Please Pass the Salt
Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:1-16
1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His
disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil
against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is
your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be
seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled
underfoot by men.
14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15
Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives
light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
This passage I've read a hundred times but as I began to study it for this sermon, I
saw something I never noticed. Most times this scripture is portrayed in movies, they
show Jesus standing on the side of a mountain in the eternal 'Jesus' pose preaching to
the crowd. However, it clearly says in this first verse that He went up on the mountain,
sat down and His disciple came to Him. I believe their were many in the crowd that
never went up to Him. First of all, if He was speaking, not yelling a crowd would not
have heard Him. Although, I've been told, the acoustics on the side of a mountain are
very good, as it says, there was a crowd. Crowds make noise just being a crowd. It
says He saw the crowd and went up on the mountain. Maybe He went up on the
mountain to get away from the 'crowd' so He could teach His true disciples.
Secondly, it was a mountain, not a hill. It is usually portrayed a some little hillside, nice
and grassy; for comfortable seating, of course. But this was not a hillside or top, it was
a mountain. There are two different words in Greek for hill and mountain. Hill is found
other times in this gospel and in the others. The writer was definitely conveying that it
was a mountain. Have you ever climbed a mountain? I never have, but I've seen it on
tv and it looks really difficult. I'm not saying they would have had to ascend a flat rock-
faced cliff but even hiking up a mountain is not easy. My point is that those who went
up to hear Him had a difficult task. Seek they did! Even up a mountain which is used at
times to indicate a problem. They faced it head on and received what was likely the
greatest sermon ever in history.
In this sermon which lasted through three entire chapters here in Matthew, no one
questions Him even once. The scribes and Pharisees, and Sadducees were not there
to heckle Him by trying to trip Him up. They were probably down in the crowd saying,
"Why does He hide Himself up on this mountain? See He can't answer to us which is
why He's gone away?" This all fictional, of course, because I wasn't there and they
didn't write about it but if you look at Chapter 8 when He came down off the mountain, it
doesn't use the word crowd again. It says that a multitude followed Him. They had
been fed better than anything the 5000 or the 4000 received. The had been fed with
the Word of God, straight from the mouth of the Son. You better believe they followed
for more. How long do you think it took up on the mountain? It's likely that the nay-
sayers had left. Not knowing how close they were to the Author of the universe.
Back to the scripture, the first group He blessed are the poor in spirit. Now, we know, as
a Christian we are supposed to be filled with the Spirit so what does this mean. He
means those that are humble; lowly in their own eyes, not full of themselves.
Remember, we must crucify our own flesh daily so their will be room for the Spirit. The
more of ourselves that is still there, the less of the Spirit we can receive. Their reward is
the Kingdom of Heaven that we've been speaking about. It's something we should all
long to achieve.
The next group are those who mourn. Again as Christians we are supposed to have joy
unspeakable and a peace that passes understanding. However, according to Roman
12:15 we should, "rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn."
Look outside of our comfort zone into the misery in this world. We should mourn.
Yesterday, Cameron and I were watching tv and a commercial for Christian Children's
Fund came on. After watching for a while he said, "I want to do that." I told him, "Well,
honey it's like $20 a month and you only make $10 a month for your allowance. Maybe
we could take some of your savings and give a one time donation." Then he said, "Can
I give like $5 a month." Wow! That's the heart of a child that put me to shame. After
his tithe he would be left with just $4 but that's what he wants to do so I'll let him do it. I
spoke to Jeff that same day about us putting up the difference to sponsor a child.
That's what it means to mourn in the way Jesus blessed. These shall be comforted.
The next are the meek. The ones who turn the other cheek, who take an insult and
bless but don't curse. They quietly submit to the will of God, not their on will and in
doing so Jesus says they will inherit the earth. Next up are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness. Those who have a strong desire for that which is right. They are
motivated by that which is right. They see injustice and long to see things made right.
They shall be filled. We, on this side of the are able to put on the righteousness of God
in Christ.
Next He blessed the merciful. We have to be quick to forgive; the little things and the
big. Sometimes we hold on to the most petty of things because we feel we are right.
"They shouldn't have said that." "They shouldn't have done that." If God held onto our
faults, our missteps in the same way, would we have forgiveness. We must make a
point of forgiving all things. Next are the pure in heart. As the temple was rededicated,
cleansed from being defiled, so must of hearts be cleansed. As David prayed so should
we, 'Lord, create in me a clean heart.' Only the pure are able to see God.
Now we come to the peacemakers. Peace - Makers. We have to make a point of
making peace. It will not always just be there. The peace makers are those who not
only long for peace but also are willing to get their hands dirty to work on restoring
peace when it's gone. Oh, to be called a son of God. If He blesses the peace makers,
what do you think He does to the peace breakers? The last distinct group mentioned
are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. When was the last time you
were reviled and hated by men for His sake? We can not be motivated by how much
people like us. That is not Kingdom oriented. The reward for this group comes back to
the Kingdom of Heaven where it began. That's what it's all about. This is all just
temporary, that which is seen. It's what is unseen that is permanent.
We're just about to finish this evening the Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah as it is
commonly known today. As we've learned, this time remembers the eight days that it
took to cleanse the temple after it had been defiled. I don't think it's by accident that
Jesus shows us eight qualities we must strive for to be cleansed of our own defilement.
I wonder if it was near Hanukkah when He gave this sermon? Who knows?
In finishing today we look at Jesus tell His disciples that they are salt and light. The salt
is the truth of the Law. People don't want to hear that all liars have they place in the
lake of fire or that fornicators and homosexuals will have their own place in that lake.
Someone who is injured might not like salt being rubbed in their would but if there is no
other medicine it may be what they need to be healed. We must love the sinner, with all
our heart, but hate the sin. This is how we are salt. If salt losses it's saltiness, what
good is it. You'd throw it away.
We are to be a light in the darkness. Our light is our love, our forgiveness and mercy,
our compassion. Our light must reveal to them the darkness of their own souls. If we
are being hateful and unforgiving and uncompassionate to fit in (hiding our light under a
bushel) how will they ever see that they are in darkness. If you've ever been in a
darkened room and had your eyes get used to the dimness, you don't even really
notice how dim it is until you come out into the light. Let us be that light that will be a
beacon to guide those living in darkness into the waiting hands of the Savior.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: January 1, 2006