Jesus said, “You Are the Light of the World.”

In our daily meditations, we continue to explore the Sermon on the Mount. After discussing how His disciples are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13), Christ used the metaphor of light to describe the believer. As He surveyed the hillside filled with His disciples, He proclaimed that they were the light of the world (v. 14). In the era when the New Testament was written, a household lamp was an earthenware container filled with oil, featuring a wick partially immersed in the oil and partly protruding through a small hole at one end. Unfortunately, during those times, matches did not exist, making it challenging to relight a lamp once it was extinguished outside the house. Therefore, most people opted to keep the lamp lit while trimming the wick to conserve the oil.

The householder would usually set the lamp high in the room on a tall stand, but the lampstand could be knocked over, and oil on the floor, along with a lighted wick, could be dangerous. Hence, there is a need to sometimes protect the lit lamp by hiding it under a basket. When they needed bright light, they would bring out the lamp from under the basket, put more oil in it, and pull the wick out further to fill the room with light (Matthew 25:7-8).

By referencing His people as lights in the world, the Lord said that instead of hiding our testimony of Christ, lowering our light, and retreating, we are to shine in dark times and dispel the darkness. One of my favorite places in Israel is on the edge of the Sea of Galilee at night. One can see the lights of various towns and cities on the hillsides above Galilee. Jesus said that we should shine in the darkness like a city on a hill (v. 14). Maybe He was envisioning the same wonderful sight over the Sea of Galilee. The light that comes from believers is not their own. God does not expect us to present ourselves as the solution to man's problems; our light is reflected light, i.e., the Light of the World is Jesus (John 9:5). When people in this world look at us, they should see Christ:

Let’s think of the early apostles as our example. In the Book of Acts, after God healed the lame man through Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem, the apostles were persecuted by Israel's religious leaders for performing this good deed. The disciples responded by directing attention away from themselves to the Lord Jesus as the Healer. They said:

Rulers of the people and elders, 9if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well (Acts 4:8-10).

Consider the boldness of the Spirit-empowered apostles. Something about their response caught the rulers and elders off guard. How did the elders react to someone challenging their authority? The elders of Israel placed Peter and John outside and conferred among themselves about the two apostles. They recognized that something extraordinary was occurring in their presence and acknowledged the unmistakable signs that the disciples had been with Jesus. The Lord was the One glorified as the Healer.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). 

Believers in Christ reflect the glory of the Lord and speak forth His message of life. When we live our lives in close relationship with the Lord Jesus, those around us will see Christ shining through us, not us. This reflected light is not to be confined just to believers, though, for Jesus didn't say, "You are the light of the church." No, He said that we "are the light of the world" (v. 14). As believers, we are to be guiding harbor lights or lighthouses that show forth the way to the safe harbor of Christ. Good works done by believers in Christ will be seen by those who are in the darkness of the world system in which we live. Accurate reflections of the Light of the World in us will draw all people to Christ: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Our salt and light will make others thirsty for the truth of God and will draw them to the Light of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Keith Thomas

This meditation is from a more complete study found at the following link: https://www.groupbiblestudy.com/engsermon/2.-salt-and-light

The YouTube video teaching is at the following link: https://youtu.be/8oOycx-QgAM