Salt and Light: Being Salt Matthew 5:13
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men. (HCSB)
Okay, I had every intention of working through both salt and light in this next portion of Jesus’ sermon, but I found so much great stuff to unpack I decided to only deal with being salt of the earth this week. With that being said, let’s dive in.
Jesus starts this portion of His sermon with a statement. You are the salt of the earth. There is a sense of expectation here. As I began to explore this concept, I thought about the actual purpose of salt in the context of the biblical time period. Today, we use salt to basically season things. I can go to the store and buy a container of salt for pretty cheap, but back then, salt was a very expensive commodity. It wasn’t something the everyday person would have available at their dinner table, so, I had to scratch off seasoning as the number one use. So, what did people use salt for and why would Jesus tell His audience that they are the salt of the earth?
In my exploration I discovered several things. First, salt was used to purify and preserve food. Second, salt was used for its healing properties. Third, in Jewish culture, salt was used as a part of the sacrificial system, particularly with the grain or Thanksgiving offering. Fourth, there were, and still are, several sayings about salt. The expression, “not worth his salt” comes from this period. Finally, covenants were sealed with salt, including Biblical covenants. These aspects of salt give us a glimpse as to what Jesus was conveying. I also wondered if the message depended on the hearer? How might each person listening to this sermon apply this to their life and experience. I began to break them down one by one.
First, I wanted to look at the expressions “to be worth”, or “not worth, his salt”. The Latin word for salt is salis or sal. It is a root word for the word salarium, from which we get our word salary. As I stated above, in Biblical times, salt was not the relatively inexpensive commodity it is today. It was very expensive and salt deposits were guarded. Your average Roman soldier was not necessarily in position to purchase salt, and neither was the average person. One theory for this saying is that Roman soldiers were paid in salt depending on their worth. There are other sources that depute this and still others who say they were paid salaries depending on their worth so as to enable them to buy salt. The truth may never be known, but the fact remains that the word salt is the root of salary none-the-less. Bearing this in mind, being the salt of the earth could have the connotation that the value of what we have in God is so great, all who see us would desire Him. I had to really think about that. Does my life currently reflect this statement? Do I reflect Christ in such a way that others want to know Him?
Second is salts purpose in Biblical times. As I said above, today we use salt to basically flavor food. When I look in my pantry, I can find several different flavors of salt from plain to rosemary, citrus, and even lavender salt. For other uses, Readers Digest has a website called 60+ ways to use salt. Things like removing watermarks from wood (something I am going to try!), or deodorizing your sneakers. In biblical times salt was used as a purifier, a preserver and a healing agent. Today, the average person doesn’t use salt in these ways. Refrigeration, and the invention of antibiotic ointments and other things for sore throats, have taken salt’s place. Because of this, many of the subtle meanings of the passage may be lost. In stating that we are the salt of the earth, Jesus is asking us to be a purifying agent in the world, a healing agent in a hurting world, and someone who is preserving righteousness in the world.
Third, Jesus could also be referencing the sacrificial and covenant relationship we have with Almighty God. Salt could bring to mind the unique sacrificial and covenant relationship God has with His people. So, what did salt have to do with sacrifice and covenant? In Leviticus 2:11-13 it states: “No grain offering that you present to the Lord is to be made with yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey as a fire offering to the Lord. You may present them to the Lord as an offering of firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma. You are to season each of your grain offerings with salt; you must not omit from your grain offering the salt of the covenant with your God. You are to present salt with each of your offerings. (emphasis mine) This opened up a couple things for me. First, why did they season their grain offerings, and all their other offerings, with salt, and second, what is a salt of the covenant?
Part of this could be because salt is so expensive and so, it would be a sacrifice to obtain it and use it for an offering. Exodus 30:35 reminds us that salt was even a seasoning for the incense that was burned before the Lord. Ezekiel 43:24 shows us that it was more than just grain offerings that required salt. It was a integral part of the sacrificial system. It represented a covenant between you and a Holy God. I was listening this morning to some praise music I have downloaded on to my phone and a particular song reminded me of this. The song is called “Place of Praise” by Matt Redman. One of the lines he wrote in this song says, ” I will not bring that which costs me nothing.” Sacrifice should cost us something. The law required that the sacrifice be the firstfruits, the lamb without blemish, the best ox, the best goat. It wasn’t the leftovers, it was the first and best. If I am to be the salt of the earth, I must bring before the Lord, something that costs. After all, God gave His one and only Son, the unblemished Lamb of God, to be our Redeemer.
Next, there is the covenant of salt. This really isn’t something most of us have even heard of let alone know the meaning of. The covenant of salt infers a perpetual relationship. Numbers 18:19 gives us a sense of this perpetual relationship when it says, ”I give to you and to your sons and daughters all the holy contributions that the Israelites present to the Lord as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the Lord for you as well as your offspring.” (emphasis mine) 2 Chronicles 13:4-5 also illustrates a continual relationship. “Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, hear me. Don’t you know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?” We know that this covenant promise came about through the birth of our Savior Jesus the Messiah.
So, salt is more than just a flavor in your pantry. To be the salt of the earth is to be a preservative, to purify, to heal, to be prepared to sacrifice something that costs us something, and to remember that God has made a covenant of salt – a perpetual relationship – through His Son Jesus Christ who reigns forever.
To conclude, let us not forget the warning – if salt loses it’s flavor, it can’t be made salty again. It will be thrown out and trampled. If we, as believers in Christ, do not act as purifiers, healing agents, or preservers of the truth, we lose our flavor. If we can’t, like Paul say, “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain,” we can’t understand total sacrifice that costs us everything. God has made a covenant of salt with us that culminated in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through Him we have been redeemed so that we can be the salt of the earth. If we lose our flavor, we lose the ability to be an influence for Christ in the world. Let’s make sure we keep salty!
Questions to Ponder
1. Do you reflect Christ in such a way that others want to know Him? 2. How can you become a purifier in the world today? 3. How can you be a healing agent in a hurting world? 4. How can you be a preserver of the truth in a world full of lies. 5. What are you doing now to be an influence for Christ?
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