Dr Paul Allen

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 5:13–16  “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” ( v. 16 ). Jesus identifies Himself with Yahweh in the Sermon on the Mount when He compares His disciples to the persecuted prophets of old ( Matt. 5:11–12 ;  Jer. 37–38 ). The disciples who speak for Jesus are like the prophets who spoke for the Lord of the covenant; therefore, Christ implies His divine sovereignty. The prophets carried out their ministries in full view of the people of Israel , and so we are not surprised to see that their successors, the disciples of Jesus, do not build the kingdom of God in secret. This is the point of today’s passage. Our Savior calls His disciples the “salt of the earth” ( Matt. 5:13 ) and the “light of the world” ( v. 14 ), two substances that permeate and transform the f

Image via Wikipedia "The sons of God , without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." ( Philippians 2:15 )   The Hebrew and Greek terms for "sons of God" are essentially the same, but the Old Testament always uses the phrase in reference to angels, whereas the New Testament always references the twice-born saints of God.   Our text for this day emphasizes the precise reason that our Lord Jesus prayed: "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world. . . . They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" ( John 17:15-16 ). We who share this marvelous relationship bear both the "love the Father hath bestowed upon us" and the unique rejection that "the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not" ( 1 John 3:1 ).   Jesus said, "I am the light of the world " ( John 8:12 ), and we who are His disciples are "the light of the world" ( Mat