Read and listen to the passage of Scripture below, and then explore the related resources. As you reflect, consider this question: Why does Jesus call his followers salt?
The first hearers of these words were mostly low-status, powerless Israelites on the fringes of mainstream society.
Matthew 5:3-16
Kingdom Identity
What would it have felt like to be in the crowd and hear these words?
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“In the ancient world, salt had an important function to preserve food and make it last a really long time. This is why, in the Hebrew Bible, salt is associated with God’s long-lasting covenant promises to Israel.”
Chapter from Sermon on the Mount E8
The Meaning of Salt in the Bible
“The place where both salt and light can be used in the same sense is with the idea of a covenant. You use salt to make a covenant, to emphasize the permanence of a covenant in the ancient world. And light is maybe even more clearly something that's used all throughout the Old Testament, especially in the book of Isaiah, to refer to God's covenantal light and revelation going forth in the world.”
By calling his followers the “salt of the land,” Jesus is declaring that they now embody ancient Israel’s covenant with God, which was often symbolized by salt. They are the people who will embody God’s long-lasting covenant promises, leading to a world of justice and right relationships.