SALT AND LIGHT

Matt. 5:13–16


I. Introduction

A. Jesus was a master teacher and often captured his listener's attention with stories, parables, and figures of speech.

B. In these verses Jesus used a type of figure of speech called a metaphor.

C. The most commonly used figures of speech are the simile and the metaphor.

1. A simile is a comparison that uses "like" or "as." (e.g., "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves," Jesus said in Matt. 10:16)

2. A metaphor is also a comparison, but does not have a connecting word like a simile.

D. "You are the salt of the earth..." and "You are the light of the world..." are metaphors.

1. Jesus did not mean literally salt or light, but rather used the used the words figuratively.

2. He used these figures to compare the Christian life with something that his listeners understood: salt and light.

3. He also left them with a mental picture so that they would not soon forget what he had taught them that day.


II. "You are the salt of the earth." (5:13)

A. Salt was highly valued in the ancient world.

1. The Greeks thought that salt was divine and associated it with the gods.

2. The Romans used salt almost like money. Soldiers were sometimes paid in salt and our word "salary" comes from the Latin word for "salt."

3. So when Jesus spoke of salt, it would have caught his listener's attention.



B. What did Jesus mean when he said, "You are the salt of the earth"?

1. Salt was associated with purity.

a. Salt was frequently used as an offering to pagan gods.

b. Jewish sacrifices were often offered with salt.

c. If we as Christians are going to be the salt of the earth, then we must be examples of purity in our lives.

2. Salt was also used, and still is used, to preserve fish and meat, and also has cleansing and antiseptic properties.

a. If Christians are to be "the salt of the earth," then we must also have the qualities of cleansing and preserving.

b. Wherever we find ourselves, we should be making it a better place by the cleansing and preserving nature of our behavior.

c. Whether it is at work, at school, at the grocery, or anywhere else, our lives should be like "salt."

3. Salt is used to give flavor to food.

1. If you don't believe me try a salt-free diet for a while!

2. Many people see Christianity as totally negative and taking all the "flavor" out of life. We need to show people that you can have a good time and still be a Christian.

C. Jesus also spoke about salt that had lost its "saltiness."

1. Many explanations have been given to help understand this statement.

2. In Jesus day salt was often filled with impurities and could at times be almost tasteless. That seems to be what Jesus was talking about.

3. Jesus' point was that "un-salty" salt is worthless.

4. In a similar way, a Christian who is not the "salt of the earth" is not worth much to Jesus.

5. If we do not have these pure, preserving, and flavoring qualities in our lives, then something is wrong.

III. "You are the light of the world." (5:14–16)

A. Jesus said in John 9:5, "I am the light of the world." Here Jesus says that his disciples are also to be "the light of the world."

1. That is a great compliment, but also a great responsibility.

2. We might dismiss it as childish, but there is a lot of what Jesus was talking about in the song "This Little Light of Mine."

B. Jesus' first example was a city on a hill.

1. Perhaps Jesus was alluding to Jerusalem. It was described of as the "light to the nations" in the OT, and Jerusalem was also built on top of a mountain.

2. His point was that you can' t hide a city on a hill. It can be seen for miles around.

C. Jesus' second example was a lamp.

1. This was the only source of light for the common people.

2. This was likely an oil lamp that was made of simply a small bowl and a wick. They did not give much light, but it was usually all that they had.

D. Light is meant to be seen.

1. You do not hide a light; you put it where it can provide illumination.

2. In a similar way, we are to show our "Christian light" to others.

3. Our language and behavior—the way we think and act—should be like a light to others.

4. If a person claims to be a Christian, then others will be watching.

a. Some may watch hoping to see you fail.

b. Others may be watching because they see something valuable and important in your life.

5. If Christians acts differently on Sunday than the rest of the week, then something is wrong with their life and their light.



E. Jesus made this even more clear in verse 16 when he said, "Let your light shine before men..."

1. Our lives are to be a light to others.

2. This is not to bring glory to us, but to God.

F. Haddon Robinson summed up this passage well:

"...God needs our light where the world is darkest. The blacker the night the greater the need for a light bulb. If a bulb does not shine, it's not because of the darkness. Darkness cannot put out light...Darkness gets darker because the light fails. When we fail to reflect Christ's light we let darkness win.
Jesus did not call us to be magnificent chandeliers for people to admire. He called us to make a difference in the darkness."

(The Christian Salt and Light Company, 106–107)


IV. Conclusion

A. The figures of salt and light illustrate that Christians are to be different.

1. Try leaving all the salt out of your food or function in the darkness if you do not understand Jesus' illustration.

B. To be salt and light is a responsibility that Jesus has given us.

1. In the original language there is an emphasis that we do not see in English.

2. In a sense Jesus was saying his disciples are the only salt and the only light in the world.

3. So as Christians we need for our lives to have the preserving, flavoring effects of salt and the illuminating property of light.