt of the earth, Israel had been given the Word of God - to be sprinkled with liberality upon all
the other nations, that they might be saved. That is what God purposed for Israel, in entrusting them with
His Word.

But then as Jesus continued, He spoke of the salt losing its flavor; that is, its saltiness. Now, we think of
what’s in our salt shakers, and we wonder, how can salt lose its flavor? It never loses its flavor. But the
salt of our day and the salt available when Jesus was speaking were very different.

Our salt is highly purified, and pure salt wouldn’t lose its flavor. But the salt of Jesus’ day could contain
impurities - minerals and organic material. These impurities rendered the salt an unstable mixture which
could lose it saltiness - by virtue of being in contact with the earth, or exposed to the elements of nature.

The point Jesus was making is, what good is such salt? It wasn’t good for flavoring food, and it didn’t act
as a preservative. Unsalty salt has no purpose.

Now, Jesus was applying this to the nation Israel - they were the unsalty salt. How so? They had been
given the Word of God, but they did not believe it for themselves.

The Word said they were to have no other gods before Jehovah; but they took many a false god from their
neighboring nations, and made them into idols of their own.

The Word revealed the righteous requirements of God, to show them their poverty of spirit, as sinners. And
yet they saw in it a way to come to God based on their own merit.

And the Word presented them with picture after picture of their Messiah, their Savior - but without seeing
their need, they never turned to look at Him. Even now, with Him walking in their midst, most of them
failed to see who Jesus was.

So Israel lost their saltiness; and having done so, they did not serve the purpose that the LORD intended for
them. When something doesn’t serve the purpose for which it was made, What do you do with it? Throw
it out.

What Jesus describes at the end of verse 13 reflects the judgment of God upon generation after generation
of the nation Israel - batch after batch of unsalty salt, discarded - with Israel, God’s privileged nation, in
their position throughout most of their history under the foot of Gentile dominion - trampled underfoot by
men (Jer 12:10).

As Jesus continued His address to the Jews, He now switches His metaphor - from salt to light. Let’s read
through it, again.

v. 14 Looking at the parallelism in verse 13 and verse 14 - “You are the salt of the earth”; “You are the
light of the world” - would you expect the plural “you” to refer to the same group of people? Yes; and of
course, it does. Once again, Jesus is addressing the Jews, as a collective - as the nation, Israel.
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“Light” is that which illuminates - often used in Scripture for what brings understanding to the mind. And
what does that? The truth; the Word of God. So we again see the idea of Israel, having been given the
Word of God - the Word which can bring understanding to light, for the world of men.

The light really shows the same picture as the salt, doesn’t it? So why did Jesus change the metaphor -
from salt to light? Surely He didn’t simply intend to be redundant!

Jesus used the illustration of salt because it bears out the judgment on the nation, in not fulfilling the
purpose for which the LORD intended it. What we’ll see is that Jesus switched the illustration to light in
order to bring out a different point.

The nation Israel was to be the light of the world. Light illuminates the way. Israel was to enlighten the
Gentile nations, who were in the dark to the Word of God, so that they could know the truth of the Coming
Christ; the way into the presence of God.

Jesus likened Israel to a city, set on a hill; and in fact, Jerusalem is a city on a hill. Cities in that day used to
be lit by torches; elevated cities illuminated in this manner were visible throughout the surrounding
countryside.

So who would you say set the nation Israel on a hill? The LORD did; He chose Israel above all the other
nations.

Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 7. Moses was exhorting the children of Israel with words from the LORD,
before they were to enter the land of Canaan. They were to cast out the idolatrous peoples of the land, and
destroy their idols and places of worship. This was the reason the LORD gave, through Moses.

[Deuteronomy 7:6-8]

v. 6 Israel was chosen by the LORD to be His people. As such they were to be holy; entirely separated from
all that was not of God, such as the idolaters in Canaan.

Israel was to be the LORD’s “special treasure”, that is, the people of His possession. And notice they were to
be His people - above - all the peoples on the face of the earth - like a city, on a hill.

The idea is that they were favored; privileged. Later Moses would indicate that Israel was to be the head
nation - contingent upon obeying the voice of the LORD (Deut 28:13).

But the LORD wanted to be certain that Israel did not think they were privileged because of anything in
themselves.

v. 7-8 So the LORD did not favor or choose Israel because they were the mightiest nation - quite the
opposite! Nor was it because they were righteous (Deut 9:4-6). There was nothing about Israel to
recommend them, to the LORD. He made the decision in Himself to love them.

But there is more to it, than that. The LORD chose Israel because He would be faithful to fulfill His word to
the fathers of the nation - to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, He speaks here of an oath that He
swore to the fathers.
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This oath, given to Abraham, confirmed the covenant for eternal life through faith in the Coming Christ
(Gen 22:16-18). The covenant for eternal life was later established also with Isaac and Jacob (Gen 26:3-5,
28:11-15). As Jacob’s seed, the nation Israel has always had the opportunity to enter into this covenant by
faith - but no generation of Israel has yet to do that.

God gave the light of His Word to His nation Israel. He raised them above the other nations, establishing
them in the land, prospering them (Eze 16:1-14). But in their unbelief, each generation of the nation chose
darkness, rather than the light; the darkness of idolatry; the darkness of religion.

Israel was to be the servant of Jehovah, bearing the light of truth and holding it out to the Gentile nations.
Instead, they themselves were in the dark to God.

Turn to Isaiah 42. In this chapter, Isaiah is given a prophecy concerning the servant of Jehovah, who was to
be a light to the Gentiles. He begins with the One who will first fulfill the servant’s role. This Servant,
whom we read of in verses 1-7, is Messiah as the Servant of Jehovah. But as we come to the end of this
prophecy, beginning in verse 18, we read of another servant - one who is blind and deaf.

[Isaiah 42:18-25]

v. 18-20 Isaiah describes a blind and deaf servant, who was supposed to serve as the LORD’s messenger.
This servant is commanded to hear and to see, which might at first seem unreasonable. But then we read
that this servant is perfect - the idea is perfectly able, for the LORD has made sure that this servant is
perfectly equipped.

His eyes and his ears work just fine; but this servant refuses to see and hear. This is a description of Israel
in their unbelief; they will not believe to see Jehovah for themselves; they refuse to hear His voice, to fulfill
their role as His messenger to the Gentile nations.

v. 21 The idea here is that Israel’s unbelief will not in any respect thwart the LORD’s plans. We can see
from the beginning of this prophecy, in verses 1-7, that the LORD will appoint another Servant - the Messiah
- who will do His will to fulfill all righteousness, and extend the message of redemption to all mankind.
The Servant’s role was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, Isaiah prophesies of the LORD’s judgment, on the first servant.

v. 22-25 Isaiah speaks of the judgment that has come upon Israel at the hand of the Gentiles, generation
upon generation, for their unbelief. They were to be the head nation; He has made them the tail, and not the
head (Deut 28:43-44).

But the LORD’s purpose for Israel as His servant still stands. Turn to Isaiah chapter 60. There will come the
time, not too far in the future, when Israel will believe into the LORD for their Messiah, Jesus, and then they
will fulfill their calling. Isaiah’s prophecy speaks specifically of Jerusalem - the city on the hill - as
representative of all Israel.

[Isaiah 60:1-3]

v. 1-2 This speaks of the time after the Tribulation - when the time of the Gentiles has come to an end (1
Cor 15:23-24) - with the return of Christ to the earth. Jerusalem, who has been trodden underfoot (Rev
11:2), is invited by the LORD to arise.
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The Sun of Righteousness has arisen upon them, with healing in His wings (Mal 4:2) - to heal them of their
sin sickness - and as the remnant of Israel receives Jesus to be their Messiah, He elevates them to the
position of head nation (Is 2:2).

v. 3 Immediately upon Jerusalem’s ascendancy, she is directed into her role as the LORD’s servant - to be a
light to the Gentiles. All nations will come to Jerusalem, to learn from them the ways of the LORD, so that
they might walk in His paths. The word of the LORD will go forth from Jerusalem (Is 2:3).

[Return to Matthew]

So the LORD’s purpose for Israel remains, to be His servant - waiting for the time when there will be that
generation of the nation who put their faith in Him.

But Jesus knows that time is not now; we can tell this is so because as He continues with His illustration,
we find He changes it, from a collective to an individual perspective. We’ll read verses 14-16 together.

v. 14-16 So in verse 14, Jesus spoke of a city set on a hill. As mentioned before, cities were illuminated
with oil torches. The city represents the nation of Israel, and the LORD’s purpose for it, to give the light of
truth to the Gentiles - currently unfulfilled, in Jesus’ day.

But what does Jesus speak of next? Not the large torches that light up an entire city, but just a lamp. In the
Greek, this refers to the portable little oil lamp.

The tiny flame of the oil lamp did not tend to give a great deal of illumination; and under a basket, it would
give none at all! So, putting it under a basket would certainly defeat the purpose of the one who lit the
lamp, wouldn’t it? Yes.

But if instead the little oil lamp was lifted up, and set on a lampstand, then it would give enough light to
shine out into the rest of the house - purpose fulfilled!

So we see that Jesus is continuing with the illustration of light, but the source is different; not a city-full of
torches, but just a little lamp. If the city represented Israel, what would the lamp represent? Here is the
individual Jew, who, as a member of the nation, has received the Word of God; the Jew, in personal
possession of the Scriptures - the light of truth.

Now, the LORD did not intend His truth to be concealed by the deceptive darkness of religion, any more than
someone who lights a lamp puts it under a basket. It defeats the purpose, for having the light. Light is
meant to shine - and in order for a weak little oil lamp to do that effectively, it must be put on a lampstand.

Now what would the lampstand represent, here? What would it mean, to the Jew, with his knowledge of
his Scriptures? His mind would immediately go to the temple, and the holy place - within which is the
golden lampstand.

That golden lampstand, with its lamps filled with pure oil for light, represents the LORD’s Anointed One -
the Messiah in His first coming (Ex 25:31-40), who gives the light of Life to men - eternal life, in a body of
glory (Jn 8:12).
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So in the illustration here, the oil lamp, resting on the lampstand, is the individual Jew who believes into
Jesus as his Messiah; he is lifted up as a son of God; and as such, he is now able to fulfill the role of the
servant, personally - to give light to all who are in the house. What would this “house” be, that Jesus refers
to? It’s the household of God (Mat 24:45) - the whole earth - the world of men.

This brings out why Jesus changed His illustration from salt to light - in order to make this personal
appeal, to each one of the Jews, individually.

Jesus said to them, let your light so shine - in this way - before men. Each one must become a son of God,
in order to fulfill God’s purpose for him; and in order to do that, each one must believe into the Anointed
One of God, as seen in the lampstand; to rest themselves on Jesus, their Messiah, by faith.

And then, men would have something to see. The Jews, who previously devoted themselves to the pious
works of their religion, would now be enabled to do the will of God. They would receive the life of Christ,
by which they could now live righteously. They would also receive the light of the Spirit, who would help
them to walk in that new life.

Now they would have the ability to do genuinely good works, for the first time ever; works that reflected to
all mankind the goodness of their Father, in heaven. Light given; light received; light lifted up; light given
out, to be received again - to the glory of God the Father, as His purpose is fulfilled, and He welcomes each
son of light, into His kingdom.

Reading: Mat 5:17-20; Rom 7:1-8:4; Rom 10:1-10; Phil 3:3-9