Sermon on the Mount: Salt & Light

Jesus started His Sermon on the Mount by giving eight Beatitudes or characteristics that should be present and obvious in the lives of Christ followers. These are:

• Poor in Spirit
• Mourning
• Meekness
• Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
• Merciful
• Pure in Heart
• Peacemakers
• Persecution for Righteousness’ Sake

There’s a ton to learn from and go over in those, and we have looked at them in more depth over the past couple of months, but that is not the end of His sermon, rather it’s just the intro. So, let’s look at what else Jesus has to say to us.

Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”

Jesus says that Christians, those who follow Him, whose lives are identified by the Beatitudes, are the “salt of the earth,” so what does salt do?

• Salt increases sweetness.
• Salt counteracts bitterness.
• Salt enhances food’s natural flavors and makes it more aromatic.
• Salt preserves food by restricting the growth of disease causing microbes.
• Salt is an essential nutrient for survival.
• Salt helps promote and maintain color in food.

If we are called to be salt we should be amplifying God’s beauty and majesty in the world. The Bible says to “...taste and see that the Lord is good!...” – Psalm 34:8, and as the salt of the earth we are to magnify and bring attention to that goodness. God created a world that is bright and colorful and beautiful and delightful and delicious, and it is all because of God’s fingerprints on the world, as the salt of the earth we can bring that out and help everyone see and taste the goodness that we have discovered.

In addition, salt preserves food and wards off rot and decay. As the salt of the earth, we are tasked with doing the same. We are used by God to help fight the rot and decay of sin in the world, to preserve the goodness and purity of God.

Matthew 5:14-16a
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others,...”

In addition to being called the salt of the earth, Jesus calls His followers the light of the world, which is quite the title, since that is what He calls Himself, but that brings up the question, what does light do?

• Light allows us to see the world and distinguish details.
• Light helps regulate our hormones, metabolism and blood circulation.
• Light reduces fatigue and improves work productivity and mood.
• In a symbolic sense, light is truth, it shows what is right and real.
• Light guides people along a correct path to safety (lighthouses, torches, lights in airplane aisles, exit signs, etc…).

As the light of the world, we have an amazing responsibility of revealing truth. So often, if you want to conceal and hide something you do it under the cover of darkness. Most crime is committed at night, and if you are lying to someone or keeping something from them it is said that you are “keeping them in the dark.” Darkness is the source of deception and concealment, and at the very least, confusion, because you can’t see detail or anything that’s happening. Light, however, reveals truth and intricacy and beauty. It illuminates the color and vibrancy of life, and, as mentioned before, we instinctively follow light to safety. Lighthouses are beacons that warn of danger and instruct ships on the path to safety.

We have that same objective in the world. Our lives, as lights, should illuminate the truth of God, of who He is and what He’s done. Like salt, our lives, as light, should show off the beauty and delicacy of who God is. Then, we should be beacons that warn of danger and draw people to safety.

It is interesting that Jesus doesn’t tell us to strive to be these things. He says that we are these things. By default, if you are following Christ and living the Beatitudes, you will be salt and light in the world, in your family, in your school, with your friends, at your job, in your neighborhood. Salt and light are unmistakable. 

However, we are not salt and light for our own glory. Sometimes, you don’t know that salt is in a recipe, sometimes you do, but often the salt has a job to perform, and it doesn’t need to be highlighted to perform the job. We don’t often spend a lot of time thinking about and focusing on the individual light fixtures in our home, or even the sun, for that matter, but the light that is produced is invaluable for life. The role that these things play, of preservation, of revelation, of amplification, are more important than the object itself. In the same way, our role, as Christians, what we do as salt and light is not for ourselves, but rather…

Matthew 5:16b
“...so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

We are salt and light to lead others to Christ and to see Him glorified.

This section also contains a warning, though. If salt loses its taste, as was likely to happen in Jesus’ time as the salt wasn’t “pure” and the sodium could leech out of the other minerals, it is no longer useful for its intended purpose. In fact, it could be detrimental. If a light is placed under a basket where no one can see it then it is useless, and if it is dim or in the wrong place it could be dangerous. As Christians, we need to be careful to ensure that we don’t lose our brightness and taste. Just as salt and light can lead people to Christ, diluted and dimmed salt and light can turn people away from Him. Many people have been turned off from Jesus because of how they see Christians living and acting. We have an incredible opportunity, but also an incredible obligation.

So, let the Beatitudes fill your life and then fill the world with salt and light “so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”