Salt is Significant

[Jesus said] "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."
(Matthew 5:13).

"Those folks are the salt of the earth." Perhaps you have heard this. What does it mean?

The common expression, "salt of the earth," is derived from Jesus Christ's most famous teaching of all, the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5-7).

After listing the "Beatitudes" ("Blessed are the meek . . . "), Jesus told His people that they were the salt and light of the world. He used "salt" and "light" metaphorically, to illustrate how the people of God were to stand out from the rest of the world and impact others in a positive way.

The salt metaphor was multi-layered. In other words, several meanings may be derived from Jesus' use of this term. To understand this, we must examine the various uses of salt in biblical times.

Salt's Ceremonial Uses

Salt played a major role in Old Testament sacrifices and offerings. In fact, God turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt, when she turned to look back at the destruction of Sodom. (You can read this entire account in Genesis 19.) For this reason, Jesus' use of this metaphor was extremely familiar to His followers.

In biblical times, salt was used for several practical purposes:

Salt as Seasoning

As today, salt served an important gustatory purpose. People would shake salt into their foods to bring out the inherent flavors. By comparing His followers to salt, Jesus indicated that they were to add seasoning, to society. The people of God were to spice things up, to improve the flavor of life. By teaching God's truth and ministering to others, salty folks can make life better for all.

Salt as Preservative

"You are the salt of the earth," Jesus said (Matthew 5:13).

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