Text:
14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain 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 House. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will not pass from the law, until all things be fulfilled. 19 Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches people thus will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches, this will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Explanation - about my parish bulletin

This evangelical chapter appears in the so-called “Sermon on the Mount” in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5-7), and it is the second section in this sermon after “The Beatitudes” (5:1-12). It contains two basic points: the first relates to the disciples as they are “the light of the world,” and the second relates to the commandments of the law.

Jesus began the sermon with the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit... Blessed are the meek.” After this, the Lord says: You are the salt of the earth (as a result of your memorization of the Beatitudes). Likewise, you are the light of the world. If you are truly light, your light must appear. The enlightened person necessarily enlightens others. The important thing is not for people to stop at your light, but “to glorify your Father who is in heaven.” In front of this moral code that I make the rule of your life, there is a question that naturally arises. How does my teaching relate to previous teaching: the Law and the Prophets? The phrase refers to the entire Old Testament. For the Jews, the law (or Sharia) is the last thing God revealed to people, a complete instruction on behavior. Jesus does not accept this position and this is what every reader of the Sermon on the Mount sees.

“You are the light of the world”: what is meant here are the disciples, followers of Jesus. The image of “light”, as it relates to good deeds, is particularly clear in the following two verses: “And they do not light a lamp…”. However, before that, the Evangelist mentions the image of the city located on a mountain, which does not necessarily apply to “good works,” but rather to the person himself. “City” here does not refer to a specific place, such as Jerusalem, for example, but rather to a city that people can see from afar because it is radiant with light. In this sense, the image of the city located on a mountain resembles the image of the lamp on the lampstand, which shines “for all people.” Through these two images, we understand the meaning of his saying, “You are the light of the world.” That is, Jesus tells his disciples that the world is dark, and that the disciples are the ones who expel this darkness.

These words remind us of a saying from the Book of Isaiah that Matthew mentioned before (Philippians 4:16) about the light that the people sitting in darkness see. The people sitting in darkness here mean people who do not know the true God. The light is Jesus Christ who came to this people to teach them and save them from their sin. If we take this into consideration, we can say that the function of the disciples, according to the beginning of our Gospel chapter, is like the function of Jesus himself. Just as Jesus is the light that those sitting in darkness see, the disciples are also light, or they should be, because they carry in their teaching and message the true light, which is Jesus Christ himself.

But the mission of the disciples, according to Matthew, is not only in teaching, but in “good deeds” as well. Therefore, he adds, “Let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds.” The wording of the imperative “let it shine” indicates that the Christian community, which is the light of the world, must reveal this light so that it does not become meaningless like a lamp placed under a bushel from which no one benefits. The emphasis in this verse shifts from the persons being addressed, the disciples, to their “good deeds.” This transition is not a difference in meaning, but it is an emphasis on the other aspect of the fact that the disciples are light. This other aspect is good deeds, and good deeds in biblical language are acting in accordance with God’s commandments. Work, according to Matthew, is important, because a person is in his works that highlight him and live in them. Disciples, and by extension all Christians, are a light to the world when their good deeds shine and they keep God’s commandments. All this means that the phrase “light of the world,” in addition to referring to the teaching that the disciples impart to the world, is fulfilled in “good works.” The importance of this idea lies in the fact that the good news according to Matthew is good news through word and deed. For him, the true evangelist is not only the one who transmits the teaching, but also the one who acts according to this teaching, that is, according to the will of “the Father in heaven” (see the discussion about good fruits and bad fruits in Matthew 7: 15-20). The work of the disciples, and therefore the Christians, has a missionary function: bearing witness through life and work is the function of the entire community. There is no meaning to preaching the word if this good news is not accompanied by good deeds. The purpose of all this is for God to be glorified, that is, for His commandments to be implemented and for people outside to see that His followers are working according to His will.

Starting from talking about light and good works, the evangelist moves on to talk about the law and its commandments in the same context. The law in Jewish thought is the clearest expression of God's will. When does he use this phrase in this sense? For him, the law does not mean the letter, but rather the commandment or commandments of God. In this sense, Jesus says, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law and the Prophets, for I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” If God's commandments and will are expressed in the law, then Jesus did not come to loosen these commandments and nullify this will, but rather to fulfill them. The phrase “completes” here does not mean adding something to an incomplete thing until it is complete, but rather achieving this thing and giving it a final meaning without adding anything to it. This is made clear in the following sayings of Jesus, which explain the law and lead it to its true and final meaning, which is love for God and neighbor.

 What Matthew said does not fully express the New Testament’s position on the law. There are complementary positions, including what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans and his letter to the Galatians. But here the Lord says: Do not think that I have come to dissolve the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to solve, but to fulfill. “I did not come to undo,” that is, to abolish, abolish, or establish a law other than the law of Moses. According to Jesus, no one has the right to tamper with a law that was written under the inspiration of God. Therefore, the Lord rebuked the Pharisees because they interpreted God’s commandments and interpreted them according to their inclinations and benefit (see Matthew 15:3-6 and 23:16-26).

“But to fulfill it,” that is, to take the Old Testament to its final goal, and this was achieved on the cross when he offered himself as a sacrifice that was the fulfillment of the purposes of the law through absolute love. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40). Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8), even when heaven and earth pass away, that is, even when the world ends.

“So whoever looses one of the least of these commandments and teaches people in this way will be called little in the kingdom of heaven.” Speech against the Pharisees who counted 613 commandments in the five books of Moses (called the Law), and they differentiated between major commandments that should not be taken lightly and minor commandments that were not of the same importance. The Lord once said to the Pharisees: “Why do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3). He was referring to their reduction of the commandment to honor parents. He wants his student to “work and teach.” He wants full implementation and full education.

Of course, the Lord did not keep all the provisions of the Sharia because he gave a spiritual interpretation of the Sharia. It shows us Jesus' thought in the practice of the early church. She did not preserve the sacrifices after he became the perfect sacrifice. Likewise, he did not preserve the temple because it became the temple of God, nor did he preserve circumcision, the symbol of the Old Testament, because the symbol of the New Testament became baptism.

But before these provisions were abrogated, Jesus introduced humanity to a deeper understanding of the law. That is why he said: “You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘You shall not murder’... But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you: Whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies.’” The Lord did not abolish this law, but he took it to what was intended, namely love. You must go to the depth where the moral law grows. Christ is the one who gave the law in the past, and now He interprets it beyond it to love.

“Whoever breaks one of these lesser commandments...”; In this verse, there is a speech directed against the Pharisees, whom Jesus accuses in the Gospel of Matthew of knowing and teaching the law and the commandments of God, but they do not practice it, contradicting themselves. These are little ones in the kingdom of heaven. As for whoever teaches these commandments and practices them, this is great. This idea brings us back to the beginning of this evangelical chapter, where talking about “light” inextricably links good news and teaching to good deeds.

My parish bulletin
Sunday, July 18, 1993
Issue 29

Explanation - from the bulletin of the Diocese of Latakia:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.”

Just as the light of the world illuminates the world, so the disciples constitute the light of the spiritual world.

In the Old Testament concept, the image of light refers to God, to the divine law, and to the Israeli people in their relationship with the nations.

In the New Testament, the light is, above all, Christ the incarnate Word, and by extension - as members of the body of the Word - the light refers to the apostles and disciples in general.

The anointed disciples are the light, because they see the uncreated light of Tabor, and they have uncreated grace because they walk in the light, and all their works can appear openly in the light and lead the world to the eternal light. The enlightenment coming at the hands of the disciples will lead, condemn and save the world.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

The disciples are light, with the goal of enlightening people. Therefore, they cannot hide this advantage of theirs nor be satisfied with a pure, internal religion.

Christianity is not a personal matter, as much as it is a matter of public service, enthusiastic evangelism in the spirit of sacrifice. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

Through this verse, the Lord begins his teaching on a topic that will create a problem in the early church, the topic of the Mosaic Law. Is it still existing and effective? What is its importance in the church?

“The Lord fulfilled the words of the prophets... and He Himself, in a way, implemented the law without going beyond it in any way, and on the other hand, added to it what was lacking in it,” or as the fathers say, “Everything that the law dictated symbolically (in shadow) was drawn by the Lord in a perfect way.” The Law (Old Testament) does not take on its true meaning. It is not completed except through Christ.

“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will not pass from the law until all is fulfilled.”

The law meant in this verse is the new law, completed by Christ. This law remains until the end of the world. Therefore, everyone who does not care about the Law of Christ, and teaches people to provide it by adhering to the ancient letter and the Jewish interpretation of it, will be excluded from the Kingdom of God, because he disdained the commandments of the Lord.

Lattakia Archbishopric Bulletin
17 / 7 / 2005
Number: 27