Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:14 Wall Art

A hillside classroom

The teacher sits slightly above the others on a sun-warmed boulder, in a cream robe with a sage mantle and a red stole, one sandaled foot forward. His right hand is raised mid-sentence, his left resting open on his knee, and he smiles as he talks. A leafy tree grows behind him on the left.

Around and below him, half a dozen listeners sit on the grass with their backs partly to us, wrapped in shawls and head coverings of blue, rust, cream and sand. A young woman and a bearded man on the right turn their faces up toward him. Beyond the slope, a small town of pale houses lies along a bright lake, with purple hills on the far shore and a hazy sun overhead. The brown lettering above quotes the verse, “Ye are the light of the world”, and gives its reference, Matthew 5:14.

What does “Ye are the light of the world” mean?

The Sermon on the Mount fills chapters 5 to 7 of Matthew and is the longest block of Jesus' teaching in the Gospels. It begins with the Beatitudes, blessing the poor in spirit, the meek and the persecuted. Straight after, Jesus turns to the same crowd with two images: salt and light. “Ye” is plural and emphatic. He is not describing a spiritual elite but the fishermen, farmers and mothers in front of him.

The full verse continues: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Galilean villages were often built on ridges, visible for miles at night, and the painting's little town on the shore nods to that picture. The next verse adds a household example: “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

Elsewhere, in John's Gospel, Jesus says “I am the light of the world.” Here he hands the title to his followers. The light is not theirs by nature, but they are meant to carry it openly, so that people see their good works and give glory to the Father. It is the idea behind the gospel song This Little Light of Mine.

Pastors, teachers and graduates

Because it shows Jesus as a teacher, this print is a natural present for a pastor, a youth minister, a catechist or a Sunday school teacher at the end of the year. It also fits a church entrance, a classroom or a Christian school office.

Graduates, missionaries and anyone starting a new ministry receive it as a send-off: a reminder that the light is meant to leave the room with them.