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In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

            These words are not for the world. They’re not for the crowds. These words are for the blessed ones, the ones whom Jesus has called to Himself. They are for the disciples, whom He’s chosen. They are for you, on whom He’s put His holy name. At the beginning of chapter 5, which we heard last week, Jesus sees the crowds, and He goes up on the mountain. And His disciples come to Him, He opens His mouth, and He begins to teach them, His disciples. The crowds can probably hear Him. That’s why they’re there. But Jesus doesn’t speak to them. He speaks to His disciples. Some from the crowds might hear what He says, and join the disciples in believing and following Jesus. Then they become blessed ones and these words are for them. But until then, they are only for the disciples.

            They are for the sake of the world, even if they’re not directed to the world. Jesus says to His blessed ones: You are the salt of the earth. If salt becomes tasteless, how will the earth be salted? How can salt lose its taste? I don’t know, but it could happen by the salt being mixed up with so much other stuff, that the saltiness is hard to taste. But however it might happen, the salt is for the world. It is for the world’s seasoning, preservation, and sanctification. We might go so far as to say that if the Church did not exist in the world—which is impossible, because Jesus promises He will be present with His people to the end of this age—but if the Church did not exist, the world would cease to exist. The Church is the salt that preserves the world, because the Church is the place the world’s creator and sustainer is present to save.

            You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Everyone sees it in the valleys around. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a big basket. No, they put it on the lampstand so it gives light to all those in the house. Jesus has put the city of His Church on a hill in every place, even if not a literal hill. He puts the lamp on the lampstand, like John saw in the Revelation. He saw seven lampstands, which were the images for the churches of Asia. And He saw Jesus in glory standing in their midst. We don’t get to see Jesus yet, as John did, but He is still wherever He puts the lamp on His lampstands. Though we cannot see Him, we know where He is because He’s promised to be wherever His Word is preached as He left it to us, and His sacraments are given out as He instituted them to be. He has put the lamp here. He has put the city on the hill. He commands the light of His Church to shine in the world. Let your light shine before people, so they will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

            These words are for you, blessed ones. You are salt because Jesus has salted you. You are the light of the world because Jesus, in our midst, is the Light of the world, which no darkness can overcome. And though these words are not directed to the world, they are for the world. You are for the world, for the crowds, for this earth as it is. Why doesn’t He just take us to heaven after we’ve believed, after we’ve been baptized, after we’ve become members of His Church? Because you belong now to the one who came not to be served, but to serve. You belong to the one who forgives. You belong to the one who cared for people in both body and soul. You are the ones He has served, He has forgiven, for whom He cares in body and soul. And the crowds wait, even if they don’t know what they are waiting for. He has put these congregations, these outposts, these embassies in every place, so that there will be salt and light in every tasteless, dark place. For now, for these days, He has put you here in this place, with these people, for the sake of every person with whom you come into contact. It’s no mistake. You are the blessed ones, and these words are for you.

            Jesus has come to fill up the entire law, every command, from the least to the greatest, and He does that for the entire world. If we lessen the least command, we lessen the Jesus who came to fulfill it. Not one single edge or corner of a single word can pass away; it must all be fulfilled, and Jesus does that when He has finished keeping the entire covenant, in which the law finds its place. He keeps it entirely, He keeps it completely. He trusts His Father with a perfect faith. According to His human nature, He does what no man ever did: perfectly fulfill the entire history of Israel, and the entire history of the world, which only contained failures. Your failures, too. Your lack of faith. Your undoing of the greatest command and the least. Your teaching, by word or deed, that the Word of God does not matter too much. One might take it or leave it. Jesus keeping the covenant and the law perfectly does not mean death. Death is what is paid out to sinners. In order to die, Jesus has to take your sins, your undoing of His Word, your lack of care for your body and the bodies of others. Jesus fills up the accusation of the law with your sins and the sins of the whole world, and then He dies under that incredible weight.

            By that death and His resurrection, He creates a people, blessed of the Father, and He puts them as salt and light in the world. And He says, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven at the end of this age. But I am sure that His disciples on the mountain there had no idea how that could be possible. The scribes and Pharisees were not bad people. No doubt they had their hypocrisies, like we have ours. But no one would have said they were bad. They were the best of the best. They were the people everyone looked up to. Someone would have written a song, Mamas, please let your children grow up to be Pharisees! So what is lacking in the Pharisees’ and the scribes’ righteousness? It is not action. They filled up the external actions of the law, the kept the least commandment scrupulously, and they never would have taught anyone to do otherwise. But they could not go further, because they did not know the one who fulfilled the law they were trying to keep, the one to whom it all pointed. But you, blessed ones, you do. So Jesus takes everything the Pharisees and scribes would have done, and He teaches the truth about it. He doesn’t abolish it, He fills it all the way: it’s not good enough to figure out when and how you can divorce each other; divorce multiplies adultery. It’s not good enough not to sleep with someone to whom you’re not married; if you look at a woman to desire her, you’ve already committed adultery. It’s not good enough to swear only by holy things; don’t swear at all. Just say yes, or no. It’s not good enough to give to those in need; don’t let anyone know you’re doing it. If someone needs something from you, give them more than they need. This is what God does for you. The law is filled up by Jesus; now you do whatever other people need from you. It’s not about checking for the limit of the law; it’s about anything, everything, beyond, more. The Pharisees can do the limits of the law, but they cannot do its heart, because they don’t know the one who’s at the heart of it all. But you, who have the blessed light of Jesus in your midst, let your light shine in the world and people will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. The unbelievers, even without you knowing, will see and wonder. They might ask. You can give them Jesus. But it’s also for the believers, for the Church, to build up the other members. God has put together the body of Christ in this place exactly as He wants it, so that each of us, with the gifts, talents, abilities that God has given us, can build up the rest. And He does all things well.

            And all of this because God has drawn you to His Son by the Spirit, opened your ears to hear the Word and joined you to the Body. Blessed are you, salt of the earth and light of the world.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7, ESV). Amen.

– Pr. Timothy Winterstein, 2/7/26