Throughout Jesus’ ministry on earth, He gave his disciples many instructions and principles on how we are to live our lives. Many of these principles are found in a part of the Bible known as the Sermon on the Mount, including the principles we are going to look at today. Most of the ideas He taught are straightforward, but today we are going to look at two principles that are a little more confusing. Both of these principles are found in verses from Matthew:
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to God the Father who is in Heaven.”
Matthew 5:16
“Beware of practicing righteousness before others to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from you Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:1
At face value, these passages seem to be telling very different narratives. How can we let our good works be seen by others while at the same time not practice good works before others? These instructions definitely seem to be contradictory. However, I am going to show you that they are actually saying the same thing. To do this, we’re going to go through each passage and break it down to try and find the true meaning behind these verses. Once this is done, I believe we will find the meanings of the two passages to be rather similar.
Breaking it down
The first passage is Matthew 5:16. Before we get to the main verse we have to look at the context surrounding the verse. As I mentioned previously, this passage is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse is found in a passage with the uninspired heading of Salt and Light. In this section, Jesus gives two parables to explain to His listeners their roles as His disciples. The first parable is that of salt. Jesus calls His listeners to be salt of the earth. This parable has a very straightforward meaning, Jesus is calling his listeners to stand out to be different. Just as salt makes a difference when added to food, we are to make a difference in this world. But Jesus also warns that salt can lose its saltiness and then it becomes worthless. In the same way, if we as followers of Christ become just like those around us, we lose our effectiveness to make a difference.
The passage then moves on to the second parable. It is in this parable that we find our topic verse. Jesus opens by calling His listeners the light of the world. This analogy has the same meaning of us being the salt of the earth. We are to stand out and make a difference. This parable comes with a warning just like the previous one. Jesus warns us not to cover our light, but to let it shine bright. Jesus instructs us to let our light be seen by others. The passage finishes off with the second part of verse 16, the verse we are trying to decipher. The second part starts with the words, “so that”. This indicates that Jesus is about to give a reason for His instruction. The reason is this, “so that they may see your good works and give glory to God the Father who is in Heaven.” We as salt and light stand out and make a difference, not for our own glory but instead to point to God. That is why we need to be salt and light for God’s glory. That is the message these verses are teaching.
The second verse we are going to look at is Matthew 6:1. This verse is also a part of the Sermon on the Mount. In this section, Jesus is teaching about giving to the needy, and at the same time, He is rebuking the Pharisees. This short lesson Jesus gives is split into two main parts: Jesus tells his listeners what not to do and then tells them what to do instead. The first verse is our main verse. Jesus starts with a warning, “Beware of practicing righteousness before others to be seen”. Those first few words of the warning don’t seem to make much sense without the last few words. It’s those last few words, “to be seen by others”, that really help us understand the verse. The Jewish religion at this point was made up of so many rules and external actions that it became purely a religion of salvation by works. In this verse, Jesus is addressing the root of the matter, our intentions. 1 Samuel 16:7b says, “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” This is what the passage is teaching. Christ addresses the reason for good works, and He says do not do good works in order to be seen by others.
Live it out!
We don’t do the things God has asked us to do so that other people praise us. The Bible says, “So whether you eat or whether you drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). God’s glory is the reason we follow Him. So just as the first verse was teaching us to live in a way that shows God’s glory, the second verse tells us to seek God’s glory first.