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Matthew 5:14Sermon on the Mount
You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can't be hidden.
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Interpretation

You are light for the world; like a city set high, visibility is a vocation (Matthew 5:14). Do public good without self‑display—let quiet integrity carry the shine.

Context

Within the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, Gospel Narrative), identity precedes ethics (Matthew 5:14). “Light” names a public vocation—community visibility for the common good.

Authorship & Historical Background

Early attribution points to Matthew the disciple, once a tax collector for Matthew. Many scholars judge Matthew as follows: Initially anonymous; tradition later assigns Matthew; engages Mark alongside a sayings tradition.. Scholars commonly date Matthew AD 80–90. Matthew seems aimed at Jewish‑Christian community.. Genre and setting: gospel narrative, in the Sermon on the Mount. Readers often compare Matthew’s arrangement and sources with Mark and Q.

More details
Traditional:Matthew the tax collector
Modern scholarship:Anonymous; attributed to Matthew; uses Mark + Q source.
Date:AD 80–90
Audience:Jewish‑Christian community.
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Greek text is preserved in over 5,800 manuscripts, more than any other surviving ancient work. Early papyri from the 2nd-3rd centuries like P46, P66, P75 provide text within 100–150 years of composition. Major uncial codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, 4th century) contain complete or near-complete texts. The Byzantine text family represents the majority of later manuscripts. Textual variants exist but are mostly minor: word order, articles, spelling. No central Christian doctrine depends on any disputed text. Modern critical editions compare all manuscript families to determine the most likely original reading.
Sources & witness notes
SinaiticusVaticanusP46