Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt fades away, with what will it be salted? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.”
What is Salt?
Salt is the oldest seasoning used by man. As early as 2700 BC in China salt was used to season food. The book of Job which was written about 3500 years ago makes a mention of salt in chapter 6:6.
Will you eat the tasteless without salt? Or will there be taste in the egg white?
The most primitive use of salt is the preservation of food, which is why in ancient times it was a highly appreciated product. It was even called “white gold”.
From “salt” comes the word salary, (from the Latin salarium). What does salt have to do with salary? Simple: the soldiers of ancient Rome were paid for their work with a portion of salt. When they went to war they salted their food to keep it in good condition for a long time.
Salt is said to have at least fourteen thousand different beneficial uses. In adequate amounts, salt helps regulate heart rate, prevents muscle spasms, prevents osteoporosis, regulates sleep and maintains blood sugar balance. In fact the human body cannot live without salt. However, excess salt intake produces diseases such as hypertension.
The presence of salt in a food can generate a pleasant or unpleasant taste depending on the portion it contains: less salt or more salt than necessary makes a food unpleasant to the palate.
We could go on listing the uses of salt, but enough for now with those mentioned.
Now a question arises:
Why did Jesus tell his disciples that they were the salt of the earth?
Jesus speaks to his people in Matthew 5:13 and tells them “you are the salt of the earth”. This means that when being born again, the human being already has the capacity or the quality to season, to put the necessary ingredient in the exact portion to the things of life. The disciple will not become, but is already salt of the earth.
The word that is translated here as “salt” comes from the Greek jàlas, which of course translates to salt (the seasoning), but which also has a figurative meaning that translates as prudence. Prudence is understood as caution, moderation, equilibrium and balance. It also means good sense, good judgment. The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines prudence as a virtue that consists in discerning and distinguishing what is good or bad in order to follow it or flee from it.
Two of the qualities of Salt that Jesus had in mind were:
1. Its power of conservation and 2. The quality of giving flavor and seasoning.
Jesus asks us to preserve and keep the truths of the gospel and to apply those truths in the exact measure to give the true meaning and the best flavor to the things that happen to us in life.
In Revelation, the Lord speaks to the church in Philadelphia, which is the prototype of what He hopes to find in us when He returns:
Rev 3:8
I know your works; behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut; for although you have little strength, you have kept my word, and have not denied my name.
Notice the two things the Philadelphia Christians did:
1. “You have kept my word.” The word kept here means preserved, obeyed. What did the church in Philadelphia preserve? She preserved the truths of the gospel without watering them down so they don’t lose their flavor. If one prepares a pot of soup for ten people and seasons it with only 5 grams of salt, it will not taste like anything, it will be insipid; but if you add a kilogram of salt it won’t work either: you have to use the exact amount of salt for it to taste good.
2. “You have not denied my name.” Although doing so provokes persecution and verbal or physical attacks as we have seen in previous studies, this church was faithful in this regard.
Salt in the Bible has various symbolisms in the scriptures. For example, when sacrifices were offered in the Old Testament, the best of the cattle or the first fruits of the harvest were offered to an animal, which speaks of the fact that the Lord should be offered the best of our being. Immediately the priest sprinkled salt on the sacrifice:
Ezekiel 43:23-24
When you finish atoning, you shall offer a calf from the herd without blemish, and a ram without blemish from the herd; and you shall offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them, and offer them as burnt offerings to the Lord.
Salt, as a food preservative, symbolizes incorruption, preservation, purity. Salt was, in these verses, a symbol that the worshiper kept a clean and pure heart before the Lord.
Salt Pact
Leviticus 2:13
And you shall season with salt every offering that you offer, and you shall never lack from your offering the salt of the covenant of your God; in all your offering you shall offer salt.
The salt pact symbolizes God’s commitment to fulfill his word and his promises; while the priest for his part undertook to consecrate himself only to the Lord. Later God offered his own son as a sacrifice to cleanse our sins and sealed him with his blood: this is the blood of the new covenant that Jesus spoke of, and the salt that preserves the new covenant is the Gospel, since it is enduring (his word will last forever). Therefore the Word is the salt that preserves the promises of God. When Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth, he makes it clear that his disciples have the same function as that salt: we preserve ourselves, we keep ourselves walking in holiness with God.
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, brothers, I beseech you by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable worship. Do not conform to this century, but transform yourselves by renewing your understanding, so that you may prove what is the good will of God, pleasing and perfect.
In these verses, the apostle Paul exhorts us to be holy, exclusive, pleasing to God, acting rationally, that is, according to God’s reasoning and not through new cults or covenants outside the scriptures. Paul encourages us not to conform or conform to the lifestyle of these times and the world’s thinking, but to transform our understanding and our mind. Here the word transform comes from the Greek “metamorphos”, which is the same word that is used to describe the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly. In the same way, Jesus asks us to convert from our old earthly way of living to that of a true disciple, to pass from the nature of worms to that of eagles through the metamorphosis that Jesus works in us so that we live in good faith. will of God and thus be pleasing and perfect before Him by obeying His word.
God offered his son Jesus for sins and sealed such a sacrifice in an eternal covenant through his blood, so his word is like salt that preserves and preserves without corruption the covenant that God made with his children: this is how God assures us that he will preserve the eternal life that he gave us. The blood of Christ that had the efficacy to forgive the sins of the Christians of the first century has the same efficacy preserved by the Gospel to also forgive our sins.
In what sense are we the salt of the earth?
Jesus has said that his disciples do the same as salt: conserve, save and preserve, qualities applied in this case to the eternal truths that have been deposited with us. This statement also implies that a true disciple does not stain his life with immorality or fraud, but remains honest and upright.
The truths of the gospel should not be diluted, we need the exact measure of the word of God to apply it in every situation of life. And yet that is one of the constants of the gospel among many Christians of our days: impure food is offered , without flavor or too salty, that cannot be eaten, if someone ingests it, it harms them.
Like salt, the disciple must preserve the truths of the gospel. How? Through his testimony, to live and reflect the word of God to others.
Now, it is necessary to understand that when a Christian preserves the truths of the gospel he contrasts with those who are not believers, who are thus confronted with their sin and may even respond with aggression. And it is that a true disciple does not seek gratitude or recognition from men, he is far from needing the applause of the world:
Mark 9:33-35
And he came to Capernaum; and when he was at home, he asked them: What were you disputing among yourselves on the road? But they were silent; because on the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. Then he sat down and called the twelve, and said to them: If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all, and servant of all.
Today it is common to see alleged ministers of God fighting to be the first to appear on the platform of an event, striving to preach a message whose sole purpose is to receive recognition. In contrast, Jesus taught us that when we do what He entrusted us to say “I am a useless servant, because I did what I had to do”. Jesus does not leave even a thousandth of space for us to receive recognition: all the glory is entirely His.
Around the year 1625 there was a church reformer named George Fox. The story goes that one day he came to preach in front of thousands of people, and when he went up to the podium, they all saluted him, applauded him and, in a way, made him laugh. they adored Very annoyed, Fox rebuked them for his attitude, reproached them for idolizing him and left the place without preaching. The heart of man tends to idolize, but George Fox knew that a true disciple must be prudent. In this way, he also leaves us a valuable example regarding being used by God: also in this area it is necessary to season with salt, with the right measure according to the Word.
Luke 14:34
Salt is good; but if the salt becomes insipid, with what will it be seasoned?
Good salt distinction?
In closing, we return to our opening verse:
Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt fades, with what will it be salted? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trodden down by men.
Here we find the word “vanish” which comes from the Greek Moraino and has two meanings, one literal and the other allegorical. The literal is when the salt fades and loses its flavor. The symbolic implies becoming a fool, going crazy. A true disciple has the Bible as a rule of life and does not require responses other than the healthy Word of God. On the other hand, many look for answers in the motivators, in the scholars of the human mind, in the philosophers or in novel doctrines. With this they show that they are not disciples, in their foolishness, in their lack of flavor, in their absence of salt.
1 Timothy 6:3-10. If someone teaches something else, and I don’t know…