In the Gospel for Epiphany 5, which is this coming Sunday, Jesus tells believers that they are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Mt 5:13-16). Yesterday, we considered salt’s value and importance to the people of Jesus’ day, and thus considered how we can apply Jesus’ “salt” label, and corresponding warning, to ourselves.

Today we want to consider the culture and context of Jesus’ words as pertains to light.

Light

I don’t need to give a lot of background information about light itself, since a) we still value it and understand its importance today, and b) Jesus himself applies the concept to our lives in clear words: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:16).

But Jesus said he was the light of the world (Jn 8:12)!

True, and his Scripture uses the exact same Greek words to describe both him and us. But perhaps we can use two different concepts of light to help us understand this relationship between Jesus as the light and us as the light.

We can use the word light to describe both a light-producer, such as a lamp (“Turn off the light” or “Put out the light”), and the light that is produced, such as a flame (“The fire gives off such beautiful light”). In Hebrew, for instance, there are two different words for light that originally captured this distinction.

We can apply this to Jesus and us. Jesus is the light-producer. This is what the apostle John is talking about when he says of John the Baptist, “He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” (Jn 1:8-9). The light of life originates with Jesus. Without him we walk around in utter darkness and death.

But when Jesus shines the light of life on us through the gospel, communicating to us that he has fulfilled even the minutest detail of God’s law for us (Mt 5:17) and paid the price for our violation of God’s law (Gal 4:4-5), we are like metal that is heated with fire or a mirror set in front of a candle. The glowing metal gives off light and is a light, but its light is not its own; its light comes from the fire. A mirror set in front of a candle gives off light and is a light, but its light is reflected from the original source.

Note that, as he did with salt, Jesus does not say we should be the light of the world. We are. Therefore we ought not hide that light, but we ought to live in such a way that reflects what God has made us to be in his Son. We let the light of our saving faith shine out brightly through our many good works.

What city did Jesus have in mind?

Jesus illustrated us being the light of the world by saying, “A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Many people think that Jesus was referring to, even pointing at, Safed or Tsefat northwest of the Sea of Galilee, since it is a city on a hill and since Jesus often taught and preached in Galilee.

However, the 1906 Jewish Encylopedia says that the foundation of Safed dates from the 100s AD, after Jesus ascended into heaven. Some have identified it with the city of Sepph (or Sepf), which Josephus mentions in his Wars of the Jews (2:573), which would date it a little earlier, at least to the 60s AD. But not only is this identification uncertain; it is also clear that Josephus did not think Sepph was as prominent or important as some of the other cities he mentions in the same context. (Cf. Josephus’ Life 187-188, where Josephus describes the exact same activity, but does not mention Sepph.)

What is more misleading is the Wikipedia article on Safed, which says that the city “is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud as one of five elevated spots where fires were lit to announce the New Moon and festivals during the Second Temple period.” Now wouldn’t that fit so well? Imagine Jesus pointing not only to a city on a hill, but to a city known as one that used to light flares to announce the beginning of the New Moon festival to the Jews still living in Babylon.

But there is a problem with imagining such a scenario: The reference is to Rosh Hashanah 2:2, and in both the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud, Safed is not mentioned as one of the five elevated spots. The five spots are:

1. The Mount of Olives
2. Sartaba (or Sarteba)

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3. Grofina (or Agrippina)
4. Hauran
5. Beth Baltin

There is no general agreement about the identification of places 2-5.

Having said that, Safed is clearly a great modern illustration of a city on a hill (see picture), as is any prominent city on a hill or mountain. Last year my wife and I visited a small town in Germany called Schönfeld. To the southeast of Schönfeld lies a city on a hill called Annaberg (see picture). The ELFK pastor we visited said that Annaberg always reminds him of Jesus’ words, “A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Also, even if Safed was not one of the five elevated spots used to announce the New Moon with flares, the process of lighting flares to make announcements to faraway places beautifully illustrates the importance of cities on hills, and their use of light for communication, from ancient times.

Just as the flares from those cities could be seen for miles, so our light should be clear to all with whom we come into contact. Just as ancient cities used light to communicate the arrival of festivals or the coming of envoys or enemies, so we should use our good deeds and words to communicate that Jesus has arrived and accomplished our salvation, and that he will come again to judge the living and the dead. And rest assured, though it might seem like your light has a small impact, you are a city on a hill, and Jesus will broadcast your light farther than you could have imagined.

Law or Gospel? Law and Gospel?

Perhaps some concluding thoughts might be welcome. The Sermon on the Mount is a rich sermon; we should expect nothing less from Jesus. In Jesus’ paragraphs about salt and light, is he preaching the law or the gospel to us?

Jesus is speaking to believers (Mt 5:1-2). That is why he is able to call them salt and light. In a sense, this is not something they should strive for or aspire to; this is something they simply are. That is gospel. With my trust anchored in Christ for my salvation, no one can rob me, or any believer, of these facts: I am the salt of the earth; I am the light of the world. In Christ, God has made me of lasting and inestimable value and worth.

But after giving us those gospel truths, Jesus does make law applications (salt that has lost its saltiness is worthless; don’t hide your light, but let it shine). Jesus’ law preaching for his disciples here, and so much of the Bible’s law preaching for Christians, boils down to this: Be who you are. You are salt; don’t live insipidly. You are light; don’t lurk in the shadows.

His message is also: Don’t think you can keep the law without me, and don’t think you can keep it perfectly this side of heaven. As Jesus preaches his words here, and continues with the rest of his Sermon on the Mount, his law strikes deep in the heart. That is good. We need that. We cannot finish listening to the Sermon on the Mount and turn to our neighbor and cheerfully say, “Sounds like I’ve done a good job keeping God’s law. I’m a pretty good person.” No, we could hardly imagine Jesus magnifying our sin any more than he does.

But he does it so that we can return to his words, “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” (Mt 5:17), and marvel that much more. “Jesus did all of that? From the heart? Perfectly? For me?” Absolutely. And he didn’t just do all of that; he also died for all of that, that is, for all of our violation of God’s will – natural and actual.

Jesus’ fulfillment, Jesus’ sacrifice are precisely why he can call us the salt of the earth and the light of the world without joking or blinking. Jesus’ fulfillment, Jesus’ sacrifice are precisely why we want to, should, and can actually begin to be, what our heavenly Father has made us to be in Christ – salty salt, a shining light, a visible city.

For further reading: 1 Peter 2:4-12; Isaiah 40:9-11; John 1:1-18; 8:12-30; Commentary on Matthew 5:13-14