Matthew 5:13-16. Salt and Light
This short passage about salt and light immediately follows the beatitudes that describe the benefits and characteristics of those who belong to the kingdom of the gracious generous God and his Son. They emphasise that to be in God’s kingdom we must both recognise how far short we fall from what God wants and have fallen in line behind Jesus as our Saviour and our Lord.
Jesus now uses two metaphors to help us all think what life is this kingdom is all about. Jesus often used metaphors which are really shortened parables. Thus he said about himself:
“I am the gate”
“I am the good shepherd’
“I am the vine”
“I am the light of the world’
He also used metaphors to describe his people:
“You are the branches’
“You are the salt”
“You are the light”
These are clearly not literal descriptions. When Jesus says he is ‘the gate’, he means he is the gate to eternal life, to heaven, to God’s kingdom. To understand what Jesus meant we must both look at the context and see how the idea is used elsewhere in Scripture.
You are the salt of the earth
What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘You are the salt of the earth’?
Salt had many uses, it was used for flavouring, preserving, sacrificing, destroying, and fertilising. It is significant that Jesus does not explain exactly what he had in mind. Whenever Jesus uses a phrase or metaphor that is not fully explained we should look at how is used elsewhere in the New Testament or what the Old Testament use is.
Followers of Jesus are like salt: although we’re ordinary we still get involved in much that goes on in society, whether we’re noticed or not. We also have a variety of roles to play as God’s kingdom comes on earth.
There are five purposes of salt which all have bearings on the Christian life:
Flavour
Bland food has its flavour enhanced by salt. This is its main use in the west today. Christians are meant to enhance our families and societies. Paul tells us, when discussing how we can promote the gospel in our societies to ensure that our speech is:
“. . . seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” Colossians 4:6
Our speech is to be gracious but have a bit of bite in what we say. The gospel does matter.
2. Preserve
In the ancient world salt was used widely to preserve meats and fish. For this reason salt was valuable and a highly prized commodity.. Our word "salary" comes from Latin salarium (‘salt money’), derived from sal (‘salt’), referring to the salt given to Roman soldiers who were sometimes partially paid in salt. Christians should benefit our societies and prevent them from becoming corrupt and go into decay.
3. Sacrifice
Moses was told by God that salt had to be added to every grain and burnt offering.
“You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt” Leviticus 2:13
The salt here is the message of the Covenant. All God’s people do should remind us of the Covenant God has made with us. Christians offer ourselves in obedient, suffering self-sacrifice, with Christ at the centre of all we do and this is pleasing to God.
Similarly we read:
“You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.” Ezekiel 43:24
4. Destruction
In the Old Testament there are many references to salt being associated with judgment and destruction. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at Sodom. Jesus alluded to this story with the warning:
“Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.” Luke 17:32-33
Moses warned the Israelites that if they break God’s covenant, their land will be:
“. . . burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout” Deuteronomy 29:23
When Abimelech, Gideon’s son, tried to set himself up as king of Israel, the men of Shechem rebelled against him, and he responded by destroying the city and sowing it with salt.
“Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.” Judges 9:45
The psalmist describes God turning
“. . . a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants” Psalm 107:34
Jesus connects salt with the fire of judgment and sacrifice. Jesus connects salt with fire and with living at peace together:
“Everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if salt loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another,” Mark 9:49-50
This does take us back to the Old Testament sacrifices. As Christian lives with this understanding there will be peace in God’s church.
The church, preaching and living out the gospel, does warn people of the coming judgment against those who oppose God. Paul calls this:
“. . . a clear sign to them of their destruction.” Philippians 1:28
This may explain why Jesus says we are ‘the salt of the earth’ immediately after describing the persecution we will face if we follow him.
5. Fertilise
In low doses salt was used to help fertilise the fields, to break uptake soil, deter weeds and increase yields of crops. Christians are meant to be in challenging places to enrich barren lands, and stimulate growth so that when the seed is scattered life springs up in unexpected places. Barren lands become fruitful.
Is Jesus meaning that ‘salty’ people will preserve society from rotting. It is apparent that, whatever liberal humanists say, education has a very limited effect is stopping people from degenerating into selfish creatures, the educated are just selfish in a more sophisticated way.
It is striking that Jesus does not elaborate of what he meant by being salt, but look at the context. The ‘You’ must be the same people that he has described in the beatitudes, people who mourn over their spiritual poverty, who are meekly waiting for God to come and rescue them, who hunger and thirst for the righteousness that can come from God alone. The ‘You’ must be those to whom Jesus said:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
Jesus is always pointing to himself as God’s Lord and Saviour. Jesus is saying that it is the Christians and only the Christians who are the salt of society. These are those who responded to him when he said:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17
Those who are the ‘salt’ are not the morally superior.people seen in all religious groups, they are the people who see their need. Jesus is saying that only his people are the ‘salt of the earth’.
More than this, he is saying that, whether we like it or not, all of us, his people, are ‘the salt of the earth’. His people have all been changed from those who needed cleansing and who needed flavour in their lives, into those who cleanse the societies we live in and preserve flavour. This is extraordinary. We, helpless, hopeless, spiritually corrupt people turn to Jesus and he then forgives us, offers us real hope for the future as well as a fresh incentive to live for God. This is the work of the Holy Spirit who is given to all who turn to Christ. Conversely, if anyone has not turned to Jesus they are not ‘the salt of the earth’. They may be great politicians, social changers or popular leaders but they cannot be ‘the salt’ God is looking for.
Again we return to the question why Jesus does not elaborate or what he means by ‘salt’. Instead he emphasises something different, the danger of ‘losing saltiness’. This is a warning.
“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.” Matthew 5:13
Jesus has just said that his people will be insulted, persecuted and slandered so the natural temptation will be to withdraw from Jesus and not openly align ourselves with him and his people. Unrefined rock salt was common in ancient Palestine. Often it had become contaminated with minerals such as gypsum. (Gypsum is a soft, naturally occurring calcium sulphate mineral found in sedimentary rock, that is used in construction as plaster, and cement additive, due to its fire resistance, sound insulation, and ability to set hard when heated and re-mixed with water. It is the constituent of Plaster of Paris). If the salt, sodium chloride, is leached out of the rock and replaced by gypsum, only a totally tasteless residue remains, the sort of residue that is used to create paths, only fit ‘to be trodden underfoot’.
Jesus is surely warning us not to withdraw from him. So often people, whether humanists or religious people, are happy to emphasise Christian morals but overlook the fact that these have come from God. You cannot have an authoritative morality derived from primordial soup! Morality does not make person salty, it just makes people self-righteous. They won’t be rescued because they cannot see themselves as poor in spirit. They do not mourn over their sins or seek for someone who can make them righteous.
So this metaphor is a warning, if we lose our saltiness, if we drift from Christ, we will lose the very purpose for which he called a people to himself, to be the salt of the earth. Any who leave Christ leave salvation, they will be ejected from his Kingdom and trampled underfoot.
What a grim warning this is. So often our media and schools teach that the answer to a stable society is morality, but they usually omit to stress that this inward change only comes when we submit to the rule of the Lord Jesus.
So this metaphor stresses that we must not withdraw from Jesus.
You are the light of the world
This next directive is that we must not withdraw from the world.
“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14
How often in church history this has been a tendency. The ascetics, the closed religious orders and denominations and inward looking congregations who are more concerned about themselves than the world their Lord made. So often you hear of fellowships where people say that their priority is to strengthen the group before looking outwards to help others. What a disaster such thinking is.
As so often is the case, the concept of being ‘the light of the world’ comes from the Old Testament.
“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.” Isaiah 62:1-2
When God’s people are walking closely with him, they cannot keep quiet about Jesus and the salvation he brings. The glory of the city or people of God will be seen. The ‘blazing torch’ is the message of salvation. Everyone must see that it is God alone who can rescue us.
Jesus later emphasised that he is the real light of the world that all people need. When people were disputing Jesus’ testimony about himself he said,
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
He then went on to say:
“While I am in theworld, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5
His message is clear, he is the light of the world but he would soon be leaving this world. Where is the light for people then. It is to be seen in the people of God, the Christians, who become the ‘light of the world’.
Don’t forget that in those days ‘lights’ were flames. It is easy to determine when something is alight. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church or people who have no interest in evangelism is a contradiction in terms, just as a fire that does not burn is a contradiction.
The sun is the source of our light but there is also a moon that reflects the sun’s light to us on earth. In the same way Christians are only a light when we reflect the light of Jesus to the world.
Jesus makes it abundantly clear what it means for us to be ‘the light of the world’.
“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.” Matthew 5:14-16
We, the selfish people who God has rescued, are being created into a people who shine with the gospel to those around us. This is not an option. Just as God’s people are salt, so, whether we want to or not, we are light. The light of Jesus cannot be hidden by his people. We do not hide our commitment to Jesus, as it were to ‘put it under a bowl’.
This is another mark of Christians, we long that others may come to know the Saviour of the world and that they may have a real hope and power for the future. How else will they hear the glorious message about Jesus if we, his people don’t tell others about him. They certainly won’t read much about the gospel in our newspapers, on television shows, or in programmes such as‘Moral Maze’. If Jesus was recognised there would no moral maze.
A Christian working in an office wanted his colleagues to hear the gospel so he asked his godly grandfather to come and interest them in Christian things. His grandfather’s response was clear:
“What do you think God put you there for?”
The apostle Paul later stresses what Jesus had taught. He recognised this need for all Christians to talk about Jesus and the gospel saying that this is a mark of being a real Christian:
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10
At one Friday Group Bible study the question was asked:
“What about those in foreign countries who have never heard about Jesus and the gospel, how can they be saved?”
God alone is the judge and he is justice himself. However Paul continued after saying that our salvation depends on us speaking to others about Jesus to answering this question. His answer is that all Christians are to be ambassadors for Christ.
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” Romans 10:14-15
Didn’t we all become Christians when someone explained the gospel to us or took us to hear it explained? Yet too many today are afraid to talk about this new life that everybody needs.
Many years ago in St. Louis, Missouri, a lawyer visited a Christian to transact some business. Before the two parted, his client said to him,
"I've often wanted to ask you a question, but I've been afraid to do so."
"What do you want to know?" asked the lawyer. The man replied, "I've wondered why you're not a Christian."
The man hung his head,
"I know enough about the Bible to realize that it says no drunkard can enter the kingdom of God; and you know my weakness!"
"You're avoiding my questions," continued the believer.
"Well, truthfully, I can't recall anyone ever explaining how to become a Christian."
Picking up a Bible, the client read some passages showing that all are under condemnation, but that Christ came to save the lost by dying on the cross for their sins.
"By receiving Him as your Substitute and Redeemer," he said, "you can be forgiven. If you're willing to receive Jesus, let's pray together."
The lawyer agreed, and when it was his turn he exclaimed,
"O Jesus, I am a slave to drink. One of your servants has shown me how to be saved. O God, forgive my sins and help me overcome the power of this terrible habit in my life."
Right there he was converted. That lawyer was C.I. Scofield, who later edited the reference Bible that bears his name.
D.L. Moody, when a young man and much before he became a world-famous evangelist, made an covenant with God that he would witness for Christ to at least one person each day. One night, about ten o’clock, he realised that he had not yet spoken that day to anyone about Jesus; so he went out in to the street and saw a man standing by a lamppost. He went up to him and said,
“Excuse me but may I ask you a question. Are you a Christian?”
The man flew into a violent rage and threatened to knock Moody into the gutter. Later, that same man went to an elder in the church and complained that Moody was ‘doing more harm in Chicago than ten men were doing good.’ The elder begged Moody to temper his zeal with knowledge. Three months later, Moody was awakened at the YMCA by a man knocking at the door. It was the man he had witnessed to.
“I want to talk to you about my soul,” he said to Moody.
He apologised for the way he had treated Moody and said that he had had no peace ever since that night on Lake Street when Moody witnessed to him. Moody led the man to Christ and he became a zealous worker in the Sunday school.
On another occasion he asked a man whether he was a Christian. The reply came back,
“Mind you own business!”
“But sir this is my business. I long that people should come to know the Lord Jesus.”
Early the next morning, the day after I had written this article, I was pondering what Jesus really meant when he talked about ‘salt’. Then it dawned, he was talking about himself. When salt was added to the temple sacrifices it was a symbol that later Jesus would become the ultimate sacrifice. To lose our saltiness is to drift away from Jesus. Just as Jesus is the light of the world, so salt also represents him. Salt and light are both Jesus. How we need to find ways to talk about him to others.
BVP
