The Red Letters #2

Diving Deep into the Sermon on the Mount

Picture yourself, if you will as one of the disciples of Jesus on a sunny afternoon. It is warm, and you have been actively working alongside Jesus ministering to the large crowds of people who typically gathered when He was around. Jesus decides it is time to take a break from the crowds, so that He could talk to just you and the other disciples. And so, He finds a small area where people cannot really crowd in and tells you to sit on the ground because He has something to tell you. You are somewhat used to this routine, because it is something that Jesus did over and over again throughout your time with Him. Sometimes He would speak to the crowd, but you long for the times when He speaks just to you, His chosen followers. Now, listen to the words He has to say to you this day.

Matthew 5:11–16 NRSV

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “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.

Last week, we started to dive deep into this passage that covers Matthew 5-7 that we know as the Sermon on the Mount. Just by way of reminder, I don’t believe that the Sermon on the Mount was something that happened in one sitting. The truths that it contains would be nearly impossible to grasp in one message. No, I believe that Jesus took His disciples aside from time to time, and often He took them up on to the hillside so that they could be alone, and He would take these opportunities to instruct them in many things.

Matthew, in these chapters, puts together the teachings of these times into a single sermon. What would it have felt like for the disciples on this day, when Jesus tells them that they are blessed (or happy) when people insult them, persecute them, and speak falsely about them for Christ’s sake? You should be happy to be insulted, persecuted and lied about for Christ’s sake. Wait a minute, Jesus - we should be happy to be insulted, persecuted and lied about? I have been lied about - it didn’t make me happy when a guest at the hotel I work at told the General Manager that I had said something that I hadn’t said. When it comes to people lying about me, I just don’t take too kindly to it. But Jesus says that His followers are going to be insulted, persecuted and lied about for Christ’s sake.

We have gotten the notion somehow that America is a Christian nation, and so the actions of our nation should correspond to the desires of our Lord. Yet, down through history, we find that nations are not Christian, only individuals are. Our nation was founded on some wonderful Christian principles, but we have moved far from Christ in many, many ways. Truth be known, we were far from being the loving nation that we like to think that we were from the very beginning. All you have to do is ask the native American people that were here before the settlers came to find out about that.

Every Christian today will deal with insults for being a Christ follower. And, if we would be totally honest about it, some of those insults are brought on by some of the things that people have said or done in Jesus’ name. The world cannot possibly understand what it means to be a Christian, nor why we live the way that we do. When you are insulted for Christ’s sake, count it a blessing!

Throughout our world, thousands of Christ followers are being persecuted for their faith even as I speak. We cannot begin to imagine the depth of suffering that is going on in some of these countries. Christians are imprisoned, beaten, and martyred for their faith. It is easy for us to forget about these far away brothers and sisters in Christ, but we must remember to pray for them. It is, on the surface, inconceivable that we would ever have to suffer like this in our great nation, but I believe that it is a distinct possibility that it could happen, and maybe soon.

The world has a very difficult time understanding the principles for which we stand. Frankly, I can’t really blame them. We have not done a good job of reflecting Christ. Christians today, are often ridiculed and insulted for views and ideas that Jesus would not support. We have sometimes allowed political views to be more important than loving our neighbor as ourselves. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said it was that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. And the second is to love our neighbors as ourselves. That ought to be what we are known for.

If things continue to progress the way they have been, I may yet suffer persecution for this belief.

Jesus continues—

You are the salt of the earth.

Salt enhances flavor, and makes some foods palatable that would otherwise have very little taste. As the salt of the Earth, Jesus is telling His disciples that they are to add flavor to life, but flavor may have been the least important function of salt in Jesus’ day.

Salt preserves. In the days before we had modern refrigeration, salt was used as a preservative to keep foods from spoiling, It was common practice for these fishermen to pack their fish in salt for the long journey across the desert. Salt helps keep things from going bad!

We sometimes complain about the state of things in our world, but imagine what the world would be like if it were not for the influence of Christians. Some have wondered whether life would be better without Christians. In John Lennon’s famous song “Imagine”, which still gets all kinds of air time today, encourages people to “imagine there’s no heaven…no hell below us…and no religion too.” It is portrayed as if such a situation would be some sort of utopia. I don’t really like to think about what life would be like today if it had not been for Jesus and His followers.

Tom Holland, not the actor, but the historian, who is an atheist, recently wrote: “While studying the ancient world I realized something. Simply, the ancients were cruel, and their values utterly foreign. The Spartans routinely murdered “imperfect” children. The bodies of slaves were treated like outlets for the physical pleasure of those with power. Infanticide was common. The poor and the weak had no rights. How did we get from there to here? It was Christianity”, Holland writes. “Christianity revolutionized sex and marriage, demanding that men control themselves and prohibiting all forms of rape. Christianity confined sexuality within monogamy.” (It is ironic, Holland notes, that these are now the very standards for which Christianity is derided.) “Christianity elevated women. In short, Christianity utterly transformed the world.”

Christianity has been a preservative for our world. What about us will help to preserve the world? In all of the things that are goin on in our world, Christ’s followers ought always to be on the side of love and grace for those that are the least among us - the poor, the imprisoned, the weak, the downtrodden. If we will recapture that love and grace, we can once again be the preservative that our world needs.

Salt heals wounds. Rubbing salt on a wound sounds painful, but there is also a healing element to salt. It was used as a medicine in Jesus’s day.

Salt is essential for life.

You are the light of the world.

Light shows the way.

People need to be shown the way to God. If you are trying to show somebody where something is, you don’t do that by shining a light in to their eyes. Rather, you shine the light on what it is you are trying to show them. In the same way, Jesus says we are to let our light shine in such a way as to lead people to the Lord, not to blind them and keep them away.

Light always overpowers darkness.

Just a single candle will overcome the darkness in a dark room, so a single Christian ought to bring light to the work place or classroom even if they are the only one.

We show the world the way as we do good works.

The good works we do are not a reflection to us; they ought to be a reflection to God. If we do good works in order to be recognized for them, then we have what we were looking for, but if done to the glory of God, then we show others the way to God.

In an article entitled “Reflect the light,” Roble Nebres tells about the time he drove to the summit of Mt. Haleakala. After watching the sunset it became dark and he became anxious about the descent down the steep, winding road. When he left the parking lot, the median strips on the road suddenly came alive with reflectorized lights. They provided a much needed directional guide on the mountain road. The reflectors illuminated the way for Nebres, who made his descent safely down the treacherous mountain road. The reflectors, however, were useless without his headlights shining on them. The light they gave depended on the light from another source. Otherwise they could not help him see.

When Jesus told his disciples they were the “light of the world,” He meant that they were to be reflectors of the light of God. God is the illuminating source. God provides the light that is reflected from us. And God needs us to be reflectors of God’s light to a world of darkness.

Light is essential to life. Without the basic process of photosynthesis life would not be possible.

A City Set on a Hill

God never said that we are to be inconspicuous. He desires us to be as a city set on a hill.

In bible times, it was not at all unusual for cities to sit at the top of tall mountains. Some, like Masada were even built with a steep cliff facing each side. These cities would have been familiar to the disciples. It would be impossible to not see these cities, and they could be seen from a great distance.

God has called us to be faithful to His calling. He has called us to be happy when we are ridiculed for His sake, and to expect persecution for our beliefs. We must be a beacon of light, showing the world the way to the father. Jesus expects no less of His disciples.

John Stott was from Great Britain and he was a leading Reformed theologian, he had these challenging words to say to the church - I think they are still meaningful for us today:

You know what your own country is like. I’m a visitor, and I wouldn’t presume to speak about America. But I know what Great Britain is like. I know something about the growing dishonesty, corruption, immorality, violence, pornography, the diminishing respect for human life, and the increase in abortion.

Whose fault is it? Let me put it like this: if the house is dark at night, there is no sense in blaming the house. That’s what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is, “where is the light?”

If meat goes bad, there is no sense in blaming the meat. That is what happens when the bacteria are allowed to breed unchecked. The question to ask is, “where is the salt?”

If society becomes corrupt like a dark night or stinking fish, there’s no sense in blaming society.

That’s what happens when fallen human society is left to itself and human evil is unrestrained and unchecked. The question is, “Where is the church?”

We cannot fulfill Jesus’ commands for us here by complaining about the darkness - we must become the light that Jesus has told us to be.