Look like Light, Taste Like Salt
MATTHEW 5:13-16
#discipleship
READ MATTHEW 5:13-16 [congregation reads along aloud]
"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 by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
The passage that we just read together is part of Matthew 5 that most of the time is called the “Sermon on the Mount.” The Sermon on the Mount goes from Matthew 5 with the Beatitudes to Matthew 7 with the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. The Sermon on the Mount contains a whole lot of theology about God, about being a follower of God, and about expectations God has of us. Matthew 5:1-2 clues us in on the situation. Matthew 5:1-2 says: “Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them saying…” His disciples were there. Crowds were there as well. Jesus sat down with His disciples and began to teach them and the rest of the crowds were there overhearing His solid teaching to His committed followers. I mention that because we need to remember that this passage is directed towards the followers of Jesus. This passage is for us!
In this passage, Jesus is giving us some direction on what it means to be a disciple.
TWO PRIMARY ELEMENTS
In explaining life following Jesus (discipleship), Jesus uses two elements from everyday life to explain His expectations and the results of being a disciple. The first is salt. The second is light.
SALT
Salt is a mineral that has been used for 1000s of years. Archaeologists have found places in Romania where people were boiling water to extract salts and salt-works in China that date back many thousands of years. Salt was even a tradable item and was used as money (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt). I mention all that to say that salt has been around a long time and it has been a normal part of life every day for most people. Jesus using salt to teach a lesson is not surprising since everyone listening would have used it, seen it, tasted it, or purchased it.
Salt in Jesus’ day had two primary purposes.
First, salt was used to preserve food. In an age of no refrigeration, no electricity, and no Kenmore, people had to preserve meats and other food somehow. Salt can preserve fish, meat, beans, cabbage, and many other foods (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salting_(food)). A family in ancient times that had a supply of salt was a family that could harvest or kill food and preserve it for later and provide for meals long after unsalted food would go bad.
Second, salt was used to purify. Bacteria and many types of fungus cannot survive in a salty environment. Salt is used to purify. There are actually two examples of this in the Bible. 2 Kings 2:21-22 says, “Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, "This is what the LORD says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.'" 22 And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.” Elisha used salt and God blessed that salt to create a perpetually good source of water. We also find a weird passage in Ezekiel 16:4 which says, “On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.” It seems that salt was used when a baby was born to keep the baby healthy and to keep them from getting sick.
SALT STORY 1
I have two stories about salt that came to mind when I was reading over this passage. The first happened to me one day while I was checking out of Walmart. We use salt like most people, but one day I was shopping in Walmart and I found a grinder filled with pink salt. I thought it might add some taste to meals so I bought it. I was checking out and the cashier came to the item and just looked at it amazed. She asked me, “What is this?” I guess she had never seen it before. I told her it was salt. She asked me why it was pink. I told her it was a different kind of salt. Then she asked me a question that I did not have an answer to. She asked: “Do you think they color it all with a marker?” That story really has nothing to do with salt, but it is pretty funny.
SALT STORY 2
I was eating out the other day at one of my favorite restaurants and I had fries that came with my meal. I have found at this restaurant that the french fries either come without salt or there are mounds and mounds of salt on them. There is no in between. I started to eat the fries, because french fries are the best food ever invented, and the saltiness of the fries made them inedible. I tried to shake the salt off the fries, but to be honest, once salt gets into something, salt is in it. The salt flavors every bite and you cannot unsalt something once it has been added. I ended up asking for another serving of fries without salt, but the point remains, once salt is in something, it is all in it.
LIGHT
The other element Jesus mentions is light. Light is the opposite of darkness. Light is something that has a specific meaning and two specific purposes in the Bible.
When we see light in the Bible, it is always associated with “life” and has that specific meaning. For example, when God was creating the Universe and creating life, He first made… what? He first made light (Genesis 1:3) because life thrives in the light. Light means life is possible. Sunshine and stars and the moon all shine down on us as live is thriving underneath it. In passages like Psalm 27:1 we see that light and life are parallel thoughts: “The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life -- of whom shall I be afraid?” The phrase “light of life” also is used in both the Old Testament and the New Testament (Job 33:30, Psalm 49:19, 56:13, Isaiah 53:11, John 8:12).
When we see light in the Bible, it also has the normal purpose of chasing away the darkness so that people can clearly see. That is the purpose of light. That is the purpose of candles, lamps, light bulbs, flash lights, headlights on cars, porch lights and any other form of light. Those items bring light when darkness has come. We find that true in Exodus 13:21 when God led the people by fire at night. In 1 Kings 3:21, the woman whose son was stolen away saw clearly in the light what had happened. In Luke 15:8, the woman who lost a coin uses a lamp so she can thoroughly look for her lost coin.
Also, when we see light in the Bible, it also has the normal purpose of indicating the presence of God. Light indicates the presence of God. God was speaking with Moses through the burning bush (Exodus 3). We find that in the Tabernacle there was to always be lamps and light lit to indicate the presence of God (Numbers 4, 8).
LIGHT STORY 1
I have two stories about light that came to mind when I was reading over this passage. The first happened to me when we lived in Pennsylvania many years ago. We had a basement in our house that was dark and damp. It was the damp part I was trying to figure out because I did not want mold to become a problem. I could see that water was in the basement, but I could not see where it was coming from. I could not see if a pipe was leaking, if water was coming in from outside, or what the problem was. It was not until I got a large light and went over the basement in a search until I found the old leaky pipe. I found the leaky pipe and its very small drip that was easily missed. The light helped me to find the problem. Then, I had to fix the leaky pipe, but that is another story.
LIGHT STORY 2
I also remember a story about light that was more recent. I learned a few years ago, from a youtube video, how to change brakes on a car. The last time I attempted to change the breaks on one of our vehicles, I started in the evening after dinner. It was taking forever. I could not get bolts loosened. I could not get this piece and that piece to work. Pretty soon, the darkness of evening was coming and I knew I had to have light. I was trying to finish replacing brakes in the dark. It was light when I started and turned dark before I could finish. I went inside to get a flashlight and looked under every sink and found none. I looked in our shed and found none. I looked in drawers and everywhere, but found no flashlight. I ended up using the little flashlight on my phone, holding the phone in my mouth, to try and have light to finish the brake job. It was completely frustrating because I could not see anything, but needed to finish. I ended up frustrated, but finished the brakes. I then drove to the store and bought 2 flashlights.
SUMMARY OF SALT AND LIGHT
Salt preserves and purifies.
Light is life, the presence of God, and helps us see clearly.
RE-READ MATTHEW 5:13-17
"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 by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
APPLICATION
Jesus is teaching us exactly what a Christian is in our world.
A Christian person who follows Jesus Christ is a person who is light in their life. A Christian is someone who follows the way of life of God. A Christian reflects the presence of God in their lives. Christians are concerned about personal holiness. Christians help others around them see God clearly when they do not understand. That is what being a city on a hill or a lamp on a stand means. We are showing people God and His way of life and we reflect Him in all we do and say.
A Christian person who follows Jesus Christ has godly salt in their life. A Christian is definitely a person who preserves the Word of God by studying the Bible and living it out. A disciple is someone who by their very words, actions, and attitudes is the representative of the life Christ teaches us to have. We are also constantly purifying ourselves from the sinful nature. We are not perfect and are constantly finding ourselves short of the standard God sets for us. We then pray, repent, and move towards godliness on a regular basis.
As a result of looking like light and tasting like salt, the disciple has three very important efforts in life. These are actions that should define us as disciples of Jesus Christ.
AGENT OF REDEMPTION
A Christian disciple is a person who looks like light and acts like salt. The result of that is that we are constantly pointing people around us to Jesus. We are agents of redemption. We need to be like John the Baptist who points out Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 36). We need to be like Andrew who took his brother to meet Jesus (John 1:41). We need to be like Philip who finds his best friend and takes him to Jesus (John 1:45). We need to be like the woman at the well who shares with all her neighbors the good news about Jesus (John 4:28-29). We need to be like the Philippian jailer who came to faith in Christ and shared this with his whole family (Acts 16:34). We need to be like Lois and Eunice who shared their faith with their family (2 Timothy 1:5). You see in all of these instances, the follower of Jesus was the agent of redemption that introduced Jesus to someone else. They were light. They were salt.
Is there a family member or someone we love dearly that needs to be pointed to Jesus?
Is there someone that we need to invite to church to move them along in their spiritual journey?
Is there an area we are failing in that hurts our witness as salt and light for others?
IRRITATE TOWARDS GODLINESS
A Christian disciple is a person who looks like light and acts like salt. I think all of us could agree that our world is not by default godly and does not seek God’s will as a regular practice. As a disciple, we are people who are committed to God and His way of life. That means we are constantly moving towards godliness in our lives. I believe that also means we are pushing, pulling, helping, and aiding other in our lives towards godliness as well. That is never easy. Most of the time the world river flows one way and God commands us to move the other direction.
James 5:19-20 says, “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” That is being salt and light in our lives and in the lives of people around us.
Is there someone in our lives we need to come along side and pull towards godliness?
Is there something in our lives that needs to be purified so we are closer to God?
What can we add to our lives to push ourselves towards Godliness?
DIVINE STANDARD FOLLOWER
A Christian disciple is a person who looks like light and acts like salt. Jesus explains that the salt of their day could lose its saltiness. Saltless salt is useless. Jesus explains to His disciples that someone that follows Him does what is needed to continue to be salty and not lose the saltiness. Read the Bible, pray, dig in to Christian fellowship, use spiritual gifts, and other challenges. Follow the divine standard God set up and be salty. Jesus explains that people can put a lamp under a cover. An unlit light is useless. Jesus explains to His disciples that someone who follows Him does what is needed to shine a light on Godliness. Share our faith, invite folks to church, pray for one another, and make God a normal part of your conversation.
Have we lost our saltiness?
Have we hidden our light under something?
Is there enough evidence in our lives to convict us of being a Christian?
PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL
This morning we have been talking about Jesus’ message to His disciples about being faithful followers. That means followers of Jesus are salt and light. If you are not a believer in Jesus, you are not yet salt and you do not yet have light in you. If you feel like your life is dark and totally taken over by darkness, you are not alone. Everyone who is lost without Jesus feels that way. Being lost without Jesus Christ means living in the dark without life. If that is you, please understand and recognize that Jesus Christ came to bring light and life and purity to us. John 1:9-13 says, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” The children of God are salt and light and have eternal life. Any person at any time can choose life and choose to believe in Jesus Christ and He will remove the darkness and put in its place light and life.
CONCLUSION
Go be light.
Go be salt.
