Jesus connects the shining of the light not to great speeches, theological arguments, or culture war victories. He connects it to good works. A lifestyle of goodness that consistently helps others and demonstrates the love and concern of God for them. This is not a...
There are two images in this passage, and they operate at different scales. The city on a hill is a corporate image. The lamp in a house is a personal one. Jesus gives the corporate image first, and that sequence is intentional. The primary witness of the light is not...
Matthew established something important in chapter four. Quoting Isaiah, he wrote that the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light (Matthew 4:16). That passage was Matthew’s way of announcing the arrival of Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s...
Sodium chloride in its chemically pure form does not actually lose its saltiness. That is a fact of chemistry. But in first-century Palestine, salt was rarely pure. It was commonly mixed with other minerals, and it was quite possible for the sodium chloride to be...
Before Jesus tells his disciples what salt does, he tells them what it is being sent into. He does not say you are salt. He says you are the salt of the earth. That word earth is not incidental. It is the whole field of play. Not the salt of the church. Not the salt...
