Matthew 5:13

Matthew 5:13-16 have been called the epilogue to the Beatitudes and have been compared to the prologue to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-6). [Note: Edersheim, 1:529.]

By placing "you" (Gr. hymeis) in the emphatic position in the Greek text, Jesus was stressing the unique calling of His disciples (cf. Matthew 5:14). Salt was important in the ancient Near East because it flavored food, retarded decay in food, and in small doses fertilized land. [Note: Eugene P. Deatrick, "Salt, Soil, Savor," Biblical Archaeologist 25 (1962):44-45.] Jesus implied by this metaphor that His disciples could positively affect the world (Gr. kosmos, the inhabited earth, i.e., humankind). They had the opportunity through their lives and witness to bring blessing to others and to retard the natural decay that sin produces in life. As salt thrown out on the earth, they could also produce fruit to God. Some critics have wondered how salt could lose its saltiness since sodium chloride is a stable compound that does not break down.

"But most salt in the ancient world derived from salt marshes or the like, rather than by evaporation of salt water, and therefore contained many impurities. The actual salt, being more soluble than the impurities, could be leached out, leaving a residue so dilute it was of little worth." [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 138.]

The most obvious characteristic of salt is that it is different from the medium into which its user places it. Jesus’ disciples likewise are to be different from the world. As salt is an antiseptic, so the disciples are to be a moral disinfectant in a sin-infested world. This requires virtue, however, that comes only through divine grace and self-discipline. [Note: Tasker, p. 63.]

In modern Israel weak salt still often ends up scattered on the soil that tops flat-roofed houses, which the residents sometimes use as patios. There it hardens the soil and so prevents leaks. [Note: Deatrick, p. 47.] God will use disciples either as vessels unto honor or as vessels unto dishonor (cf. Romans 9:21; 2 Timothy 2:20).