In the first century it was hard to find anything more important to living than salt. Indeed, salt was so valuable you could even buy stuff with salt. Salt then would be like gasoline to the people fleeing the hurricanes in the gulf coast. Why? Because it was essential for survival.
In a hot, dry desert world where there was no refrigeration, no ice, and no airtight packaging, salt was considered a necessity of life. Salt kept things from going bad. Salt kept things from spoiling. It was a preservative, a purifier, it added taste, it cleansed wounds, it killed germs, it promoted healing.
Everybody that day on the mountain understood what Jesus meant when he said to his disciples “You are the salt of the earth” (Mt 5:13). He was referring to that which was essential for the world, necessary for the world, absolutely irreplaceable for the world. He was referring to the “element” that would preserve the world from decay, literally the very ingredient that would save the world.
They heard that point loud and clear. But one word would have really tripped them up. Because I am sure that if not with a finger, then with a unequivocal, unwavering gaze, Jesus would have made clear what Matthew’s Greek text shows. The emphasis is on YOU. You, yourselves, the Greek text says, and no one else (it implies) are the VERY salt of the earth. You, yourselves, are absolutely the most important element in the world. You.
You spiritually bankrupt, meek and insignificant, righteous starved rabble that has responded to my invitation. You. Not the Pharisees, not the super intellectual religious teachers, not the Roman Government leaders. Not the wealthy landowners, not the politically connected, not any of those whom we would assume are crucial to the world. If they are not of the Kingdom, then they are not nearly as important, as necessary, as crucial, as you. “You are the salt of the earth.” The world’s preservation depends on you.
Now, if that wasn’t hard enough for them to swallow that day, then the second metaphor he used could choke the life right out of them.
“You are the light of the world,” Jesus says, “A city built on a hill cannot be hid.” You are not only necessary to the world, but you are going to be noticed. God is going to put your life on display to all of his dark and decaying creation.
What was Jesus saying here? God is putting our lives on display? God is using us? I can see them looking at each other, “Did you hear that?” Light is always a metaphor for the presence of God. To shine the light is to glorify God and to do so is to reveal his presence and character to the whole world.
For the Jews their most pious teachers, their holiest of sages, the most righteous ones of Israel were considered the light of the world. Jesus is saying: "Not them—you!" With two connected images he is telling his new followers: You are essential to the world because through you, believe it or not, God is revealed.
Qne this, is also the point that you and I need to take out of Matthew 5:13-16. You and I, just as we are, are called to enter Jesus' Kingdom in order to be salt and light—that which is essential to the world and that which reveals God to the world.
And, frankly, friends, if we don’t do that, we are as useless as unsalty salt. We are like a light that is covered with a dark bucket. But how? How do we make a difference?
And the answer is not an easy one: By being different. By being distinctive. By being different and distinctive, publicly. Or to put it another way: If we ARE salt, then we will BE light.
More on that tomorrow...
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