"Let Your Light Shine before Others" (Sermon on Matthew 5:13-20)

In the Holy Gospel for today, from Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says to his disciples, “You are the light of the world.” But elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus says about himself, “I am the light of the world.” So, which is it, Jesus? Are you the light of the world, or are we? And the answer is . . . yes. Both are true, each in its own way. Jesus is the light of the world in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. And we are the light of the world by extension, as his disciples. Jesus addresses us as such, when he says, “You are the light of the world.” Therefore, as Christ’s disciples, “Let Your Light Shine before Others.”

First of all, let’s establish where our light comes from. It comes from Jesus, from him alone. He is the true light, coming into the world. In ourselves, apart from Christ, there is no light at all, only darkness. That is our nature as sinners. We are in the dark. In the dark about God. In the dark about ourselves. In the dark about the meaning and purpose of life. In the dark about what the future holds for us beyond this life. This darkness pervades and permeates our being, so that we do not walk in the ways of God. We serve ourselves. We dismiss the rule and reign of God in our lives. We turn inward, serving our own desires, at the expense of helping and serving our neighbor. That is our character, that is our fallen sinful nature, apart from the light and life that Christ brings.

But as we heard from the Gospel reading a couple weeks ago, from Matthew chapter 4: “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” This describes what happened when our Lord Jesus came on the scene, beginning his public ministry. Into this sin-darkened world, Jesus came, bringing light and life with him. He came, bringing the kingdom of heaven with him.

And to bring us into the kingdom of heaven, Christ went all the way to the cross on our behalf. There darkness came over the land, as the sinless Son of God died for the sins of the world. There he died, for you, to pay for all your sins. Christ shed his holy blood for you, for your forgiveness. This was God’s wisdom, this was his plan for your salvation, the only way it would work. This was God’s power in action, even though it looked like utter weakness. And this is why we preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, so that you will trust in him for your righteousness before God and not in yourself.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Christ rose victorious from the grave, and his light is still shining forth to this day. It is the light of life, true life, new life, eternal life.

And now Jesus brings his life to you. He says: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So this is the source of the light that you have. It doesn’t come from you or from inside of you. It’s not something you can attain to by trying harder. No, the light is a gift. The source is Christ, and you are on the receiving end. He gives you his light and his life.

You received this light and this life when you were baptized. In those gospel-filled waters, the Holy Spirit enlightened you with the light of Christ. You were made a new person in Christ. Now you have a new nature. Now you are a spiritual person. Now you have the mind of Christ.

And so now, when Jesus says to us, his disciples, “You are the light of the world,” he really means it! Because he has given us his light, and now we have light to share. This is his will for us as his disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

We Christians have a real purpose and identity in this world. We are here to light up this world with the light of Christ. By our words, by our actions, by how we live and conduct ourselves in this world, our light will be shining forth, and people will notice.

Let me give you an example. On Wednesday, Susan and I were flying back from vacation. We changed planes in Charlotte. We were sitting on the plane for a long while, when they announced we had to deplane, because they didn’t have a pilot to fly us, due to an ice storm elsewhere. We would have to take a flight the next day, they said. Nobody was happy about this, of course. As we were getting off the plane, one guy was cussing out the poor flight attendants. He was not shining any light into the situation. Well, the airline said they would put us up at a local hotel for the night, so we went to down to the taxi line to await our transportation. We were up at the front of the line, when the man in charge directed us and another fellow to a taxi several cars back. We got in, but then an angry woman came to the door and cussed us out, accusing us of cutting in line to get our taxi, when that was not the case. She too was not shining any light into the situation.

But the fellow who was in the cab with us kindly forgave her. Now this man--Bill was his name--he was shining light amid the darkness. We rode with Bill to the hotel, met him for breakfast in the morning, and rode back with him to the airport. Bill was the nicest, kindest fellow, and he made a difficult situation much more pleasant. And, we found out, Bill was a Christian. And he caused me to give thanks to God for giving Bill the light of Christ and the ability to shine it forth.

How will you shine your light forth to others? How can you be a blessing to others by your words and actions? You are a new person in Christ, and God will give you opportunities this week to let it show and let it shine.

Now notice what Jesus says about this. He says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Notice, your good works will be seen. But why you’re doing your works for others to see--that could go a couple of very different ways.

For instance, the scribes and the Pharisees did their works in order to be seen. They would give to the needy, they would pray, they would fast--but they did these works in order to be seen and praised by men.

But let it not be so among you. You may be doing the same kinds of works as the hypocrites, and people may see you doing them. But you’re not doing your good works in order to look good in front of others, so that people will praise you. No, what does Jesus say? “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works . . . and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” And give glory to your Father in heaven! That’s what we hope will happen when people see a Christian’s good works. If they know we are Christians, they will think to themselves, “Hey, there’s something different about these people! Maybe there’s something there for me.” You see, by the way you live, you will be bringing honor and glory to God’s name.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you are designed and equipped to do good works. As it says in Ephesians, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” The fact that you are able to do good works is because God has first done his good work in you, making you a new creation in Christ.

You know, we Lutherans are not against good works. We’re only against the idea that we can merit our salvation by our works. No, we are very much in favor of us Christians living a life of love and good works. That’s what God has created us to do. That’s what Jesus is encouraging us to do today in our text. And that’s what you will be doing today and this week, precisely because you are a new person in Christ.

Dear friends, Jesus is saying to us today: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, 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 5:13-20 (ESV)

[Jesus said:] “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

“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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

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