Sermon: The Great Appointment
Bible Passage: Matthew 5:14-16
I. Jesus’ announcement/proclamation
1. Verse 14a: “You are the light for the world
2. Jesus’ disciples and followers do not become light, but they carry certain qualities of the light
a. God is light (1 John 1:5; Ps 27:1; Isa 60:19-20)
i. 1 John 1:5 God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all
ii. Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; I will fear no one
iii. Isa 60:19-20 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day, nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you; the LORD will be your permanent source of light—the splendor of your God will shine upon you. 20 Your sun will no longer set; your moon will not disappear; the LORD will be your permanent source of light; your time of sorrow will be over
b. Jesus is light (John 8:12, 9:5; cf. 1:4-5)
i. John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke out again, “I am the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life
ii. John 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
c. Israel is light (two important verses)
i. Isa 42:6 “I, the LORD, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people and a light to the nations, 7 to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons
ii. Isa 49:6 The LORD said to me, “I have a greater task for you, my servant. Not only will you restore to greatness the people of Israel who have survived, but I will also make you a light to the nations—so that all the world may be saved
d. In all three uses, the noun (predicate) “light” points to a certain quality—missional transformative quality!
i. Purity, truth, goodness, divine revelation, spiritual guidance, and salvation
ii. “light” is used as a metaphor to highlight those qualities that are opposite to the qualities of darkness
e. What characterizes God and Jesus, and what was prophesied about Israel is now conferred on the disciples of Jesus, i.e., the Church—“the light for the world”
f. You, my followers, [the church] carry the characteristics of light such as purity, truth, and goodness for the benefit of the world that is dominated by darkness, corruption, lie, and lack of direction
g. You, my followers, [the church] are equipped to influence the world that is filled with the characteristics of darkness
h. You, my followers, [the church] are now appointed to carry God’s light to the dark world—Great appointment
II. Jesus uses two common sayings to convey the importance of the Great Appointment (verses 14b-15)
1. “A city located on a hill cannot be hidden”
a. Visibility
b. New Jerusalem (cf. Isa 2:2-4)—to be missional
i. In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it
ii. Many people will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
iii. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore
2. “People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand”
a. Influence
b. Illumination
c. Jesus expects His followers to be active in the society (“no one lights up a lamp and keeps it under a bushel!”)
III. Verse 16 “In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven”
1. “In the same way” is a correlative adverb referring to what precedes—the city on the hill and the lampstand
2. “Let your light shine before people”
a. needs to have an intentional effort to be transformatively missional
b. needs to be visible
c. needs to be influential
d. needs to be illuminating
3. RESULT (two results): “They might see your good works”
a. The pronoun “they” refer to non-Christians
b. “might see”—the non-Christians might take notice of the followers of Jesus Christ
c. “Good works” refer to works of Christians as a result of their relationship with Christ
d. Your “good works” is a kind of counterculture (as opposed to what the world offers)
4. “They might glorify your Father, who is in Heaven”—the shining of light and good works is for the glory of the Father
a. “Your Father in Heaven”—Christians reveal who they belonged to
b. The church is the pointer to God the Father
IV. Principles
1. A local church is God’s light bearer
2. A local church needs to be visible
3. A local church must have missional presence and influence in the society
4. A local church needs to make all intentional efforts through their good works for the world to see God the Father through them
5. Jesus did not intend seclusion for His followers
6. If the world is not to be left in darkness, Jesus-followers must fulfill their Great Appointment
Take Away:
Take your Great Appointment seriously and do not disappoint Jesus