How can we honor God with our lives? How does the people of Jesus reflect back on their Savior? In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus answered these questions and showed us how to live for his Glory. We’ve collected the following Bible studies, lessons, sermons, and devotionals to help you reflection on this important scripture.
Devotions on Matthew 5:13-20
In the World, But Not of It – Decision Magazine
Billy Graham talks about the primary responsibility of a Christian. … as a witness to the world; they become salt and light (Matthew 5:13-14), and …
Tozer Devotional | Misunderstood Salt
Tozer Devotional. Sun, May 02 … But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer … Lord, may I be salt and light in this world.
C. H. SPURGEON, … have salt will now be urged to show their light. … Works of devotion in which you prove that you love God and His Christ, that you love …
Salt, Suffering, and Satisfaction | Desiring God
Apr 20, 2011 – This is my suggestion: to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world means that at root Christians are so profoundly satisfied by Christ as …
Salt And Light For The World – The Agora
Aug 1, 2009 – We have just started a series of sermons based on one of the … Historian NT Wright gives us some background: “In the time of Jesus, the hills …
Scripture Meditation Verse: Matthew 5:14
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5 Commentary:
Matthew 5:13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.(13) Ye are the salt of the earth.—The words are spoken to the disciples in their ideal character, as the germ of a new Israel, called to a prophetic work, preserving the earth from moral putrescence and decay. The general reference to this antiseptic action of salt is (as in Colossians 4:6, and possibly in the symbolic act of Elisha, 2Kings 2:21) enough to give an adequate meaning to the words, but the special reference to the sacrificial use of salt in Mark 9:49 (see Note there) makes it probable enough that there was some allusion to that thought also here.
If the salt have lost his savour.—The salt commonly used by the Jews of old, as now, came from Jebel-Usdum, on the shores of the Dead Sea, and was known as the Salt of Sodom. Maundrell, the Eastern traveller (circ. A.D. 1690), reports that he found lumps of rock-salt there which had become partially flavourless, but I am not aware that this has been confirmed by recent travellers. Common salt, as is well known, will melt if exposed to moisture, but does not lose its saltness. The question is more curious than important, and does not affect the ideal case represented in our Lord’s words.
Wherewith shall it be salted?—The words imply a relative if not an absolute impossibility. If gifts, graces, blessings, a high calling, and a high work fail, what remains? The parable finds its interpretation in Hebrews 6:1-6.
To be trodden under foot of men.—The Talmud shows (Schottgen in loc.) that the salt which had become unfit for sacrificial use in the store-house was sprinkled in wet weather upon the slopes and steps of the temple to prevent the feet of the priests from slipping, and we may accordingly see in our Lord’s words a possible reference to this practice.Matthew 5:14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.(14) The light of the world.—In its highest or truest sense the word belongs to Christ, and to Him only (John 1:9; John 8:12). The comparison to the “candle” or “lamp” in Matthew 5:15 shows, indeed, that even here the disciples are spoken of as shining in the world with a derived brightness flowing to them from the Fount of light.
A city that is set on an hill.—Assuming the Sermon on the Mount to have been preached from one of the hills of Galilee near the “horns of Hattin,” our Lord may have looked or pointed at Safed, 2,650 feet above the sea, commanding one of the grandest panoramic views in Palestine. It is now one of the four holy cities of the Jews, and probably existed as a fortress in our Lord’s time (Thomson’s The Land and the Book, p. 273). The imagery might, however, come from the prophetic visions of the Zion of the future, idealising the position of the actual Zion (Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1). No image could so vividly set forth the calling of the Church of Christ as a visible society. For good or for evil, it could not fail to be prominent in the world’s history, a city of refuge for the weary, or open to the attacks of the invader.
Teaching Matthew 5:13-20 for Kids
- Salt and Light Sunday School Lesson
- Shine Your Light Children’s Sermon – watch the example video of this Bible object lesson on YouTube
- “Salt and Light” Craft ideas – watch the video example of this Bible craft on YouTube
- See more Sunday School Lessons and Sunday School Crafts
- Sunday School Lesson “Salt and Light” for Jesus in Matthew 5:13-20
Prayer of Devotion
Lord,
we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church
in continual godliness;
that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities,
and devoutly given to serve thee in good works,
to the glory of thy name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.Almighty God,
Church of Ireland, Book of Common Prayer
who alone can bring order
to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity:
Give your people grace
so to love what you command
and to desire what you promise;
that, among the many changes of the world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed
where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Matthew 5:13-20 (NIV) Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
The Fulfillment of the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:13-20 NIV
Hurst, Danae. Luminarias along the path, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55224 [retrieved February 2, 2020]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jadexjustice/2637698911/.