Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 5:14

"Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid." — Matthew 5:14 (ASV)

Glossa Ordinaria: Just as teachers, by their good conduct, are the salt with which the people are seasoned, so by their word of teaching they are the light by which the ignorant are enlightened.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: But living well must come before teaching well; for this reason, after He had called the Apostles "the salt," He went on to call them "the light of the world."

Or, because salt preserves a thing in its present state so that it does not spoil, while light brings it to a better state by enlightening it, the Apostles were first called salt in relation to the Jews and the Christian body that had the knowledge of God, whom they preserve in that knowledge. Now they are called light in relation to the Gentiles, whom they bring to the light of this knowledge.

St. Augustine of Hippo: By "the world" here, we must not understand heaven and earth, but the people who are in the world, or those who love the world, for whose enlightenment the Apostles were sent.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: It is the nature of a light to emit its rays wherever it is carried, and when brought into a house, to dispel its darkness. The world, existing outside the knowledge of God, was held in the darkness of ignorance until the light of knowledge was brought to it by the Apostles. From then on, the knowledge of God shone brightly, and from their small bodies, wherever they went, light was provided for the darkness.

Remigius of Auxerre: For as the sun sends out its rays, so the Lord, the Sun of Righteousness, sent forth His Apostles to dispel the darkness of the human race.

St. John Chrysostom: Notice how great His promise was to them—men who were scarcely known in their own country—that their fame would reach the ends of the earth. The persecutions which He had predicted could not dim their light; indeed, they only made it more conspicuous.

St. Jerome: He instructs them about the boldness their preaching should have. As Apostles, they should not be hidden by fear, like a lamp under a corn-measure, but should stand out with all confidence. What they have heard in secret chambers, they should proclaim from the housetops.

St. John Chrysostom: In this way, He shows them that they should be careful of their own conduct and way of life, since they were placed before the eyes of all, like a city on a hill or a lamp on a stand.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: This city is the Church, about which it is said, Glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God (Psalm 87:3). Its citizens are all the faithful, of whom the Apostle speaks, You are fellow citizens of the saints (Ephesians 2:19). It is built upon Christ the hill, of whom Daniel says, A stone hewn without hands became a great mountain (Daniel 2:34).

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, the mountain is the great righteousness, which is symbolized by the mountain from which the Lord is now teaching.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, even if it wanted to; the mountain that supports it makes it visible to all. Likewise, the Apostles and priests who are founded on Christ cannot be hidden, even if they wished to be, because Christ makes them manifest.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Or, the city signifies the flesh that He took upon Himself. Because in Him, through this assumption of human nature, there was a gathering of the human race, as it were, and by partaking of His flesh, we become inhabitants of that city. Therefore, He cannot be hidden, because, being established in the height of God's power, He is presented for all people to contemplate in admiration of His works.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: How Christ makes His saints manifest, not allowing them to be hidden, He shows by another comparison, adding, Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a corn-measure, but on a stand.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, in the illustration of the city, He signified His own power. Through the illustration of the lamp, He exhorts the Apostles to preach with boldness, as if He said, "I have indeed lit the lamp, but ensuring it continues to burn will be your responsibility—not only for your own sakes, but for others who will receive its light and for the glory of God."

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The lamp is the Divine word, of which it is said, Your word is a lamp to my feet (Psalm 119:105). Those who light this lamp are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

St. Augustine of Hippo: What meaning should we suppose was intended by the words, "to put it under a corn-measure"? Was it to express concealment simply, or does the "corn-measure" have a special significance?

Putting the lamp under a corn-measure means preferring bodily ease and enjoyment over the duty of preaching the Gospel, and thus hiding the light of good teaching beneath temporal gratification. The corn-measure aptly represents the things of the body, either because our reward will be measured out to us, as each will receive what is due for things done in the body (2 Corinthians 5:10), or because worldly goods related to the body come and go within a measured span of time, which the corn-measure signifies. In contrast, eternal and spiritual things are not contained within any such limit.

A person places his lamp on a stand when he subdues his body to the ministry of the word, setting the preaching of the truth as the highest priority and subjecting the body to it. For the body itself helps make doctrine shine more clearly, as the voice and other physical actions in good works serve to commend it to those who are learning.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Or, worldly people can be represented by the "corn-measure." Just as a measure is empty at the top but full at the bottom, so worldly people are foolish in spiritual matters but wise in earthly ones. Therefore, like a corn-measure, they keep the word of God hidden whenever, for some worldly reason, a person does not dare to proclaim the word and the truth of the faith openly. The stand for the lamp is the Church, which bears the word of life, and all its clergy.ⁱ

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Or, the Lord compared the Synagogue to a corn-measure, which, by only receiving the fruit that was gathered into it, contained a certain measure of limited obedience.

St. Ambrose of Milan: And therefore, let no one confine his faith within the measure of the Law, but let him turn to the Church, in which the grace of the sevenfold Spirit shines forth.¹

The Venerable Bede: Or, Christ Himself lit this lamp when He filled the earthen vessel of human nature with the fire of His divinity. He would not hide this light from those who believe, nor put it under a bushel—that is, shut it up under the measure of the Law or confine it within the limits of any single nation. The lampstand is the Church, on which He set the lamp when He fixed the faith of His incarnation to our foreheads.²

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Or, the lamp—that is, Christ Himself—is set on its stand when He was suspended on the cross in His passion, to give light forever to those who dwell in the Church; "to give light," He says, "to all who are in the house."

St. Augustine of Hippo: For it is not absurd for one to understand "the house" to be the Church.

Or, "the house" may be the world itself, according to what He said above, You are the light of the world.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: He instructs the Apostles to shine with such a light that God may be praised in the admiration of their work: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: That is, you are to teach with such a pure light that people may not only hear your words but also see your works, so that those whom you have enlightened as lamps by the word, you may season as salt by your example. For God is magnified by those teachers who practice what they preach, for the discipline of the master is seen in the conduct of the household.

And therefore it follows, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

St. Augustine of Hippo: If He had only said, that they may see your good works, He would have seemed to establish the praise of men as the goal to be sought, which is what hypocrites desire. But by adding, and glorify your Father, He teaches that we should not seek to please people with our good works as an end in itself. Instead, by referring everything to the glory of God, we should seek to please people so that God may be glorified in it.³

St. Hilary of Poitiers: He does not mean that we should seek glory from men, but that even if we try to conceal it, our work should shine forth in honor of God to those among whom we live.

1. non occ.
2. Loc. quoad sens.
3. Serm. in Mont., i, 7