Matthew 5:13-20

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

After reading Matthew 5:13-20, consider these questions:

• How is the church like salt?
• How is the church a light to the world? 
• How is the church being like a city on a hill an opportunity and a risk?
• What do you think it means that Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it? How does that influence how Christians read the Old Testament?
• If the common Jewish person of Jesus’ day would have thought that the Pharisees were the models of righteousness, what might have been the response of Jesus’ hearers that their righteousness exceeded that?
• Skim through the rest of the Sermon of the Mount (through chapter 7). How does verse 20 present a challenge that the rest of the sermon gives possible solutions to?
• What might this mean for your life as a disciple?

Isaiah 58:1-9a
Psalm 112:1-9
1 Corinthians 2:1-12
Matthew 5:13-20