Matthew 5:16 (ASV)

Passage

Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Nearby Context

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

Matthew 5:15 Neither do [men] light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house.

Matthew 5:16 Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.

Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "good works", "even", "shine", "before", "glorify", and "father". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "good works", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Neither do men light a lamp and..." into verse 17's "Think not that I came to destroy...", so "light" and "good works" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "good works" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.