Be Salty

“Have salt in yourselves and be at peace.” These words of Jesus raise some interesting questions. There is at once a question of interpretation. The second principle of Bible interpretation (the first being to ask for the Spirit’s guidance) is to seek to understand the words as the original audience would have. I learned a great deal about salt in the ancient world when I looked into it. I have long known of its several uses: preserving, flavoring, healing. These are the properties I have often heard applied to this curious word of Jesus to His disciples. I always felt there must be more to it.

It surprised me to find that salt was valued almost as dearly as gold or silver in the ancient Near East. It was valued for the properties we all know, and it was rare enough to have what we would call monetary value because of that. I had always thought of the Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea, as a waste of space. Not so! It was more like a gold mine. The people of that region could extract salt from the sea water through evaporation or mine it from the salt flats surrounding the sea. They would then find a ready market to exchange their salt for money or goods they had need of.

There is another important use of salt that Jesus’ listeners would have been well aware of: it was a necessary ingredient in the sacrifices they offered at the altar of God. The priests were required to sprinkle salt on the grain offerings, and some commentators believe it was used on other sacrifices as well. Yahweh God never explained why the salt was important, but one can imagine that its natural properties could be applied in a supernatural sense. Commanding its use as a holy ordinance leant a quality of holiness to the salt itself.

There is one more meaning for salt that a first-century Jew would have known very well. Three times in the Old Testament the term covenant of salt is used. A covenant of salt symbolized a permanent, loyal, and unbreakable agreement. According to Jan Paron, “In terms of an agreement initiated by God, salt symbolized preservation of covenant with Him against corruption.” One of the occurrences of a covenant of salt is God’s promise to David to place an eternal king on David’s throne one day.

Jesus, the king promised to David, used salt in another passage that isn’t immediately clear to modern readers. In Mark 9, He mentioned that His hearers would be “salted by fire” in reference to a time of judgment. This statement comes immediately after Jesus’ hyperbole suggesting they cut off offending body parts that might keep them from entering the kingdom. Just as salt can preserve meat to keep it from spoiling, fire is used to refine gold and increase its purity. Paul used this metaphor when he told the Corinthians that their works would pass through fire to either prove them genuine or to burn them up as unworthy.

Being salted by fire may also refer to times of trial that are often part of the cost of discipleship. James and Peter both point to trials as an occasion for growth in believers. I was reminded recently of the observation that our spiritual growth is generally more intense during hard times than when everything is going well. It is easy to ignore the daily grace we enjoy with a full stomach and light heart. When the tough times come, as they certainly will, we are forced to rely on the strength of the One who is greater than we are.

Jesus appears to have coined the phrase “salt of the earth.” It has come to mean a stout-hearted person who is trustworthy and true. It is more meaningful to us as Christians. Combine the first century understanding of the priestly use of salt with the knowledge that we are a royal priesthood and you get an interesting take on Romans 12:1-2. Our living sacrifice is “salted” to present it as holy to God, and to make it effective at producing good works according to His will.

We should be sacrificially salting the earth with holy and righteous judgment, but we must do it in a loving way. The Mosaic law was one of strict commandments. When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus summed up the whole law in these words: “You shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Salt has been used for thousands of years for treating wounds. Though it will be painful, there is no more loving thing you can do than to treat your neighbor’s sin-wounds with salt.

I have one more salt-related thought before I finish. One of the first things triage medics do with injured patients is begin a saline drip – infuse them with salt. Here is the medical explanation: “Today, saline solution is used in medicine to cleanse wounds and help promote healing… This is because saltwater helps to clean and promote healing by a process called osmosis. Salt… forces the liquid in cells to move out of the body when it comes in contact with them. If there is bacteria in the liquids, it is forced out too, helping to cleanse the skin.”

I can’t imagine a better metaphor for what God’s Word does for a convicted sinner. Jesus directed His followers to, “Have salt in you and be at peace.” We can have peace knowing that we have done our Lord’s will if we are being the salt of the earth. We do our priestly duty by salting our sacrifice, and the “salt” aka God’s Word will do its work. Therefore, I recommend this to you: “Be salty, my brothers and sisters.”

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