Text: Matthew 5:13-20

Title: You are the light of the world

The Lord Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Light of the world. He promised that whoever followed Him would never walk in darkness, but would have the light of life.

The Word of God has plenty to say about light, and always compares light to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here’s Second Corinthians 4:6: "For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Here, light is equated with knowledge. The uninformed are in the dark; the informed are in the light. We get that; we use that all the time: "Did you know school was closed for three days because of the storm?" "No. Since I was buried in a drift, I was in the dark about that."

People, who are informed, lived differently from the uninformed. We get that, too. Listen to First John 1:7: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." Since God, in Christ, has brought you from the darkness of death, devil, and damnation, and into His glorious light of life, liberty, and the pursuit of godly happiness, it will show in the way you live, in the fellowship that you, saints in Christ, have with each other, which will mirror your relationship with Jesus Christ, your Savior-Brother, and with God, your heavenly Father.

The Holy Spirit had John say even more about living as children of light: "Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness." Here, brother specifically refers to a fellow Christian. And, here’s the deal: if you have been called from darkness into the light of Christ, and another person has been called from darkness into the light of Christ, how could you treat that one as if he’s still in the darkness? If you love the Lord for having saved you from death, devil, and damnation, how could you ever have a damning thought, or word, or action toward another person of the Light?

Jesus is the Light of the world, but in what way does He shine His light? When He was walking on the earth, He shined His light right in front of everyone He met, performing miracles, doing good, proclaiming the kingdom of heaven. But, how does Christ shine His light since He ascended to heaven? He shines Himself through His Church, through you.

What are you doing about it? Listen to the Lord: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven." To begin to see what the Lord is getting at, let’s take what lately has been our weekly look at Israel.

The Old Testament reading shows how God was frustrated with Israel, who thought they were hot stuff with their fasting. But, whom did their fasting serve? The Lord knew: "Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure . . .you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist."

Last week, we looked at how Israel thought they pleased God by making burnt-offering sacrifices; today, we see how they thought that denying themselves of food was what God wanted, for them to prove their holiness, yet they continued to treat each other like dirt.

To Israel’s sacrifices and fasting, God had the same reply; Israel might as well have gone ahead and eaten their burnt-offerings, if they weren’t going to change their behavior. They were not walking as children of light. God called them to stop their dark living, telling them: share your bread, clothe the naked, free the oppressed. "Then," God said, "shall your light break forth like the dawn."

Last week, I spoke of how you had better not think that your coming to church was doing something for God. If you do, then your worship is no different from, and no better than, Israel’s sacrifices and fasting. God doesn’t need your worship, and God doesn’t want your worship if you are doing it with the motivation that you are pleasing Him by it.

And, don’t get into the mind-set that, because Jesus has taken the darkness of your sin, by His death upon the cross, you can go about your lives however you want and come back, next week, and confess your sins and receive His forgiveness. In today’s Gospel, where He called you, His people, the light of the world, He said, "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." Jesus’ keeping of the Lord’s commandments wasn’t so that your life can be one big Super Bowl party because there are no more laws to keep.

Indeed, quite the opposite. While you don’t save yourself by being law-abiding citizens, you are, as disciples of Christ, called to a higher standard of living. Listen, again, to your Lord, "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."

And, yet, that’s what you modern American Christians do, all the time: you relax God’s commandments and you teach others to do the same. I’ve rehearsed the list of common sins, so many times, that you should be able to write the next paragraph of this sermon, so I’ll forego it. Instead, do recognize how you might compare with Israel. The Lord nailed them when they thought they were all holy by their fasting, yet treated one another like dirt—when they didn’t look out for the poor and needy, when they quarreled and came to fisticuffs because they were bullheaded instead of humble.

Yes, God has called you out of the darkness of death, devil, and damnation, not simply for you to go to heaven, but so that you will be the light of the world—so that you, each of you, will shine Jesus Christ in your homes, to your friends, among your co-workers.

And, yes, God’s commandments, while Jesus kept them in your place, are still your commandments. But, now, having been saved from the penalty of having broken God’s commandments, you want to keep His commandments because you love Him for having first loved you.

Did you know that, when God gave the commandments to Moses, He didn’t actually say, "Thou shalt not"? In the actual language that God used, those commandments would more accurately be translated like this: "You won’t." God was saying it like this, "Since you walk in my light, of course you won’t murder, and of course you won’t commit adultery, and of course you won’t steal or speak ill of each other or covet." God wasn’t so much as laying down the law, but simply teaching the normal way of life for a child of His.

So, there’s your lesson for another week. You are the light of the world. Don’t do things, like coming to church, or denying yourselves of pleasure, or helping your neighbor because you think you are tickling God pink by your good behavior. Do these things because these are the things you are called to do, and you love doing them.

You love helping others because your heart is filled with love, and you love disciplining your body because you recognize the good you do for yourself, and you love coming to church because you are thankful to your Savior, Jesus, and desire to hear His Word, and rinse yourself once more in His baptismal promises, and nourish your faith on the salutary supper of His body and blood.

You, dear Christians, are the light of the world, for you reflect the light that the Lord Jesus shines upon you—the light of His love through His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation achieved by His shed blood for you and all the world. Reflecting the light of Christ’s love, you have the blessed privilege of shining Christ to everyone around you, so that they may see your good deeds and they, too, may give glory to your Father, who is in heaven, now and forever. Amen.