In Verses 13-16, Jesus reveals Our Function in a world that hates us, even Our Relationship to a world that has gone mad. In summing up the Attitude of Kingdom Citizens, the Lord now turns to those 12 young, eager, enthusiastic disciples who were nearest to Him on the mountain; and He says to them as well as to us: "You are the Salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." "You are the Salt of the earth."
The statement of Jesus about us being the salt of the earth might seem minor. But to the Master’s Men, the 12 disciples, that statement had a profound, personal meaning.
To us Americans, Salt is a very Common Condiment. We don’t regard salt as being that significant or that important. It is so common that we generally have a shaker of salt on our dinner tables or kitchen counters to season our food. We also use great quantities of salt in the winter time to melt the frozen snow on our roads, bridges and walkways. To us, Salt is no big deal.
But in our Lord’s day, Salt was the Most Important Element in the Culture of His contemporaries. Salt. Salt was so special, unique and sought after that, in some societies, Salt was More Valuable Than Gold! That how valuable Salt was! It was prized above Gold! In fact, in some ancient countries, Salt was used as Legal Tender, Money. Whatever was bought or sold was paid for in Salt. During the time of our Text, the Roman soldiers were paid in Salt. And from that practice, we get the expression, "You’re not worth your salt." Salt was also the basis of Barter. Salt was treated as Money. It was very, very Valuable.
So when Jesus turned and looked at them and said, "You are the salt of the earth," He was saying to them You Are Valuable, More Precious than Gold!
Salt was so important and valuable that there were Salt Routes all over the Orient. One could see caravans of camels, mules and donkeys carrying tons of salt hundreds of miles over rough and rugged terrain.
Salt was so sought after that during this time, some people were Connoisseurs of Salt. Just as there are food connoissseurs who love to eat rare and delicate dishes and wine connoissseurs who love to drink rare and expensive wine, Salt was a delicacy during this period of time.
So, when Jesus said to them, You and you only are the salt of the earth, it affirmed their worth and dignity as men of priceless value.
For here were 12 rough, uncultured, uneducated, poor peasant Palestinians who were overlooked by the establishment, who were overlooked by their own Jewish culture, who had been trashed by society because in their eyes they had no value; and against that backdrop, here is the Lord telling them, You are the Most Valuable Commodity on the earth! And if you and I had been sitting at the feet of the Master when He made that declaration, we would have been Shouting! And in my mind’s eye, I can see the fellows looking at one another after Jesus made that statement in mixture of amazement and awe. For knowing that in their situation they didn’t have very much of anything, hearing the Matchless Master saying, "You, out of all the people on Planet Earth, are the Salt of the earth."
Now I don’t want us to get in such a hurry that we miss the Master’s Message. For I recognize the fact that this passage is so often read and discussed that we might think we already know what it is saying with all of its ramifications and implications. But if we would hush our hearts and still our suspicions, perhaps the Holy Spirit just might teach us afresh and impart new insight into old wine skins.
For the Lord is saying to all of us who are Kingdom Citizens, "You are the Salt of Lubbock. You are the Salt of your Community. You are the Salt of your Family. Because You are the Most Valuable Commodity on this earth. You are prized more highly than Gold. And even though society has written you off as worthless, Jesus says, You are Very, Very Valuable!
No doubt, the world looks at You and I and concludes that we are worthless, that we don’t pass muster, that we’ll never amount to nothing, that we are not in their echelon, that we don’t measure up to their standards. Therefore, they look down on us and count us as dung. But thank God, there’s a Scripture that says, "For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God."(Lk 16:15). And the opposite of that is also true: What God highly esteems, the world looks on it as nothing. And if the world always undervalues us, they will always take us for granted. And that works to our advantage, because they will never take us seriously. And while they are not taking us seriously, we are making serious inroads into their domains, kingdoms and turfs.
Since verses 13-16, discloses how we are to Function in a world that hates us, I thought it would be helpful if we would look at One of the Functions of Salt as the Maintainer of Health. One of the primary functions of Salt is to Maintain Health, to keep something healthy.
Salt was the Key to the Health of those who lived in the Hot and Humid Climate of Palestine. Salt was the Key to their Health, Strength and Vigor. Salt was essential in Maintaining their body metabolism.
When its hot, humid and sticky, one loses a great deal of body fluids in perspiration. And in perspiring, the salt content is lost from the body. And where the climate is hot and humid, the body becomes subject to the strain of stress thru the loss of salt and body liquids thru perspiration. Our White brothers and sisters call it "Perspiration," we call it "Sweat."
When you sweat a lot because its hot and humid, you lose a Great Deal of Your Strength. Do you remember your ’field days’ and the heat you endured while chopping and pulling cotton? When its very hot and humid, the body becomes very Weak. And it affects your eyesight, the way you walk; it will affect the total being. And ultimately, Death may occur if the salt and water content is not replenished.
And this explains why coal miners who work down in the depths of mine shafts, and certain engineers who work in the awful heat of boiler rooms, and field hands who work in the hot, humid sun are given extra rations of salt. They simply must have that extra salt in their bodies if they are to Function.
And it was the same way among the common people of Jesus’ day. They did not have the benefit of modern buildings. Technology is advancing so rapidly now that they are designing and building buildings that do not require air conditioning: climate control buildings. But over in Palestine and here in West Texas, I don’t think that kind of building would work. It is imperative in Palestine and here that you have some type of shelter from the heat. They didn’t have the convenience of modern buildings nor air conditioning at the time of our Text. So they had to have Salt to Survive! It was essential to their health and well-being. Salt was the Key to their Strength and Vitality.
So Jesus says to the 12 and to us, You are that ingregient that gives Health and Strength and Vitality to the society in which you live. The World is Hot, Sinfullly Hot. People are burning up with the fever of sin. Thru acts of sin, they have sweated all the salt out their body. And they shall die if that salt is not replenished. And Jesus says, "You are that ingredient that will preserve their health! He is saying, you and I are to be that ingredient among men that will contribute to their health, vigor and well-being. You are the Salt of the earth!
We must always remember that whatever Salt is applied to, eventually it will Penetrate! Salt will not just lie on the surface inert, inactive; eventually that salt will penetrate whatever you apply it to. So, one of the characteristics of Salt is that, it is not only Pungent, Bites, Sharp, Tart and Stingy; but Salt also Penetrates! Jesus is telling us that, in order for us to contribute to the Health of society, we are going to have to Penetrate! Salt has that tremendous power to Penetrate. You can just put a pinch of salt in a jar of water, and that whole jar of water will become salty. Just a Pinch! You can put just a pinch of salt on your tongue, and in dissolving it will go thru your whole body. It Penetrates! And that’s one of our Functions. God has so structured us with the Saltness of Himself that just a little bit of us when applied to a life that is corrupting, ruining or spoiling, will Penetrate! And whoever we have touched, they will know that we have penetrated their life; because we make their life Salty.
On the Andy Griffin Show, the Darlings would occasionally come down from the hills to the little town of Mayberry to shop for supplies and pay Andy a neighborly visit. The only girl of the family, Charlene, had a big crush on Andy. And during one of their visits, Mr. Darling broke out his corn-squeezing jug, his silent-sons manned their guitars, Andy grabbed his guitar and Charlene song this song as she courted and sparked Andy:
"Honey let be your salty dog
Or I won’t be your dog at all,
Honey let be your salty dog."
And that’s what we are in relation to a corrupt world: We are their Salty Dog!
Because of the penetrating work of the Holy Spirit who has penetrated our life, we are made Salty. And Just a little bit of Him has permeated all of our being and we are salty. And the more we are filled with Him, the Saltier we are and the more powerful we are to penetrate! And the more I am filled with the Spirit, the Healthier my body is! And Jesus says, "You are the Salt of the earth."
In saying that, Jesus is reminding us that we must permeate and penetrate the sphere in which we live. For you recognize the fact that Salt is No Good In The Shaker! For salt to be effective, it must be shaken out of the shaker onto something. We, as believer, love to huddle up. When we go to church, all the salt is huddled up in the shaker. So sometimes, God has to Shake the Shaker to get the Salt Out!
For salt is no good in the shaker. But we just like to stay in the shaker on the table and look pretty. But our Function is to Penetrate and Permeate someone who is corrupting, stinking ,dying. But we have this tendency to avoid certain places, for we go out of our way trying to miss it. When Jesus says, ’No, no. That’s where I’m placing you.’ In order for salt to function it has to be applied to something different from itself.
Many times, Jesus sent this salt, the 12, into the mainstream of society to be health for them. For instance in Matthew 10:5-8, He shakes the salt out of the shaker. For verse 5 says "He sent the 12 out," He got them out of the shaker. Then he gave the salt its direction: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Then in verse 7, He gives them their function. Says Jesus, ’Salt, as you go, preach; apply the Word, let the Word penetrate, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Then in verse 8, Jesus says, ’Someone is not Healthy. So heal the sick.(One of the functions of salt is to maintain health). Cleanse the leper(someone is unhealthy), raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." In Matthew 10, Jesus was Injecting Salt into Society by sending out His disciples. He wants our character and conduct to penetrate every part of our little sphere. And we can only do that by injecting ourselves into unhealthy environments and unhealthy people who are sin-sick.
Salt is different from that to which it is applied. And the power of salt lies in its differentness. Though salt is different, pungent, bites, and is powerful to penetrate the world, for us to be effective we must be applied to that which is rotting, putrifying. In John 17: 15-16,18, our Lord is Injecting Salt into the unsaved world. And back in Matthew 5:13, He says, You are that salt of the earth.
Now the Lord is not commanding us to do something that He has not done. For the Father sent Him to be Salt into a world that was saltless. People were unhealthy all over Israel, even demon-possessed. And here He is, the Salt from heaven, coming down making contact with unhealthy people; speaking the word, healing the brokenhearted, freeing the captives, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead. Jesus was injecting salt into Israel. And says Jesus, "As the Father hath sent Me into the world, so sent I you." And He says to us, You are the Salt of the earth.
Now the issue that needs to be explored is this: How Can We Function as Salt in the context of Health in our own area? Knowing that when we function as salt, according to verses 10-12, those who are unhealthy do not want what you have to offer, will persecute you, talk about you for being salt. And you shall be ridiculed for trying to help the very people who need your service. It shall be difficult to act in someone’s behalf while they reject you. It shall be difficult, but that should not stop us for fulfilling our function. In spite of the rejection, persecution and ridicule, Jesus still demands that we function as the salt of the earth! So the question is: How can we function as salt in the context of Health in our own area?
One way is BY LOSING OURSELVES. Salt Loses Itself when it function: it Dissolves. When applied, you will find not any trace of the salt. When salt is effective, it loses its own Identity. It loses itself in the service of something else. For us then, to be effective salt, we are going to have to Lose Ourselves in Self-Giving for the Health and Maintainence of someone else. We are going to have to give All of ourself. For there is not one part of salt that does not dissolve; all of it loses itself. And that’s one of our problems. We have this tendency to not get close in giving our all for fear of rejection, being hurt and misunderstood. So we just give a little bit of ourselves. We just break off a little of our salt. But Jesus tells us to deny ourself. And that means giving all of self in whatever we are doing, particularly, if we expect to make a difference. And Jesus is talking about us Making a Difference in this world. And I can’t make a difference being half-hearted.
Jesus has given us the pattern. For whenever He healed or helped someone, He gave Himself. There were no praises that he wanted for Himself. His joy was to see other hurting human personalities released and restored back to health, and that God His Father would get the glory. But not very often do we give our all. Not even on our secular jobs do we give our all. We pace ourselves and hold back a little, because there is something we want to do when we get home and we don’t want to be tired. Very rarely do we give our all, and especially to the Cause of Christ. We hold back something in reserve. But Salt is Silent, Loses Itself, Doesn’t Retain Anything, Doesn’t Get Any Praise(for when was the last time you heard someone complimenting salt: O this sure is some good salt. We might say the food is seasoned well. But we have never said: this is some good salt). Yet we expect to be complimented and praised for functioning. But salt does what it is suppoed to do. It doesn’t care to be patted on the back. It just Loses Itself with no thought of Reward. Knowing that it will never be complimented with "O, you are some good salt."
But this craze for praise will dissipate when we consider this. The Quality of our Salt is manifested when we function. If our salt is salty or flavorful, then when applied it will bring health to the recipient; and they will see our good work and glorify our Father who is in heaven. And when the Father is glorifies, He sends some glory on the Salt. He makes our salt a little saltier. He gives us a greater quanity of salt so that we might do greater works and Lose Ourselves again. And the more we Lose Ourselves, the more we Find Ourselves. Says Jesus, "whosoever shall save his life, shall lose it; but whosever shall lose his life(as salt) for My sake shall find it again. Therefore, whenever I minister in the Name of Jesus and give my all; and people say I am a fool for doing that, because they don’t understand the principle of the kingdom, I always Gain. For sometimes, God adds to us by taking away from us. He says, Give Me All and I’ll give you more.
Since, therefore, it is not our Salt but God’s Salt, then you and I have no say-so on how much salt is to be used, how it is to be used, when it is to be used, or on whom it is to used. Since its God’s Salt in us that’s doing the healing, and since we are co-laborers with God, we are just His instruments on this earth to bring health to a sick society. It is a great blessing for God to use these earthen vessels to hold such an awsome treasure. He doesn’t have to use us are salt. But since it has pleased Him to put salt in us to be used for His glory, we need to recognize that fact that God is in us, and it is His Strength not ours.
If,then someone was strengthened from some words you spoke; if there was any anointing or power in those words, it came from God. It is God’s Health not mine. It is God’s Integrity not mine. It is God’s
Righteousness. It is His Love, Faithfulness, Justice, Mercy, Compassion that is doing the work! And all you and I are is simply vessels used by the Potter to reach whom He wills. That’s why Jesus keeps saying to us again and again, "I Am with you; I will be in you and for you; I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you’: emphasizing the fact that we are working with Him and He with us; for without Him, we can do nothing.
And the Salt loses its savour, the salt loses its flavor, the salt loses its saltness when the salt forgets the source of the salt! Says Jesus, "but if the salt loses its savor(its flavor, bite, sting). There is that possibility. However, He is not saying that the salt can lose its salvation; it is possible for the salt to lose its Effectiveness. Thus, it is possible for a believer to lose his/her Effectiveness. That’s why we need to be mindful of the people who come into our path, because they are brought in order that we might make contact and so that the salt of our life can be applied, penetrate, and permeate; because someone is hurting, unhealthy, putrifying and rotting. And God brings people in our path in order that we might function as their maintainence-person.
Says Jesus to New Zion and its Membership, "You are the Salt of the earth, not Covenant Hospital, St. Mary’s or UMC. You are, not the doctor of medicine. You are, not human resources or Welfare. You are the Only Salt in the world. You are the Health of society!
Our God is Strange. For He takes unhealthy people, sin-riddled people, demon-possessed people and causes the Salt of heaven, Christ Jesus, to drop into their hearts. And He dissolves Himself in them. And their nature is changed being born again having Salt in themselves, and thus, are made Salty-Dogs. And those once-unhealthy people who are now sound, saved and healthy because the Salt of His blood got into our system; He throws us into the life of some unhealthy person. And that cycles keeps repeating itself. Everyday, new grains of salt are emerging from the earth.
So make sure Your Salt does not lose its Effectiveness! Make sure Your Salt Remains Salty! Let’s present ourselves before the Salt-maker.
Because Unconfessed sin in the heart will make our salt ineffective. Let’s confess everything and experience that cleansing that comes from confession. For only the Blood of Jesus can cleanse our Salt. His Blood can take away the impurities that get in our salt thru carelessness.
Only His Red Blood can Cleanse Our White Salt and keep it faultless. Get the Dirt out of Your Salt. Get Your Salt out of the Shaker. And Make a Difference in someone’s life. Function as A MAINTAINER OF HEALTH IN YOUR SPHERE OF LIFE. FOR YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH!!!
