Hope of the World

Jesus follows up the Beatitudes with a statement that His listeners are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. I want to focus on this “light of the world” imagery and try to pull it apart, so let’s take a look at the teaching itself.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

In order to understand Jesus’s statement about “a town built on a hill,” we will need to understand a bit about ancient cities and where they were built. If you were to go to an archaeological dig in Israel today, most often an ancient town would be found on top of (or inside of) what’s known as a tel, which is an ancient collection of buried cities built on top of one another. You needed to build a city in a particular location for a whole host of reasons; things like water, commerce, and defense dictated where a city would need to be constructed. This means that a new city will need to be built in the same location as the old one. So you will need to build on top of the ruins of the last city. Therefore, a city ends up being built on top of a city that was built on top of a city, forming a tel, and you end up with “a city on a hill.”

An example of a tel (Tel Lachish)

Not only this, but if you keep on digging, you would find the most wealthy homes are built inside the city walls. The prime real estate is found inside the city, because of ideas like protection and convenience. Simply put, the rich live “in town.” The middle class will often build their home into the wall. This ancient form of housing is called casemate. The homes are a component of the wall itself. This multistory complex (think apartments) is also useful in defense, as the city can fill the homes with stones, and the wall increases from 10’ wide to 25’ wide. You also see casemate housing being referenced in the Tanakh: when people are being lowered out of windows in baskets (e.g., Rahab, David, etc.), they are being lowered outside the city walls from one of these homes.

This, however, puts the poor in an awful predicament, often having to fend for themselves and find their own housing. They are not allowed in the city, and they are not afforded room around the outside of the city walls; they cannot live at the bottom of the hill, either, which is all farmland. Often, the poor have to take refuge close to the town “dump” — a designated area for sewage and trash. This area is often referred to as the place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” in the context of the poor. It is the place “where the worm never dies and thirst is never quenched.”

So, in concept, a city on a hill (which looks like a shining light in the darkness to a weary traveler, by the way) is the hope for the poor. They look to the city to find what they hope to be protection and shared abundance. Many scholars are beginning to think this is what took place at the city gates. The gates (built primarily for defense of the city under siege) were not often needed as defense structures; most cities would only see a siege once every century. What would you use such a large structure for the rest of the time?

The city gates at Tel Gezer

Archaeology continues to show that the city gates served not only as the “city hall” and courthouse, but also for the social welfare system of the city. Simply put, the gates are where the world of abundance meets the world of need.

Again, a city on a hill is the hope of a world in need.

“You are a city on a hill…”

The people of God are the hope of the world. I say this fully aware of the famous quote from the famous pastor who said, “The Church is not the hope of the world — Jesus is.”  Point taken. However, let us be perfectly clear: Jesus plans on being the hope of the world by working through His followers.

This has always been the case. God has always been looking for partners. God has always been putting His people at the crossroads of the earth. God has always chosen to redeem the world through people choosing to put Him on display to a world in chaos. If we are a city on a hill, what will people find when they look to us? Do they find sustenance, compassion, mercy, and justice (mishpat)? Do they truly find a light shining in darkness? Do they catch a glimpse of a God who, from day one, has been putting the world back together?

“You are a city on a hill.”