Matthew 5:13-20 Fifth Sunday After Epiphany
Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Sunday, February 8, 2026
“Be What Jesus Has Made You”
Have you ever heard of salt that wasn’t salty? I suppose there are some chemical compounds that are technically salts but we wouldn’t use them to season our food. But salt, as we know it, as we add it to our food, the food tastes salty. The right amount tends to make foods especially tasty. Yet there’s always that bit of danger that you could use too much, and that is not a good thing. If your food doesn’t taste salty enough, it’s probably because you didn’t use enough salt, not because your salt wasn’t good enough
So maybe you and I have not thought a whole lot about the scenario with which Jesus begins the portion of his Sermon on the Mount that we are considering this morning. Jesus is building on the introduction to this famous sermon that we heard last week. That was the Beatitudes, the statements of blessing. Blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are the poor and hungry, blessed are you when people treat you like they treated the prophets long ago, with opposition and persecution. As we heard, all of these blessings come with a promise. We are blessed to understand that spiritual matters are truly important. We may not always recognize the joy or happiness right now, but God will bless us with lasting peace and joy and honor.
And then Jesus says, “You are salt.” And maybe when some of us think about salt, what comes readily to mind is the danger that doctors will warn us against: too much salt can raise your blood pressure. I guarantee you that the people gathered around Jesus on that mountain were not worrying about that. They knew salt to a valuable thing because it provided seasoning and preservation. Having salt meant having food that was tasty enough to eat when you were needing it. Apparently, however, the salt that our Israelite audience had access to was not necessarily pure. It could happen that the salt portion of their seasoning would be accidentally washed away if it wasn’t stored and handled properly. So they sometimes came across salt that had lost its saltiness. They knew that sometimes it just needed to be thrown out. If it wasn’t what it was supposed to be and couldn’t do what it was supposed to do, it was useless.
The next illustration used by Jesus probably is a little more obvious, even if our experience is not quite the same. Jesus reminds us that we don’t light a lamp only to hide it under a basket. That would be like flipping on a light switch in your room and then covering the light with a bowl. These actions counteract each other. You light a lamp in Jesus day or turn on a light by flipping a switch now in order to have light, in order to see. A lamp goes on a stand so it can shine all around.
So Jesus calls you the light of the world, and he calls you the salt of the earth. And he means that he has a purpose for his followers. He has blessed them, blessed us, to be a blessing to others. He wants us to be salt. He wants us to add flavor to the world and to preserve it from the judgment it deserves. He wants us to be light. He wants us to show by our words and actions the way that others ought to understand this world and operate in it. He talks about good works. He wants us to be doing the things that best serve others. He wants us to sacrifice. He wants us to offer ourselves. He wants us to accept the possible persecution that comes from holding to the truth of his word and boldly sharing it. He wants us to listen to him and do what he says.
When he calls us salt and then speaks about throwing salt away for it to be trampled on, that is a scary thought. If we are not doing the things that Christians are supposed to be doing, doesn’t that call into question whether we are Christians? And I have no doubt that we could all come up with examples of ways that we have let our lights shine before others. But would these things make up the majority of our lives? Would they extend to all aspects of our lives? Do we really live in the way that Jesus would want us to? Or are there some weeks when we leave an hour of church behind and never really consider again what was said? Are there some days when we just can’t believe that the people
around us are so needy, and so selfish, and so thankless? Are there some times when all we want to do is take care of ourselves?
Just look at the rest of our verses. Jesus does not let us off the hook. He doesn’t suggest that we don’t need to worry about it. He doesn’t tell us that God’s Word is optional. He doesn’t tell us to be more modern in our thinking. He tells us that he wants us to practice and teach what he commands. He doesn’t want us to break any of even the least of his commandments. He doesn’t allow us to think that any of his commands, not any single part of his commands, not even the smallest letter, like the dot of an “i” or the cross of a “t” will pass away from these things.
And he wraps it all up with this: Indeed I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. I don’t know that we could find a modern-day equivalent to this comparison. The Pharisees and the experts in the law were those people that everyone recognized as the most spiritual and best-behaved of all the people. Perhaps thirty years ago we could have compared this to saying, “you need to be better than Mother Theresa.” This is very much to the point Jesus is making. If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, the bar is high. You need a righteousness that surpasses any that you have seen or known.
And let’s mention a few applications Jesus is going to give. He goes on in the Sermon on the Mount to explain what he means about righteous actions, letting light shine, and obeying the law. He takes commandments that the people had maybe forgotten about and reminds them of just how pointed those commandments are. He reminds us that when God forbids adultery, he also means that we need to keep our thoughts pure. He tells us that when God forbids murder, he also means that we should not hate others.
We’re not going to have all of these examples as a part of our worship services. In fact, this is as far as we are getting into Christ’s sermon. But now that we have started it, maybe that would be a good personal Bible-reading goal. Read the rest of Matthew 5 and continue on with chapters 6 and 7 also. Hear about praying persistently and not worrying. Hear about loving enemies and avoiding hypocrisy. Hear abut all the ways that we should be salt and light, how we should let our lights shine, how we should be righteous in a way that surpasses even the Pharisees of old.
But don’t do this in order to feel badly about not living up to these high goals. Don’t do this to feel even worse about your level of righteousness compared to those Pharisees. Read through these chapters, listen to the sermon of Jesus to hear what he says you are.
You are salt and you are light. I’ve used the word “should” a lot already. But Jesus doesn’t say, “You should be salt and you should be light.” He says, “You are.” And he also tells you how that happened. It happened because Jesus came to fulfill all the laws, all the commands of God. It happened because Jesus had a righteousness that far outshined the Pharisees. He kept every command of God perfectly. He was completely righteous. And he gave it to you. Now your righteousness outshines the Pharisees because you are clothed in Christ’s righteousness. You have no sin because he has taken it away. You are his own dear child. You are his new creation. You are salt and you are light to be a blessing to the world around you.
So now go and be what Jesus has made you. Now read God’s commands and hear Christ’s direction not as things you have to do but fail at. Read them as ways that you can show your thanks and you can serve others. Jesus says you are salt. You have something to share with the world that benefits it in ways it cannot understand. Jesus says you are light. You shine out with his love as you love and serve and sacrifice for others.
This is the whole point of our series on identity revealed. Jesus has taught us about who he is as the Savior of the world. And in his great sermon he tells us about who we are as we follow him. This is your identity. Live up to it. Jesus has made you his own. He has made you salt and light. Be what Jesus has made you.
The Text: Matthew 5:13–20 (EHV)
13“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? Then it is no good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. 14You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them. 18Amen I tell you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter, or even part of a letter, will in any way pass away from the Law until everything is fulfilled. 19So whoever breaks 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 practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20Indeed I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and experts in the law, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.