Theme: Enlightened discipleship

Exegetical note
In an odd combination (though not quite a mixture) of metaphors, Matthew here has Jesus refer to his disciples as "salt" and "light" with respect to their role in bringing salvation to the world. The more developed of the two images is the latter: the disciples' "light," which is to be flaunted rather than obscured, is apparently their good works, which in turn reflect, not the efforts or inherent righteousness of the doers, but the glory of a gracious God.…