11. “People will say bad things about you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do these things to you, you are happy.
12. Rejoice and be glad. You have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did the same evil things to the prophets who lived before you.
13. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its salty taste, it cannot be made salty again. It is good for nothing. It must be thrown out for people to walk on.
14. “You are the light that gives light to the world. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden.
15. And people don’t hide a light under a bowl. They put the light on a lampstand. Then the light shines for all the people in the house.
16. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do. Live so that they will praise your Father in heaven.
17. “Don’t think that I have come to destroy the law of Moses or the teaching of the prophets. I have not come to destroy their teachings but to do what they said.
18. I tell you the truth. Nothing will disappear from the law until heaven and earth are gone. The law will not lose even the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter until all has happened.