Salt & Light

As we continue our study of Jesus life and ministry, we’ve so far looked at how John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus ministry by calling people to a baptism of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the one who forgives repentant people.

This morning, we turn to just four verses out of a sermon Jesus’ preached in the Galilee region. In these verses, Jesus is telling us how we are to interact with, how we are to share Jesus with, those around us. He uses two images: salt and light.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

In this part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is explaining to us the way we are to relate to the world. He uses two images to describe the Christian attitude toward the world. The first image, which we have already considered this evening, is salt. The second image is light. Jesus used two images of how Christians are to relate to the world; that’s how important it is!

Jesus says it straight up, “You are the salt of the earth.” We are of this world, of the earth. God made us from the dust of the earth. We are in the world, and yet we are not of this world. We are crucified with Christ, and we are already seated in heaven with him, but we are still in this world. We are not to withdraw from the world. We are not to segregate ourselves from it. We are to be in it, as salt.

Every one knows and has used salt. When salt is incorporated into a recipe, it gets mixed through. If you use too much salt, the the recipe is spoiled, too little salt and the food is bland. If we come across as offensive, we are too much, but if no one even notices us, then we’re not doing what Jesus calls us to do. Jesus is the master chef and he has sprinkled believers, salted believers all over the world, and all of us all over this community. This underscores , the great commission to go out into the world, baptizing and teaching people everything that Jesus commanded. As salt, Jesus commands us to go out into the world, and spice things up! That is, to tell people about who Jesus really is!

Now, what happens when you eat salty things like salt and vinegar potato chips? You get thirsty, right? As Christians, how we live, and who we are ought to make people thirst for what we have. People should look at us, and say, “Wow, they seem to have something that I don’t have. I wonder what it is.” Christ ought to be on display in us. You might be the only Bible a person gets to read. Will they see Jesus in you?

Another use of salt is as a preservative. We are agents of God in society, working against evil. This is why Christians have started so many relief organisations. Christ compels us to help people, to point to Jesus by walking with them, bringing hope and life. We come to people wherever they are at, and, as James instructs us, we help them physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. It would be useless to tell people about Jesus and not meet their physical needs, whatever they might be. It is just as useless to help people with their physical needs and fail to tell them about Jesus! Now, these and many other uses of salt, Josh is planning to share in his children’s messages during Lent. I am very much looking forward to them!

So, let’s turn to the second image, light. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world.” Again, he is highlighting the important position Christians have in the world. Christ compels us to reflect His light. If it is dark in the house and you need to get from one room to another, don’t you turn the light on? If you don’t your toes are not going to be very happy with you! Its common sense, isn’t it? So is being a Christian! It means showing people the way to the Father in heaven. The world is in darkness and Jesus wants to shine his light through us, to brighten things up.

Jesus is the light of the world. John identifies him as such in the intro to his gospel saying, “In him was life and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

In this way, Jesus fulfilled the Old Tesament prophecy from Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Jesus is inside all of us by the power of His Holy Spirit, shining his light into the world. It isn’t an optional thing. If you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, you will shine, and people will take notice.

Jesus is inside all of us by the power of His Holy Spirit, shining his light into the world. It isn’t an optional thing. If you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, you will shine, and people will take notice. But we can try to cover things up. We can try to minimise Christ in us. We can try to hide him in order to get along, to be unnoticed. Let’s not do that!

The people around us are in the dark, if they don’t know Jesus. They are stumbling around, trying to find the truth, the light. God has chosen to reach them through us! He has graciously invited us to participate in this awesome ministry! Have you ever gone from darkness, pitch darkness into the light? It hurts your eyes, doesn’t it? That’s what those who are in darkness experience when they see Christ in us. It hurts, they can see the benefit, but they also want to remain pain free, in the darkness. The light shines so that all can see, good deeds, along with evil deeds.

But what is the cost if we do nothing? Jesus gives us two stern warnings. He has given us a job to do, and we’d better do it. If we don’t, we will be in danger. Jesus says that salt that has lost its saltiness is useless; throw it out. This is serious stuff. We can’t afford to be lazy. We must be vigilant! We must seek out opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people we know.

Jesus also says that if we hide his light under a shade, or if we become negligent in our duty to light up the world, we are useless. It goes against common sense to turn on a light and cover it up right away. No, we must let the world see that we are Christians! We must show the world who we are, by our good deeds done in righteousness, that is, not for our own glory, but so that the people who see us will glorify our Father in heaven.

That is the chief goal for all Christians, to glorify our Father in heaven. We do that by being obedient to his Word. We do it by being the salt and light of the earth, through obeying Christ’s commandments, by sharing Jesus with everyone. That’s how people become thirsty for God! That’s how people come out of darkness and are able to see the light of Christ as we work against the evil in the world. We do all this so that others will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

How do we do this? How can we do this? The first thing we must do is pray. We must ask Jesus to give us His heart. We are living in the most selfish, narcissistic society that has ever lived. Make no mistake, this aspect of culture is in the church as well. It is in this congregation. It is in me. So, we must pray. We must ask Jesus to remove our narcissism and self-centredness. We must ask him to give us His heart. So that, when we look around us, here, and everywhere we go, we can see people as they really are: lost souls longing for their saviour. Amen.

Are you ready? Are you ready to give yourself to Jesus? Are you ready to be salt and light? Then sing this prayerful response with me: