The Outlaw Expositor

What did Jesus mean when he said, “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world”? In Jesus’ most famous teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, we find these often quoted words. 

Matthew 5:13–16:

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?… You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden…” (ESV)

These verses are found immediately after the famous Beatitudes where Jesus lays out a radically different calling for his disciples than that of the standards of the world. Things like, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3, ESV) or “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5, ESV). Just like in the Beatitudes, the salt and light metaphors are meant to draw a sharp distinction between followers of Jesus and the world. 

In Jesus’ day, salt was a valuable commodity. Refrigeration had not yet been invented and salt was used as a preservative. Salt would stop meat from rotting and decaying. Additionally, streets and homes were not alight with electric street lights and LED screens on every corner. If you wanted to see in the dark, you had to rely on the moon or light a torch or a candle. These lights would be set up on high stands in people’s homes to illuminate the whole house. It is these metaphors that Jesus uses to describe his disciples. In a world corrupted by sin, you are the salt that holds the decay back. In a world full of lies and darkness, you are the light that shines truth in this dark place.

Interestly, in the original Greek text, the “you” in these verses, “You are the salt…” “You are the light…” is in the emphatic form. This means that you could translate these verses as “You (and only you) are the salt/light” Jesus is speaking this way to highlight that sharp distinction between his followers and the world they live in. The great Anglican theologian, John Stott makes this observation: “The two metaphors are deliberately phrased in order to be parallel to each other. In each case Jesus first makes an affirmation (you are the…), then he adds a condition on which the affirmation depends (the salt must retain its saltiness, the light must be allowed to shine).” As Jesus points out, salt is no longer good for anything if it has lost its saltiness; light is worthless if it is concealed.

One of the things that is interesting about salt is that it really does not lose its saltiness, however it can be contaminated with impurities. When this happens, salt loses its true purpose and can actually be quite dangerous. Instead of holding back decay it can infuse the corruption into what it was supposed to be protecting. This metaphor speaks rightly to Christians today. If we are to be the preservative in this world, that holds back corruption and evil, what good are we if we allow contamination to be within us? The good we were intended to do, actually becomes a detriment if we mix with impurities. Our “saltiness” is directly tied to our Christlikeness. The more like Christ we are, the better we accomplish our purpose of holding back the rot of this world.

Similarly, when we conceal our light, darkness thrives. We do this when we know the truth and do not speak it. We may be afraid of what others may think and pretend to be something we are not. When injustice and unrighteousness abounds in this world, the Church must shine light on these things. How can we be that bright city on the hill, if we cover our light and remain hidden? The well known Lutheran Pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said these piercing words, “Flight into the invisible is a denial of the call. A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him.” If you are not familiar with the context of Bonhoeffer these words might not strike you the same way as if you did. Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor that lived in Germany during the atrocities of Hitler’s Nazi regime. In a time when many churches looked the other way to avoid persecution, he was outspoken in his resistance to the unspeakable evil being done. It ultimately cost him his life. That’s being the light in the darkness.

Here are some reflections I have had considering Jesus’ words:

1. There must be a fundamental and obvious difference between the Church and the world. Jesus basically said that the church and the world are as different as light is from darkness, as different as salt is from decay. Are we guarding our Christlike “saltiness” from corruption and impurity? Have we dimmed our light to not offend or draw attention to the uncomfortable truth? Doing so means we are ceasing to follow Christ’s intention for us.
2. Our calling to be salt and light is twofold and needs to be in balance. Salt’s function is negative, it prevents decay and corruption. Light, on the other hand, is positive, it illuminates the darkness and reveals the truth. Sometimes these principles get out of balance. It is one thing to stop the spread of evil and corruption, but it is quite another thing to promote the spread of truth and goodness. If we only care about protesting against the injustices in the world, but not speaking the hard truth we’ve missed it. Likewise, if we just want to address doctrinal errors and fail to care for the poor and oppressed, we’ve missed it.
3. Sometimes salt bites and sometimes bright light is uncomfortable. Go stare at a light bulb for a second and it will hurt your eyes, taste a lot of salt and it will sting your tongue. Fulfilling this calling is so radically different from the world that oftentimes it will be uncomfortable. Evil does not like to be resisted and lies want to remain hidden. The contrast between followers of Jesus and the world will cause discomfort. For Bonhoeffer it cost him his life, it may cost you yours too, or your job, or success, or acceptance in this world. Just before these salt and light verses Jesus said, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Notice he says “when” not “if”. In the next verse he reminds us to, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven…”

So will you consider Jesus’ words today? How can you be a little saltier and how can you be a little brighter? It may be uncomfortable sometimes and it may require you to be courageous, but that is what following Jesus means and he promises to be with you through it all.