Such a city may have been in sight, as later travellers think; but in any case, the figure is striking. on a hill" and "a lamp . 6. 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. ‘The world’ may not here have the same wide significance as in Matthew 28:19. 16; 1 Thessalonians 2:19), the approval of God (ver. The same distinction is observable in the second pair of those seven parables which our Lord spoke from the Galilean lake-that of the "mustard seed," which grew to be a great over-shadowing tree, answering to the sunlight which invests the world, and that of the "leaven," which a woman took and, like the salt, hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened (Matthew 13:31-33). Your life displays Christ without your intending it. "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." It is the most successful method of reproving wrong-doing. We turn our eyes up to him and he rebukes us with darts of fire; he says, “Look down, not up: look at the works, not the worker.” So we may feast our eyes upon a paradise of flowers, and get much of heaven out of it, but the moment we venture to say, “Who did this-where is he? Hilary: Or, the city signifies the flesh which He had taken on Him; because that in Him by this assumption of human nature, there was as it were a collection of the human race, and we by partaking in His flesh become inhabitants of that city. If the light which you let shine in your profession be the true light, there will be good works to be seen. God is glorified by our repentance-faith-charity. 3-10): III. (S. Partridge, M. 3. , that, "on the fourth day it was said, "let there be light": which was done with respect to the Israelites, because they are they מאירים לעולם, "which give light to the world", as it is written, Daniel 12:3 '. The allusion may have been to Jerusalem, which stands upon heights, and is the emblem of the Church. This Christian consistency requires nonconformity to the world, and the good works of an active Christian life. (James Stewart.). That they may see your good works, not yourselves, but your actions. These ancient parts of the castle render it all but certain that there was then a city or citadel on this most conspicuous “hill” top, and our Lord might well point to it to illustrate and confirm his precept. Perhaps Jesus pointed to such a city, and told his disciples that they were like it. ), 3. The first thing to be done with a lamp is to light it. Ye are the light of the world, [ to (Greek #3588) foos (Greek #5457) tou (Greek #3588) kosmou (Greek #2889)]. The city is lit by lamps, and yet it is the gas that lightens it. He is … "A few points toward the north (of Tabor) appears that which they call the Mount of Beatitudes, a small rising, from which our blessed Savior delivered his sermon in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Matthew. (F. Goode, M. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." Pseudo-Chrys. A city that, is set on an hill cannot be hid; alluding either to Nazareth, where he was educated, and had lately preached, which was built on an hill, from the brow of which the inhabitants sought to have cast him headlong, Luke 4:29 or to Capernaum, which, on account of its height, is said to be. ii.). "Ye are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14, NLT: "'You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden." Hence, Christians are warily called "the salt of the earth" - with reference to the masses of mankind with whom they are expected to mix; but "the light of the world." This will be the result of Christian consistency. We do not believe in that which we see. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Lesson 10: Salt, Light, And Law (Matthew 5:13-20) Related Media. A lamp must be fed with oil, or it will not keep alight. (Acts and Mon.) Now therefore as the tree of life was sweet to the taste and fair to the eye; and as in Absalom there was no blemish from head to foot; so should it be with God’s ministers. See John 5:35. The witness is maintained in two ways—. Pseudo-Chrys. Hilary: Or, the lamp, i.e. Farther, Christ teaches them the end why he communicated light unto them, namely, to enlighten, direct, and quicken others: even as the sun in the firmament, and a candle in the house, diffuses and disperses its light to all that are within reach of it; so should all Christians, and particularly Christ's ministers, by the light of life and doctrine, direct people in their way towards heaven. The city upon a hill is the landmark for all the country round. It is at once the crown of the district and the central point round which the life of the neighbourhood turns. 1. Here are beveled stones, as heavy, and as aged in appearance, as those of the most celebrated ruins in the country; and they prove that this has been a place of importance from a remote age. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” 5:14. They seem, under the influence of Jesus, to have been a care-free company, letting to-morrow look after itself. Chrys. III. Jerome: He instructs them what should be the boldness of their preaching, that as Apostles they should not be hidden through fear, like lamps under a corn-measure, but should stand forth with all confidence, and what they have heard in the secret chambers, that declare upon the house tops. Such conduct on our part requires no great display, for it is but conforming to the rules of the Church. Furthermore, there is no reason to suppose that God would allow a wicked world to stand if it were not for the faithful remnant remaining in it and remaining faithful to God. non occ. (a) By creeds. He cannot therefore be hid, because being set in the height of God"s power, He is offered to be contemplated of all men in admiration of his works. It was Michael Angelo who, according to the beautiful illustration of a Boston preacher, placed his candle so in his pasteboard cap that his own shadow might not fall upon his work. 4. - Let your holy life, your pure conversation, and your faithful instructions, be everywhere seen and known. John MacArthur is right when he says you can boil down this section of salt and light with one word: influence. Slocombe. . A personal work to every man who is the subject of it. If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you — We are not to infer from this, that the forgiving of injuries alone will entitle us to pardon. In the Parable of the Light recorded in Matthew 5:14-16 (found also in Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16-17; 11:33-36), Jesus Christ uses two figures of speech to express the responsibility of true Christians to influence the world: "a city . But to return from whence we are digressed:-a minister while he lived a private person, stood in the crowd, as it were: but no sooner entered into his office, than he is set up on the stage: all eyes are upon him, as they were upon Saul, who was higher by head and shoulders than the rest of the people. i, p. 420) says: Maundrell, Jowett, and others, throw out the hint that this was the city set on a hill, which could not be hid; and if that greatest of sermons was preached on the horns of Huttin, or near them, as tradition affirms, and if any. Be modest in other things. Ye are the light of the world] And must therefore lead convincing lives, though ye incur never so much hatred of those Lucifugae, those Tenebriones of the world, that are ill afraid so much light should be diffused. 1. have a lamp in Jerusalem, so, especially at night, the light from the great fire on the Templeâs altar was a visible reminder of the cities heaven. Sanhedrim, fol. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lamp-stand and it gives light to all who are in the house. 14. For by those teachers who do as well as teach, God is magnified; for the discipline of the master is seen in the behavior of the family. 3. God alone can light you; teachers may polish. Zebachim, fol. Aug.: With what meaning do we suppose the words, "to put it under a corn-measure," were said? The sun renders objects visible, shows their form, their nature, their beauties, their deformities. Matthew 5:14. . Matthew 5:14-16. The Lord that giveth life was pleased to summon out of this confusion the arrangements and the capacities of a world. Thence the eye sweeps over Gilead and Bashan, Samaria and Carmel, the plains of Galilee, the coasts of Phoenicia, the hills of Naphtali, the long line of Lebanon, and the lofty head of Hermon, a vast panorama, embracing a thousand points of historic and sacred interest. ), Our measure of light will depend greatly upon the clearness and sensibility of our spiritual perceptive and receptive capacities. "kosmos" = "mankind." The business of the church is not only to save, but to enlighten. Faith answers, ‘That hill is the accumulation of Divine providences and eternal decrees.’ Ever existing in the Divine mind, it broke upon the world in goodly proportions when the Risen Lord commissioned His disciples, “Go ye.” The Church is the creation of Jesus Christ Himself. The apostles, Christian ministers, and all Christians, are lights of the world, because they, by their instructions and example, show what God requires, what is the condition of man, what is the way of duty, peace, and happiness the way that leads to heaven. 1. The church is often called the city of God. Kindled from the Sun, they are to go forth and cast their light upon the world. “You know, Jesus is the Light of the world, but after He died on the cross, He went back up into heaven.” And as a city cannot be hid which is built on a high place, so neither could, nor ought the doctrines which the apostles were commissioned to preach, be hid, or concealed from men: they were not to shun to declare the whole counsel of God, nor study to avoid the reproaches and persecutions of men; for they were to be "made a spectacle"; to be set as in a public theatre, to be seen by "the world, angels, and men". I. Ver. And cities set on hills and made visible are vulnerable to attack. 5. Christian example must be free from inconsistency. Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world We are all the children of light, after having been enlightened by faith, and are commanded to carry in our hands “burning lamps,” (that we may not wander in darkness,) and even to point out to others the way of life, (Luke 12:35.) Rather they put it on a stand or table where it can give light to all. And so the text seems to offer the antidote to its own difficulty. A city set on an hill. 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. Here light is viewed as something distinct from the righteous, as something which he may possess and which he may enjoy, just as the husbandman enjoys the fruits of the earth of which he has cast in the seeds. This, you perceive at once, is a thing to be received by faith. Bab. ‘Johannes lumen illuminatum: Christus lumen illuminans.’ Aug(42) Serm. (Dr. D. [Psalms 119:105] They who light this lamp are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 1. Wythe.). 524. This witness is maintained in two ways: (1) by creeds; (2) by the maintenance of forms of outward worship. Jewish homes, innumerable little truth-revealers, casting their light across the land.Â, Because of ancient Israelâs belief in its light giving role, the menorah style lamp stand, with its Ye are the light of the world â If ye are thus holy, you can no more be hid than the sun in the firmament: no more than a city on a mountain - Probably pointing to that on the brow of the opposite hill. Of Safed Dr. Thomson (vol. (1) We must never countenance sin and error. And as under the figure of salt the danger warned against was that of becoming insipid, so here the danger to be avoided is that of obscuring the light. If Christian people would be true benefactors of the world, they must let their light shine, that men seeing their good works may glorify their Father who is in heaven. : This city is the Church of which it is said, "Glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God." So should Christians be clearly recognizable. "You are the light of the world. According to our place in life, so God expects from us that we should shine out in the darkness of the world which yet knows not Him. 69. Christ compares his people here not to a city, but to a city upon a hill; so that all for which our Saviour mentions a city here, is the conspicuity of a city so built. 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). The old city of Jerusalem stands on the brow of ridge, jutting out southward between two deep valleys. Bitterly, bitterly, we weep over our unworthiness. III. Ye are the light of the world - That is, the instruments which God chooses to make use of to illuminate the minds of men; as he uses the sun (to which probably he pointed) to enlighten the world. What does this teach us as to the Church of Christ? I. If he had said, the kingdom of antichrist foretold by St Paul, and likewise by John the divine, he had divined aright. There is no greater light for God than the church that is filling its mission in the community."[10]. Light is symbolic of truth. ), Christ shines into the world through the lives of His people, Do you ever pause to think out how it is that our streets are nightly lighted up? A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. No, no! We should learn in them to see our own faults, and to mend them. The influence of salt is internal, of light, external; hence ‘earth’ (Matthew 5:13), and here ‘world,’ both referring to society or mankind, the latter more to its organized external form. ), A young minister, when about to be ordained, stated that at one period of his life he was nearly an infidel. [Psalms 87:3] Its citizens are all the faithful, of whom the Apostle speaks, "Ye are fellow-citizens of the saints." By the exertions which we make for the conversion of our fellow men. Light signifies knowledge and moral purity. This is the first mention of God as beingtheirFather, but it will occur regularly through the Sermon. 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