Matthew 5:13-20 Salt & Light

Matthew 5:13-20 Salt & Light, Fulfillment of the Law

You.  You who have heard what it means to be an agent of the Kingdom of God and have willingly signed on to the task – you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

You are not worthless peasants only needed for labor and taxes, you are the walking image of God.

You. Not your words or deeds, you yourself.  You weren’t given some salt to toss around. You are the salt. But, if you lose your saltiness, you will be completely worthless. 

There is no such thing as a private Christian faith.  If Christ is alive in you, it will be evident; it is both impossible and ridiculous to hide the light. Disciples are expected to work together, in community to be the city on the hill.

We are the salt and light, God’s image bearers for the world to see.

Then, we have verses 17-20. We know that grace isn’t cheap, but are we still obliged to the Law? Some Christians say, “yes” but still pick and choose which ones they think are still relevant. Personally, I find that to be arbitrary legalism and I have a hard time with it.  Others just throw out the entirety of the Law like it never existed.

In reading Andy Stanley’s Irresistible, and NT Wright’s The Day the Revolution Began, I think what all of this means is that when Jesus died on the cross, the Old Covenant, which was conditional on the people of Israel following the Law, also died and the New Covenant (or Testament) was born. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, bringing it to a point of obsoletion.  He then went on to explain the spirit of the law.