Salt and Light

Mateo 5:13–16 NIV

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Jesus used many illustrations to teach his disciples.

For example, Jesus said he is like the “good shepherd” who gives his life for his sheep.

What other every day real life illustrations can you remember that Jesus used?

In this passage he says that his disciples are like two very common every day things:

Salt and light

In the case of salt:

He refers to the fact that salt is salty - which is very obvious.

We all know that salt is salty.

But why is it important that salt be salty?

Let’s go back to the world of Jesus and into the kitchen.

What is one thing that we take for granted that did not exist in their kitchen?

The one thing that I’m referring to is refrigeration.

Refrigeration is needed in order to prevent food from spoiling too quickly.

So how would people preserve the meat of an animal that they hunted or bought at the market?

They would salt it!

You see, salt is a preserving agent because it draws out the moisture / water in food. Without water, bacteria is unable to grow and spoil the food.

Therefore, if salt looses it’s ability to do what salt should do…then it is useless.

So, when Jesus refers to the main use of salt in his day, he’s referring to salt’s ability to preserve and prevent decay.

In this case, Jesus’ disciples are the salt of the earth.

Our calling is to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ on earth and used by God to prevent further decaying of society, of education, of the practice of medicine, law, etc.

Consider a country where Christianity is not the majority religion, such as China. You will have:

Forced abortions - China one child policy

Imprisonment of certain groups because of their religious or cultural differences

Sale of organs of people in prison

However, countries that are populated by greater numbers of Christians tend to be different - they are not perfect but they tend to preserve certain principles that are in line with a Christian worldview.

Respect for human dignity

Just laws

Equal treatment of people

The second illustration is that of light.

Jesus says to his disciples that they are the light of the world.

If someone has a table lamp and turns it on at night, only to put a blanket over it, then the table lamp becomes useless.

The purpose of having a table lamp is to be able to shine the light in the darkness.

Having light in a secret place that no one can see is not useful to anyone.

So what is Jesus saying?

He wants his disciplines to show their light publicaly.

He does not want people to hide their light.

In other words, he wants people to publicly show / demonstrate / share the fact that they are followers of Jesus.

This way, people will see their good works and will “glorify your [their] Father in heaven”.

You see, the purpose of being light in this world is not for people to praise us but rather that they would recognize that our good works are due to our christian faith, to us being followers of Jesus.

So, our calling as Christians is to prevent the further decay of our society and to point people to God through our good works. But how?

This is the key question!

How can I truly be salt and light in this world?

Some may think that they have no influence in this world; that would require me to be a politician or an important business person, or maybe a famous actor or influencer.

The reality is that all of Jesus’ disciples are called to be salt and light and it does not have anything to do with our chosen profession, our academic achievements, etc.

Rather, it has to do with something much more basic - it has to do with our attitude, our character, the way we think and act.

You see, before this passage Jesus taught his disciples about the nine beatitudes.

He said - you are blessed if you:

Are poor in spirit

Mourn

Are meek

Hunger and thirst for righteousness

Are merciful

Are pure in heart

Are a peacemaker

Are persecuted

People insult you or persecute you for no reason

These are character qualities that Jesus wants his disciplines to demonstrate in this world.

In other words Jesus is interested in shaping our character, our attitudes, they way we think and act, so that we can truly be salt and light in this world.

At the end of the day, character is everything because you can be a person of influence (actor, lawyer, judge, physician, etc.) but without christian character you are not fulfilling your calling as a follower of Jesus Christ.