Matthew 5:14

“You are the light of the world.

A city set on a hill cannot be hid.

Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel measure, but on the stand,

And it shines to all who are in the house.

Even so let your light shine before men,

That they may see your good works,

And glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

“You are the light of the world.” As we have seen the idea comes from the fact that Jesus Himself has come as a light into the world (Matthew 4:16; compare John 8:12). And the purpose of that light is to reveal God, and what He is like, to men on earth. God is in Heaven and they are on the earth. Thus if men who are on the earth are to see God, it must be in Christ and in His people as they live out their lives on earth. ‘The world' may not here have the same wide significance as in Matthew 28:19. But it contains the seeds of that idea. There may have indeed already have been in Jesus' and Matthew's minds the thought of the Servant as the light of the nations (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; compare Matthew 12:18).

But the words that probably lie at the root of Jesus' idea here are those of Isaiah 60:3 where Israel's light is to shine out because the glory of God has come upon them (they have been ‘blessed' as in Matthew 5:3) in order that they might shine out of darkness and be a light to the nations. This would link in with the idea of glorifying God in the last phrase of the verse, and with the recognition that they are now the new congregation of Israel (Matthew 16:18; Matthew 21:43).

Note how this first assumes that the world is in darkness. That is constantly the theme of Scripture (Psalms 82:5; Psalms 107:14; Proverbs 4:19; Isaiah 9:2; Isaiah 42:16; Isaiah 49:9; Luke 1:79; John 1:5; John 3:19; John 8:12; John 12:46; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 4:18; Ephesians 5:8). And it then declares that in His true people God has brought light out of darkness because they have come in contact with the Light of the world (Matthew 4:16; John 8:12; compare also Acts 13:47; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 5:8).

“A city set on a hill cannot be hid.” Jesus' idea is that the city has been set there by God, just as He has now set the disciples in the world as His witnesses. But that does not exclude the idea that men do set their cities on hills so that they can be admired. With its white houses any city set on a hill would glisten in the sun by day, and at night the lamps shining in the houses would draw attention to its presence. It thus could not be hid either by day or by night. And because His disciples have been given a prominent position, they also cannot be hid. This is bringing home the inevitability of their position. It is the inevitable position for all true Christians, a privilege given to them by God. And cities set on hills and made visible are vulnerable to attack. They will be ‘persecuted'.

This likening of the true people of God to a city is later taken up in Revelation where the heavenly people of God are seen in terms of the new Jerusalem, with its foundation laid on the Apostles. A city as one entity with large numbers of inhabitants is a good picture of the one body with its many members. There may have been a hint here in Jesus' words of how this tiny group of disciples will grow in numbers until they become like a populous city.

“Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel measure, but on the stand.” Furthermore when men light a terracotta oil lamp in their homes it is in order that it may shine out. They do not put a corn measure over it. (Note that as with an attempt to hide the city, the idea would be ridiculous). Rather they put it on a stand or table where it can give light to all. So would it be foolish for the disciples (and us) not to let their lights shine out before men by what they are, how they behave, and what they say. For that is now their very purpose for being in the world. This general idea was used often by Jesus with interesting variations on the theme (see Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16; Luke 11:33).

“And it shines to all who are in the house.” The aim must be that everyone will benefit (compare Philippians 2:15).

“Even so let your light shine before men.” The illustration is now made specific. They are the light whose light is to shine out into the world before men. If they are faithful as the lamp of God they cannot help but shine, and through their lives, as well as with their lips, they will thus give testimony to Jesus.

“That they may see your good (kalos) works.” Compare here Matthew 11:4; Acts 2:22. Jesus would do great works. And the disciples would do similar works of power. But the people of God in general are to be zealous of more ordinary ‘good works' because they are God's own possession (Titus 2:14), and good works are regularly urged on God's people throughout the New Testament. ‘Kalos' means good in the sense of being attractive. They are not to be works that are thrust on people who do not want them. The Sermon will later amplify on these good works which in the end signify the doing of the will of His Father Who is in Heaven (Matthew 7:21).

Note that what they are and how they behave is pre-eminent. If the people of God, and especially the preacher, are not behaving well the preacher preaches in vain. Their good living and positive actions for the good of others must be visible to all, not because they thrust them in front of their noses like the Pharisees and Gentiles do (Matthew 6:2; Matthew 6:5; Matthew 6:7; Matthew 6:16), but because their good works so abound that they cannot help but be seen. They should not want to be seen of men, they should want God to be seen of men. It is these good works above all else, discreetly and lovingly carried out, that convince the world of the truth about Jesus.

“And glorify your Father who is in Heaven.” And their sole aim in all this is to be in order that men may glorify the Father of the disciples Who is in Heaven. This is the first mention of God as being  their  Father, but it will occur regularly through the Sermon. Note, however, that the first mention speaks of their responsibility to their Father. It is because they acknowledge their responsibility to bring glory to Him that they can later be seen as relying on His provision for them. Note also that He is the Father of the disciples, not of those who see their good works. The pronoun is specific. There is a general sense in which God is the Father of all men by creation, but in the sense used in the Sermon on the Mount He is the Father only of disciples of Jesus, those who are seeking to be true sons of their Father (Matthew 5:9; Matthew 5:45) because of the blessing that He has worked on their lives.

Note how ‘your Father  in Heaven ' contrasts with the ‘light  of the world '. Their Father is in Heaven. The only way that men will see Him is if they see Him in us. For we are in the world. If our light shines brightly in what we are and how we behave (without any ostentation), men will become aware of Him and will glorify Him.

And now, the basis of discipleship having been sorted out, we can move on to the detail. For as we now come to the main body of the Sermon it is on the basis of the fact that we recognise that the working of God in His disciples in Matthew 5:3 has resulted in the effectiveness of their ministry to the world in Matthew 5:13. Had they simply perfected personal holiness in secret they might not have been persecuted, it was when they began to affect the world around them (Matthew 5:13), and make the world feel guilty, that the world began to react and hit back (Matthew 5:10). The world did not want to be shaken out of its apathy, and would resent it. What follows will now bring out more fully what their ‘good works' are to be, and will reveal the way in which they are to be truly a light in the world.