My family eats a lot of green beans. It’s our go to vegetable for many meals. They’re quick and easy and…it’s something I can cook…But you just don’t open a can of green beans and put them on the table…They have to be prepared correctly, and today, I’ll show you how…But the key ingredient, no matter how you prepare them, is salt.
13 “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 – In relation to the preceding pericope: Kingdom being (Beatitudes) precedes Kingdom doing (salt and light). Being salt and light does not earn admittance into the Kingdom.You ARE. Not, You should or ought to be. Wether we like it or not, wether we fail or succeed. We ARE God’s visible display of and messengers of the eternal life giving, life changing gospel.
The construction of “You are” carries the emphasis of something like, “You and ONLY you…” It is a mission we’re given that we must not fail.
- SALT – Of the numerous things to which salt could refer in antiquity, its use as a preservative in food was probably its most basic function. Jesus thus calls his disciples to arrest corruption and prevent moral decay in their world.Salt was so vital for this purpose that wars were fought over salt, and entire economies were based on it. Salt could literally make the difference between life and death in a time when fresh food was unavailable.
In Jesus’ day, salt was one of, if not the most important items for society to function. One simply couldn’t live without it.
when each community is itself and is true to itself, the world decays like rotten fish or meat, while the church can hinder its decay.
Of course God has set other restraining influences in the community. He has himself established certain institutions in his common grace, which curb man’s selfish tendencies and prevent society from slipping into anarchy. Chief among these are the state (with its authority to frame and enforce laws) and the home (including marriage and family life). These exert a wholesome influence in the community. Nevertheless, God intends the most powerful of all restraints within sinful society to be his own redeemed, regenerate and righteous people.
APP: Salt is useful as long as 1) remains uncontaminated, yet, 2) it cannot remain in the jar. It must come in contact with what it is preserving. Herein lies the crux in accomplishing the mission of God, we cannot 1) isolate ourselves from the world, neither can we 2) compromise ourselves if we wish to make a difference in it.
we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: where is the salt?
How are we to function as salt?
One way is by condemning evil and speaking up for the truth. “If you want to preach the Gospel and help people, you must be sharp and rub salt into their wounds, showing the reverse side and denouncing what is not right.… The real salt is the true exposition of Scripture, which denounces the whole world and lets nothing stand but the simple faith in Christ.” - LOST ITS TASTE – The impure and highly adulterated salt of ancient times could lose its saltiness because the sodium chloride could leach out or dissolve in humid weather and leave only tasteless crystals which no longer tasted like salt. Salt usually came from evaporating the water of the Dead Sea and it contained crystals such as gypsum that could be mistaken for salt. The lime, etc. that was left was useless as seasoning. Salt can become so adulterated that its taste is lessened. Adulterated salt becomes useless, even dangerous.
“Loses its saltiness” reads more literally “is defiled.” This is not the scientifically impossible notion of salt becoming flavorless but rather the common problem in the ancient world of salt being mixed with various impure substances and therefore becoming worthless as a preservative.
Believers who fail to arrest corruption become worthless as agents of change and redemption. Christianity may make its peace with the world and avoid persecution, but it is thereby rendered impotent to fulfill its divinely ordained role. It will thus ultimately be rejected even by those with whom it has sought compromise.
Christian saltiness is Christian character as depicted in the beatitudes, committed Christian discipleship exemplified in both deed and word. For effectiveness the Christian must retain his Christlikeness, as salt must retain its saltness. If Christians become assimilated to non-Christians and contaminated by the impurities of the world, they lose their influence. The influence of Christians in and on society depends on their being distinct, not identical.
Jesus thus calls his disciples to arrest corruption and prevent moral decay in their world.
14 “You are! the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 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.
- LIGHT OF THE WORLD – Any construct which seeks to improve the human condition apart from the gospel only results in further injustice and corruption.The only light of the world is found in Jesus.APP: Live the gospel.
1. Follow your aptitude. you are uniquely spiritually gifted.
2. In the domain God has placed us, we are able to push back the darkness we come in contact with. We shouldn’t cover our candle when we fear others are trying to blow it out.
1. Light is observed.
2. Light serves as a guide.
3. Light dispels darkness.
CITY – Ancient towns of white limestone gleamed in the sun and at night the inhabitants’ lamps would shine out. City lights illuminated a dark countryside. Torch light at night could be seen from the surrounding countryside. There were no trees to conceal a city on a hill at that time. Its walls and fortresses could not be hid.
CANNOT – Not should not.
VERSE 16 – A synopsis of the entire Sermon on the Mount
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BEFORE OTHERS – This is an active imperative, meaning that we should purpose to do good works, so that God can be glorified.
Later in the verse, the “light” is identified as good works.
The intrinsic purpose of light is to be shown. It is absurd to turn on a light just to cover it. It goes against it’s purpsose. Light is meant to be seen, not concealed.
4 Ways We Might Conceal Our Light: SIN, COMPROMISE, LAZINESS, FEAR
GOOD WORKS – The qualifier for good works is giving God glory, not self-glorification.
Matthew does not have in mind the ordinary works that people should do for one another out of love … Rather he is thinking principally about the distinctly Christian work of teaching correctly, of stressing faith, and of showing how to strengthen and preserve it; this is how we testify that we really are Christians.’
GIVE GLORY – The purpose of doing good works is not just to inspire people but to point them to the Father. Glorifying God is the disciples’ true goal. The end and result of these good deeds is that God is reverenced because of his work through human lives. The result is that people praise God. This is contrasted with the hypocrites (in later verses) who receive the praise for the good deeds.
YOUR FATHER – Your is plural. Y’all’s Father…
TAKE AWAYS
1. There should be a notable difference between believers and non-believers.
2. Christian participation (as described in the Sermon on the Mount) in the Kingdom of God is not optional. YOU ARE ESSENTIAL. SALT CANNOT REMAIN IN THE JAR. Participation…Not Perfection. ILL: Radio Announcer VS PA Announcer.
3. Being both salt and light includes 1) giving and 2) expending ourselves for the Kingdom of God. Salt is negative in that it is a preventative. Light is positive in that it is pushing back darkness.
4. Being salt and light is a group project.