Let’s Be Salty!
Put yourself in the scene for a moment. You are sitting in a crowd staring longingly at Jesus. He has just said His followers should be glad when they are persecuted because they will receive a reward in heaven. Then he says, “…if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?”
This is a part of the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“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.
“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, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:11-16)
Keep in mind being involved in a rebellion against Roman rule is no small thing. Many rebellions against the Romans have been squelched as the leader and followers are murdered.
In those moments, could we possibly have a sense of the magnitude of what Jesus knows will happen? No. We can’t see through the ages to understand Jesus’s teaching of the Gospel, the “good news,” is His sacrificial death for the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of the relationship between God and man. This wonderful message will spread throughout the whole world.
The saltiness Jesus is referring to will reach every nation and develop a thirst for knowing God through His Messiah.
Jesus always purposefully crafts his words. His reference to salt is clear to his listeners. There are three basic purposes of salt at that time: thirst, preservation, and seasoning. Jesus teaches his followers to first, create spiritual thirst in others. Secondly, preserve godliness in culture. And thirdly, season their actions with godliness so their fruitful lives seem attractive—“tasty”—to others.
Knowing God is in charge of the result of our representation will comfort and strengthen us. Even when we represent Him well, we can’t force anyone to become spiritually thirsty, or culture be preserved, or our godly actions be attractive to others.
God must work, even using us when we are persecuted.