A Simple Metaphor Jesus Uses That Is Surprisingly Complicated Series

- I’m going to take a deep dive into the words of Jesus here about salt.

- At one level, this seems a simple metaphor. But I have long been frustrated that the actual words used here create some confusion. I leave with more questions than answers. Thus, I want to use this as an opportunity to dig deeply into these words and see if we can figure things out.

- We are doing a sermon series through the book of Luke, but tonight we will combine this Luke 14 passage about salt with the two other places in the gospels where Jesus talks about salt: Matthew 5 and Mark 9.

- I want to disassemble these passages and study the phrases that Jesus uses, getting down into the details, rather than just making conjectures about the metaphor of salt in general.

- In each case, the salt verses represent a pretty short statement before Jesus moves on to other things. Because of that, I think they often get overlooked or ignored. Folks consider the larger passage’s ideas and then maybe tack on a closing thought about salt at the end of that. Or they just skip over the salt verses and move on to what’s next.

- There isn’t a lot of deep thinking about the specific statements that are made with regard to salt.

- This is made worse because when you do start to think about the specific statements, they seem surprisingly complicated.

- So I want to use this as an opportunity to dig deeply. I want to hop back and forth between these three passages. I want to break down each specific phrase that is used to see if we can make everything fit together.

THE LARGER PICTURE: For all three of these “salt” passages, the larger context is the radical nature of the Kingdom.

- Matthew 5:3-12; Mark 9:42-48; Luke 14:26-33.

- At this point, you all are tired of hearing me say that “context is key.” But it is in general and it’s especially important in situations like this one. What’s that situation? A passage where you’re having trouble understanding the point that Jesus is getting at. When the verse itself is not self-evident in its meaning, one thing that can help you to fill in the blanks is to look at the context. That can help lead you in the right direction.

- This is a situation where that is going to be helpful. Why? Because while each of the three “salt” passages has something different around it, all three are preceded by something that points to the same larger idea.

- Let’s look at all three contexts.

- Yes, just so you know, we are going to be flipping back and forth a ton in this sermon between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, so just get ready for it.

- Let’s start where we are in Luke 14 and examine the context.

- What precedes vv. 34-35 on salt?

- Verse 26 speaks of family sacrifice in following Christ.

- Verse 27 speaks of carrying your cross.

- Verse 28-33 shares two parables about counting the cost of discipleship.

- There are a variety of ways to accurately summarize that, but I’m going to choose one that will (I hope) mesh well thematically with what we see in the other two gospel passages. My summary statement is that it speaks of the radical nature of the Kingdom.

- This is not a $5 a month social club membership. This is not a once-a-year dinner obligation. This is not a “sign-here-and-forget-it” paper.

- This is a big commitment. This is one that will cost you. Indeed, you are specifically warned by Jesus to ponder whether you’re ready to step into that level of commitment. That's a big part of the gospel - it requires a radical commitment.

- Moving back to Mark 9, let’s look at the context of a second “salt” passage.

- The passage before it is vv. 42-49.

- Verse 42 speaks of the danger of causing a little one to sin.

- Verses 43-49 speak to the urgency of avoiding sin. It would be better to cut off a hand or pluck out an eye if that could help you to avoid sin than to go to hell bodily intact.

- This, similarly, points us to the radical nature of the Kingdom. This is an urgent issue that demands that we give it the attention it deserves. We need to want sin out of our lives. We can’t be content to dwell in the filth of our sinfulness.

- Finally, we go to Matthew 5 and the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.

- First, it’s worth noting that this is the beginning of the greatest sermon ever preached. It gives us Jesus’ vision of His Kingdom.