By Pastor Naomi Mitchell
For Carter County Times
In Matthew 5:13 Jesus uses the metaphor of salt to describe the Christian’s function in the world, saying, “You, are the salt of the earth.” In Jesus’s Jewish culture salt had three uses—all of which apply here.
First, salt was used as a seasoning for food (Job 6:6). As a seasoning, the right amount of salt can draw out the full flavor and true taste of the food it seasons. Too much salt masks the flavor. If there is no salt, then the food is tasteless. But just a little salt enhances the flavor greatly. When Jesus told his disciples that they are the salt (seasoning) of the earth he is telling them that though there are few of them, their godly lives will draw out the good in the world around them. It is important for believers to remember that they are not called to be a majority. They are called to fulfill their function as salt. Godly living then salts the earth. It is an invitation for others to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).
Second, salt was used as a preservative. In the days before refrigeration, salt kept food from spoiling before it could be consumed. As a preservative, the Old Testament uses salt as a metaphor for endurance, signifying the covenant between God and his people, or his lasting covenant with King David. When Jesus told his disciples that you are the salt (the preservative) of the earth, he was telling them that their godly lives are the seasoning that preserves the goodness in society.
Third, Moses taught that salt was the key ingredient for the incense that burned before the altar. The incense was perfume, whose aroma was to be “salted, pure, and holy.” (Exodus 30:34-35). Likewise, the faithful lives of Jesus’s followers are salt that is used to become the “fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). Moreover, the righteousness of Jesus’s followers that does not conform to the world’s standards salts their living sacrifice and signifies their covenant with God (Mark 9:49-50; Romans 12:1-2).
As salt, Jesus’s disciples are to be all three of these things. They are to be the seasoning that draws out what is good. They are to be the preservative that keeps what is good. And they are to be an ingredient in the altar’s incense that signifies what is holy and pleases God. But if the salt becomes tasteless and loses its saltiness it does none of these things. Pure sodium chloride does not spoil. In the time of Jesus, it is likely their salt contained compounds other than sodium chloride. If their salt came from the Dead Sea, and it was like today’s salt, it might have been less than half sodium chloride. If left in humidity, the sodium chloride could dissolve, leaving behind salts other than sodium chloride. What would remain would not serve the function that sodium chloride serves, as it would not have the proper flavor.
When Jesus rhetorically asks, “how can it be made salty again?” he is saying, “there is no way to fix spoiled salt.” You (his followers) are it (v 13). If you (his followers) lose your saltiness you become useless to serve as salt. You (his followers) are no longer good for anything except for one thing, to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men (v 13). Perhaps after the sodium chloride spoils, the remaining salt is useful as an herbicide. Jesus might be referencing methods of salting roads to keep them free of weeds and thorns, by scattering the spoiled salt and allowing it to be trampled underfoot by men (v 13). In any event, the metaphor makes a stark contrast between the two uses. One is to bring out goodness; the other is to be discarded and forgotten. Amen! Be the good salt that makes a difference every day! (Excerpts from THE BIBLE SAYS).
Amen! So be it!
JOYFUL House of Prayer, 2519 Quicksand Road, (P.O. Box 856), Jackson, Kentucky 41339. Send Comments/Prayer Requests: Pastornaomi4god@gmail.com. FB: JoyfulHoprayer. Services: 10am Sunday and Joyful Kids Class at 10:30am, 6:30pm Thursdays. Radio Broadcast: WJSN 97.3 FM & WEKG 81.0 AM Sundays 1-2pm.
