{"id":708,"date":"2016-09-12T21:13:42","date_gmt":"2016-09-12T21:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/?p=708"},"modified":"2018-01-20T03:26:27","modified_gmt":"2018-01-20T03:26:27","slug":"12-the-light-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thereisnewsinthetruth.com\/?p=708","title":{"rendered":"#12 The Light, the City, and the Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"jesushand\"Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set up on hill cannot be hid.<\/h4>\n
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It is sobering that Jesus would call us something that he is. Jesus is truly the light of the world before we were (or are). If there’s any light in us, it’s that which cometh forth from that true Light. We bear witness of that Light.\u00a0“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all\u00a0men<\/em> through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was\u00a0sent<\/em> to bear witness of that Light.\u00a0That<\/em> was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:6-10)<\/p>\n

Jesus prayed, “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou has sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:22,23) When Simeon took baby Jesus up in his arms, he said, “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:32) For Jesus to say that we are\u00a0the light of the world<\/em> is humbling and glorious for it speaks of our separation unto Him. \u00a0It’s speaks of our friendship with Him; our closeness; our relationship; our new position in Jesus. \u00a0Paul said, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now\u00a0are ye<\/em> light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8) O what glorious affection to be called a child of the Father of lights! (James 1:17) Yet how humbling, for the servant is not greater than his lord. (John 15:19)<\/p>\n

This fact reminds us of the context we are in. The preceding eleven\u00a0verses are a preparation for a prophet’s persecution. \u00a0Three of those verses declare the very word persecution<\/em>. It is within reason, if one is honest, that the preceding verse is also dealing with\u00a0persecution<\/em> when it speaks of being “cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” When we endeavor to understand our bibles, we must examine whether the writer continues his discourse, lest we suppose him to make a transition to another argument, when, in fact, he is prosecuting the same topic.<\/p>\n

We are hated because He was hated first. \u00a0We suffer because He suffered first. We are persecuted because He was persecuted first. \u00a0When Jesus speaks of us, he speaks of himself. Think of these beatitudes:<\/p>\n