Salt & Light: Witnesses of the Kingdom

Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth,

            but if salt has lost its taste,

how shall its saltiness be restored?

It is no longer good for anything

                                    except to be thrown out

                                                  and trampled

                                                            under people's feet.

“You are the          light of the world.

            A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket,

                                                          but on a stand,

    and it gives light to all in the house.

In the same way,

          let your light shine before others,

                       so that they may see your good works

                              and give glory to your Father

                                                                     who is in heaven.

We began our study through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) by examining the “Blessed are the…” statements that are called beatitudes (5:1-12). These statements, the norms of “the kingdom of heaven”, reveal how God sees and values those whom the world so often rejects and even persecutes. These brief statements seem to be expanded and explained throughout the rest of Jesus’ famous sermon. This week’s passage (5:13-16) is no exception.

Salt and light are both necessary for life for more reasons than I have time to address in this blog. Perhaps you have heard many sermons about the meaning of these two great metaphors—salt and light. Let me just briefly mention some of the primary understandings if only to stir us up by way of reminder. 

You are the salt of the earth…

Those listening to Jesus’ words that day would have understood salt to be a necessary preservative for all meats, hindering decay in a culture with no refrigeration. Salt would have been rubbed into the meat to cure it much the way some today use a good salt and spice rub when they grill their meat.

Similarly salt is a flavor enhancer. In the Old Testament, Job said,

 “Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,

 Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?”

The followers of Christ should enhance the “flavor” of life for those to whom they are sent. This salt metaphor is tied to the beatitude in v. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” since salt was not only a symbol of righteousness but of that righteousness that only God can bring. It was an ingredient in all the OT sacrifices (including the incense that was offered before the Lord). Having the  salt of the presence of the Lord in our lives gives us and appetite for what is right and just by our presence, even like salt that is not seen once applied, we make a difference.

One of the most interesting salt references I found in the Bible is in Ezekiel 16:3-6 where the Lord is reminding his people (pictured as “Jerusalem”) of his care for them at the beginning of Israel and lists birth practices including washing and “rubbing with salt” acts of compassion. When we first visited Israel in 2007 we took time to swim in the Dead Sea (called the Salt Sea in the Bible). It is so salty that you cannot sink. As a result it has an oily, slippery feel to it. If you ever get the chance to visit there do it, but don’t shave before you swim because the salt will make your skin burn like fire! No one told us about that. Sometimes salt stings, but the most compassionate thing we can do for others is to be who we are in Christ, in a way that makes others hungry and thirsty for the same righteousness we seek.

You are the light of the world…

Light reveals, guides, encourages, and enables. Its symbolism is nearly universal in the human experience. How is it that the followers of Jesus are “the light of the world”? They take the good news about Christ Jesus wherever they go. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the mostly gentile region of Galilee was prophetically described in Isaiah 9 and quoted in Matthew 4:15-16,

¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶ the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

Yet while light is a symbol of hope and is usually good news, not all are glad to see it. John uses the metaphor light quite often. In John 3:19-21 we find that some actively oppose the light.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Those in either the tropics or the tenements know that when you turn on the lights in the kitchen at night you often see the roaches scurrying for cover.

This passage reminds me of something that happened when I was a child.  One summer, I had a couple of friends over to spend the night.  We, and my little brother, were in the basement playing Risk, a world-conquest board game that takes a very long time. It was quite late, so my Dad told us several times to be quiet and go to sleep, but we did not obey.  We thought we were very "clever" as we continued to play "quietly" (we were neither clever nor quiet) with only a small table lamp lighting our game.  Suddenly, the door burst open and there stood my dad, and he looked mad! He started to say, "What are you..." but before he could finish, one of my friends reached over and turned out the light.  I don't know what he thought that would accomplish.  What good does hiding do if you have already been seen?   My dad, pausing a moment, calmly turned on the bright overhead light and finished his sentence, "What are you doing up?  Get to bed NOW!"  The question was rhetorical at best. We jumped into our sleeping bags as fast as possible. I still don't know how my dad kept from laughing.  However, all humor aside, our attempts to hide our sin from the God who sees everything are even more stupid than the futile actions of my childhood friend.

Salt is meant to be salty, hindering decay, improving flavor, but not calling attention to itself. Light is meant to give a revealing, enabling light to all who are in the house not to get people to stare at it. As we follow Jesus he manifests his character through us, lovingly using us as salt and light in the world, for the benefit of all...even if no one notices us or says thanks.