Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Matthew 5:13-20
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  January 26, 2020

I read an article a while back on the Harvard Business Review Blog by Joel Stein called “Boringness: The Secret to Great Leadership.” He talked about how his images of great leaders were based mainly on movies and sports. He said, “I figured great leaders did a lot of alpha-male yelling and inspirational speechmaking.” In doing research for his book, though, he discovered that most really influential people aren’t the loud, take-no-prisoners, commanding type. He found, instead, that depth of commitment and a quiet attention to small things that allow that commitment to bear fruit were the real marks of influence. This also holds true with Christian influence. Influential Christians aren’t necessarily the loud and eloquent type. Influential Christians are those who are deeply committed to Christ and pay attention to small things that allow that commitment to bear fruit! This is precisely what Jesus is teaching in Matthew 5:13-20. He’s talking about influence. He’s talking about how you and I affect our families, our friends, and anyone who knows us. He says, Let Your Light Shine.

We begin with verse 13: “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? Then it is no good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. Salt was a valuable commodity in Jesus’ day. It was even used to pay soldiers. (That’s where the term “worth one’s salt” comes from.) The Latin word salarium, from which we get our English word “salary,” was a salt stipend for ancient soldiers. Salt was valuable for two main reasons: It was a preservative of food and it brought flavor to food. And while we now have fridges and freezers, we still value salt for its flavor. Have you ever talked to someone who had to reduce their sodium? They are kind of sad people because their food just doesn’t taste the same. Even ancient Job says: “Is tasteless food eaten without salt? Is there flavor in the white of an egg? I absolutely refuse to touch it.” (Job 6:6-7) He gets it! Jesus’ point here is that we want salt to taste salty! Right? If it doesn’t taste like salt, it is worthless! Now if salt is a metaphor for Christian people, Jesus means that if we don’t genuinely believe in him and follow him, there is no point in calling ourselves Christians. We need Chrstians to be Chrstian! God doesn’t want Christians in name only, they are useless to him. Jesus continues: You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Note also that Jesus said “You are…” again. It is an affirmation. He does not say that the Christian should become light, he doesn’t say that the Christian is to act like light, he says “You ARE the light of the world!” Right now, today, you are light. He is speaking to people who are already distinct from the world as Christians. Light is meant to shine. It is nonsensical to turn on a lamp and then cover it up under a basket, right? That’s what Jesus is getting at: The reason that God gave us faith is that we might shine. He doesn’t want us to hide it. He turned your faith on in order to give other people light, to reflect the love of Jesus that they might one day glorify God with you in heaven. 

Jesus then turns to God’s law. And the way the Greek is written here in verse 17 suggests Jesus said this with great passion: 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them. Jesus has spent his entire life fulfilling God’s law, perfectly. He cares more about it than anyone! And, as true God, it his own eternal will. He doubles-down, Amen I tell you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter, or even part of a letter, will in any way pass away from the Law until everything is fulfilled. Continuing passion here. Until this creation passes away NOTHING [note the extra emphasis: “smallest letter, or even part of a letter” and “in any way”] will pass away from the Law until it is fulfilled. Every part of God’s good law is important. So [therefore] whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Breaking the least of the commandments would seem to be the least offensive thing. But not in God’s kingdom. And correspondingly everyone who practices and teaches these least things, in surprising proportion, will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Remember, Jesus is talking about influence. The most influential Christians will be those who keep the least of God’s commands! 

This is what Jesus has always tried to teach about God’s laws. A heart that is willing to break “lesser” laws shows contempt for all of God’s commands. We may not murder because of the obvious penalty and public condemnation. But we might harbor hate in our heart because there is no obvious outward consequence. But Jesus rightly understands that sin is sin, big or little, every transgression is morally reprehensible to God. Jesus will go on in his Sermon on the Mount to call anyone who hates his brother a “murder”. And he says that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully is an adulterer! What should bother us about sin is not the consequence, but that it defies the loving heart of God.

Is it possible that we often neglect the least things of God’s law because no one sees them? No one sees how you are with your husband or wife at home. No one can tell how you spend every second at work. No one knows when you tell white lies. No one sees your neglect of prayer. No one can see judgement and pride in your heart. No one knows the pet sin you keep hidden away. These “least” things may never be seen by others. But God sees. God knows and it breaks his heart. That is why we should care. What should bother us about sin is not the consequence, but that it defies the loving heart of God. This is compounded by the fact that Jesus said, …whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same… Now Jesus is addressing his disciples here, he’s talking to Christians. What makes this statement profound is that Christians do not purposely teach people to disobey God’s law. However, if we nonchalantly break God’s law in we inevitably teach others that it is fine to do the same. How many parents have accidentally taught their children to complain because they themselves often complained? How many parents have taught their kids to yell in confrontation? Much more is “caught” than “taught” as they say.

I can feel the tension, can’t you? That awful space between God’s good expectations and our shallow righteousness. And that’s what makes Jesus’ last statement so important. Indeed I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus ends this section with a shocking statement. It sounds like he’s saying that in order to get into the kingdom of heaven you have to a better quarterback than Patrick Mahomes. Jesus isn’t talking about quantity of righteousness, he’s talking about quality. This is vital. Jesus is talking of a surpassing righteousness, a righteousness not found in and of ourselves, but a righteousness only received and lived by faith. In fact, this righteousness is what Jesus came to give us. 

The apostle Paul writes in Romans, “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Rom 3:21-22) The wonderful truth of the Gospel is twofold. When Jesus died on the cross, his blood was shed as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. We were forgiven and he took our punishment. But the transaction ran both ways. Not only did he take our guilt, but his perfection, the surpassing righteousness of his life, was credited to us through faith. The surpassing righteousness God demands is the righteousness Jesus freely gives. This means that someday when you go to heaven God isn’t going to say, “Well, I suppose Jesus died for you, so come in, sinner.” He is going to say, “Welcome, my child. You are perfect, you kept every law, and I am overjoyed to be here with you forever.” The light which we shine on earth, therefore, is a borrowed light. Our light, at its brightest, reflects the selfless love of our Savior. 

So how do we best reflect that light? How do we influence others for Christ? The answer is focus on Jesus. If you want to shine brighter get closer to the source. It only makes sense. This is why Jesus talked about keeping the least commandments. Because those who are deeply committed to him show gratitude by loving even the least of his good commands. Christian influence is not primarily about coming through in the big moments. It’s in the everyday small moments of faith that we shine more than singular public moments everyone sees. In fact, only by regularly applying God’s Word to the small things in your life, will your faith shine in the great big moments. It is like practicing the fundamentals of a sport, the small things make up the habits which are tested in the great moments. I think of some of the brightest Christian lights in my own life and I realize that the habit of genuine faith in Jesus was what made the biggest impression on me. Waking up and seeing my mother reading her Bible on the kitchen table. Walking over to the church to call my Dad home for dinner to find him in prayer. It is true that the brightest light we can reflect is often done so unknowingly, because it’s genuineness is undeniable.

Søren Kierkegaard, the famous philosopher of the 18th Century, recalls a pivotal memory of Christian faith. He was a smart, worldly, and complacent man who found direct Christian appeals to be all too easy to fend off. But one day, as he was sitting in a Danish cemetery, from a place of concealment he overheard a grandfather speaking matters of faith quietly but insistently to a grandson over the fresh grave of the boy’s father who had died in unbelief. The old man knew he would not live long enough to steer the child past the same temptations. When the grandfather put the child on oath to remain in Christ, the little one dropped to his knees overwhelmed and the old man scooped him up in his arms and held him to his chest. It was a scene so sacred that Kierkegaard had no impulse to intrude. Instead, he would spend the rest of his life trying to tap into the power of that moment, the strange influence of this genuine Christian faith. He would later distinguish it as a turning point for him in considering Christianity and believing it himself. The old man didn’t even know it, but he was a beacon of light in the eyes of the young Kierkegaard, a man whom God would use as an instument to influence centuries of Christians with his writings.

Do you want to be influential? Do you want to shine brightly? My friends, grow in love for your Savior Jesus and then simply be yourself. Be who you are. And God will use you to influence whom he wishes, whether you’re aware of it or not. Be who you are: You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Let your light shine. Amen.