Matthew 5:14-15
14“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.
Matthew 5:14-15 · NLT · read the whole chapter ↗
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Context
Jesus said this on a hillside near the Sea of Galilee, early in the talk we call the Sermon on the Mount. he wasn't speaking to famous people. he was talking to fishermen and ordinary families who had walked out to hear him.
the Sermon on the Mount is the longest stretch of Jesus' teaching in any of the gospels. Matthew places it near the start of Jesus' ministry, after he has been healing people across Galilee and crowds have started following him everywhere (Matthew 4:23-25).
Jesus sits down to teach, which is what rabbis did, and his disciples gather close while the crowd listens in. after the beatitudes he gives two quick pictures of who his followers are. salt comes first in verse 13, then light in verses 14 to 16. this reading zooms in on the light.
Jesus says you are the light. he says it as a fact, to people with no status at all. most of them worked with their hands and would never show up in a history book.
What it means
he says you already are the light. back then a lamp was a small clay bowl of oil, so hiding one under a basket would make it pointless. the light is meant for the people right around you.
did you know? the basket in verse 15 is a modios in Greek, a container for measuring grain that held about two gallons, so putting one over a lamp would hide it completely.
Think about it
who's one person in your house or your class who could use a little light from you this week?
Try this
think of the person you named, and do one small kind thing for them before today is over.
talk about it: where is a place this week where it feels hard to let your light show?