Pr. DFD : Epiphany 5 -Series A study notes

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Epiphany 5 -Series A study notes

Isaiah 58:3–9a

1 Corinthians 2:1–12 (13–16)

Matthew 5:13–20

The Righteousness of Christ

O God, our Loving Father, through the grace of Your Holy Spirit You plant the gift of Your love into the hearts of Your faithful people. Grant to Your servants soundness of mind and body, so that they may love You with their whole strength and with the whole heart do these things that are pleasing in Your sight. Amen.

Jesus warns that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20), but He also calls His imperfect people “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13, 14). That’s because the Lord Jesus came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets “but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17) in perfect faith and love. Since He does and teaches all of God’s commandments, He is “called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). God manifests His “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” in “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2–4) and through the preaching of the Gospel gives His “secret and hidden wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:7). Christ gives this perfect righteousness to His people, and it leads them to true fasting, which is “to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free” (Isaiah 58:6) and “to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house” (Isaiah 58:7)

Matthew 5:13-20

Salt and light -

Matthew 5:13

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς· ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ, ἐν τίνι ἁλισθήσεται; εἰς οὐδὲν ἰσχύει ἔτι εἰ μὴ βληθὲν ἔξω καταπατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.

You (are these the disciples or all Christians?) are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness (tasteless, a moron) be restored? (be again salted) It is no longer good (has the strength) for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

Salt cannot loose itself. Christianity is the preservative of the world. When it is lost it is good for nothing. Salt and light must be seen Christologically. Christ was trampled underfoot. They killed the shepherd. Are these words prescriptive or descriptive?

Matthew 5:14

Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου. οὐ δύναται πόλις κρυβῆναι ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένη·

You are the light of the world. (Cosmos) A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

This light can NOT be hidden. What does light do?

A candle in total darkness can be seen for thirty miles...

He is the light coming into the world. The city cannot be hidden. It is set on the mountain. This is a promise rather than a demand. It is impossible for the Church to bear witness of Christ.

Matthew 5:15

οὐδὲ καίουσιν λύχνον καὶ τιθέασιν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τὴν λυχνίαν, καὶ λάμπει πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ.

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, (grain measuring) but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

What is the house? It is the Church. Christ gives light to those in the church.

Matthew 5:16

οὕτως λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσιν ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα καὶ δοξάσωσιν τὸν πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We are not left to ourselves to do anything. This is gospel not law. We have the power to hinder the light but not produce it. Vocation - the place where Christ places you - to present Christ. What is the context into which you have been placed?

Christ came to fulfill the law

Matthew 5:17

Μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας· οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι·

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Law = the entire OT not as the Pharisees interpret the Law, but as Christ presents it.

Matthew 5:18

ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἕως ἂν παρέλθῃ ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ, ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται.

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (Until all comes down)

The Law still stands. When all comes down will the Law come to an end? Not a marker of time.

"Until whenever..."

The Law is - Indicative "you shall in this life" and imperative "you are in the world to come."

Matthew 5:19

ὃς ἐὰν οὖν λύσῃ μίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων καὶ διδάξῃ οὕτως τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ἐλάχιστος κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν· ὃς δ’ ἂν ποιήσῃ καὶ διδάξῃ, οὗτος μέγας κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν.

Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least (last) in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

But you're still in the kingdom is the comfort.

You're not great in the kingdom because you're great but because your covered in Jesus.

See Psalm 119:171ff

Matthew 5:20

λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ [b]ὑμῶν ἡ δικαιοσύνη πλεῖον τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν.

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds (is greater than) that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter (you can't work your way in) the kingdom of heaven.

Pharisees used the law not to serve the neighbor but to live above the neighbor.

You are salt you are light and when you are not salt or light Jesus is salt and light.