Matthew 5 Sermon on the Mount v 14-16 Light of the World

Matt-05

Literal Hebrew Translation: The light of the world is not able to hide the city that rests on the mountain.

Who has a light?

YOU – who is you? The disciples of Jesus, because back up in verse 1 we are told Jesus is teaching the disciples who came to him.

What is the light?

In this passage it seems light has something to do with others seeing our good works and glorifying YHWH/God.

What do we do with the light?

We don’t hid it. In fact, the literal translation implies we are not able to, nor would we want to. We are to let it shine because we want others to see our good works and glorify YHWH/God.

A city is stationary, but it’s light shines beaconing people to it. A lamp shines and provides vision.

Lampstand, especially one in “the house” typically has some kind of connection to the lampstand in the Set Apart/Holy Place in the tabernacle, it’s light never went out – it was tended to daily. There are many, many times the word light is speaking about this lampstand. Sometimes it represents the Tree of Life found in the Garden of Eden. It is also points to Jesus, who is the Light of the World. The seven churches in Revelation are referred to as lampstands.

Let’s see what we can find out by introducing other scriptures about ‘Light’.

Isaiah 42

God says he will keep the servant of the Lord and will make the servant of the Lord to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeons those who sit in darkness. Matthew tells us in Chapter 12 Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy. Being a light for Gentiles is also mentioned in Isaiah 49.

Isaiah 5

Compares evil with rah/darkness and tov/ good with light. The word used for good is tov, the plural of this is tovim. In Genesis, every time we see ‘God said it was good ‘ – the word is tov. The very first thing God said was tov was the light in verse 4. It was then when he divided the light and the darkness. Cool huh?

— An interesting little tid-bit about tov and tovim, in Hebrew, good morning and good night use tov, but good afternoon uses tovim. It is said this is because it is only at the noon time when there is only light and no shadow – thus, both sides of the east and the west are light. —

2 Samuel 22

David sang about the Lord being his lamp and turning his chosheck/darkness into light.

Job

Other than in the Psalms, the most references to light in one scroll/book is in Job, 31 times. Almost all of them are contrasting light and darkness – light walking in His ways, darkness not.

Psalm 4

We see where Adonai sets apart the godly for his own. Many ask, “Who will show us some tov/ good? May the light of Your face shine upon us Adonai! You have put joy in my heart.

Moses’s face shined after being in the presents of YHWH/God. I think we are starting to see a pattern here. Out of the 129 references to light in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, 34 of those also reference darkness in the same sentence. Light represents good and walking in God’s ways. Darkness represents bad and not walking in his ways. Who will show us some tov/good. Matthew tells us the light will shine on our good works. Let’s look at what God sees as good.

Nehemiah 9

We see where it is talking about the Exodus when God led them through the wilderness. Nehemiah write, you led them by a pillar of fire to give the ohr/ light on their way were to take. Nehemiah is talking about when God descended on Mt Sinai …

-- time out: when we first started in verse 1, we talked about how Matthew was tying what happened on Mt. Sinai to this sermon "on the mount." Go back and look if you didn't read that one, it's a few posts back. --

… He goes on to record, “You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are tovim/ good. You made known to them your holy Sabbaths and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them.”

— timeout: don’t miss those hunger and thirst references here as well. this might be a really good chapter to read in tandem with Matthew 5 – what do you think?

Regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are tov/ good … words used here are mishpatim yesharim, torot emes, chukkim mitzvot, and torah. We as Christians have decided to lump everything into one word and call all of these either “ laws,” or “commandments.” Neither of these can successfully convey what was actually put forth at Mt. Sinai. In fact, God referred to some of them as his Testimony or Witness – think on that one for a bit. Some of those still stand, some of those no longer apply. But that is a later topic. For now, to sum these all up, we would say you gave them your laws and/or commandments.

Ezekiel 36

Adonai says when you remember your ra’im/evil ways and your deeds that were not tovim/ good, you will be disgusted with yourselves because of your iniquities and your to’avot/lusts.

That passage is right after God says he will sprinkle clean water on them and they will be clean. He will give them a chadash/new heart and a chadashah/new ruach/ spirit within them. That he will put his Ruach Hakodesh /Holy Spirit with in them. He will cause them to walk in YHWH/God’s chukkot/ laws, so they can shomer/keep his mishpatim/rulings and do them. They will be his people and he will be their God. Are you getting the picture here? Did you think this was a “New Testament” concept?

Chadash – we simply read the word ‘new’ but this word in Hebrew is slightly different than what we think of when we think new. It typically means, ‘to restore to a previous condition.’ Another word we might use today is refurbished. When you take something old, and bring it back to its better days. God says he will refurbish or restore our heart and our spirit by putting his Holy Spirit with in us. Once he does that, we will shomer or keep guard, be watchful over his laws and do them. It isn’t a “new covenant” it is a refurbished or restored covenant. I’m sure you will be wrestling with that one for a bit.

Back to Ezekiel 36, just after that passage he says, I will cause the cities to be inhabited. They will say, ‘This land that was a wasteland has become like the garden of Eden.’ He says, the nations left around them will know that he is Adonai who has rebuilt the ruins and replanted the desolate. Now that is a picture that lines up with Matthew 5, and the city, the light, the good works, isn’t it?

Second Writings/New Testament

Ephesians 5, says live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord. The fruit of the light consists in all good ness, righteousness and truth. To have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness but to expose them. This right here is sounding a little like being the salt earlier in Matthew 5. Although, at the time Jesus said these words written in Matthew, our current Second Writings/New Testament didn’t exist, not everyone at that time would have made the connection we can today. John records Jesus calling himself the light of the world so we know he spoke about the light in other teachings.

It may also be worth noting, nothing in this passage implies that being the Light of the World has anything to do with going out and preaching the Gospel or Good News. It says our good works will glorify the Father who is in the heavens. To be the light of the world means to walk in his regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees commands (I think you get the idea). Your good works will be the light so the world SEES the Good News of Where God Reigns/Kingdom of Heaven come to earth.

The Spirit – The Light – The Laws – The Sign

There are actually a whole lot more connections between the Spirit, Light, Laws, and Sign when you look for them, but here is a flow from beginning to end to get your thought processes going:

Go Be the Light!

Originally published on WordPress https://calltoceasefire.wordpress.com/2023/10/06/matthew-514-light-of-the-world/