- 6 days ago
In our daily meditations, we continue to explore the Sermon on the Mount. Some have regarded it as Jesus’ most popular sermon. It is certainly quoted often, even by those who are not followers of Christ. These sayings echo down through history, yet at the time, the people listening would not have realized the impact these words would have on generations to come. Jesus was imparting a new way of thinking and living to His followers. Matthew provides what many scholars believe is a condensed version of Christ's teaching on how His disciples must live their lives and not grieve the Holy Spirit. Many Bible teachers think that Jesus spoke the eight Beatitudes (the "beautiful attitudes") and then expanded on them by giving examples of how the inner attitudes work in real-life situations. In other words, the rest of the Sermon on the Mount explains the Holy Spirit's operation at the core of the believer's life.
When Christ's disciples live according to the leading and guidance of the Spirit of God, they will encounter those who operate under a different spirit with attitudes opposed to God. In our last daily meditation, which focused mostly on the Beatitudes, Jesus spoke about the persecution that will come to believers when they embody these beautiful attitudes (Matthew 5:11-12). But how are we to respond to such persecution? Should we withdraw and hide from the world system, tend to our wounds, and never confront the darkness again? No, as believers in Christ, we are the conscience of the world in which we live. If Christ’s followers allow this world to impose its values on us, it will be shaped by an evil agenda; however, if godly men and women stand up for truth, others will also gain the courage to resist the darkness. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). When we live our lives according to these beautiful attitudes, we point the way to Jesus and hold out to others the Light of life. Regarding our response to persecution, Jesus gave us two metaphors as to how we respond to those who persecute us.
The Salt of the Earth
13“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. 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In 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 5:13-16).
Let’s first talk about salt. When Jesus walked the earth, salt was a valuable commodity. In the time of Caesar, Rome paid its soldiers in salt, and in ancient China, salt was second in value only to gold. Even today, we speak of people being “worth their weight in salt." Why was salt so valuable? We will examine three aspects that Jesus may have been alluding to in His metaphor of believers being like salt:
1) Salt spoke of purity. The Romans believed that salt was one of the purest substances on earth because it originates from the whitest and purest elements: the sea and the sun. They had a saying: “There is nothing more useful than sun and salt.” Jesus may have implied that a believer should exemplify purity to those around him, such as purity of speech and purity of life. Jesus taught that we would have to give an account for every word that comes from our lips (Matthew 12:36), so how are you managing to bring what issues from your mouth under the Holy Spirit’s control? This is one of the marks of a mature believer in Christ (James 3:2). Salt also served as a preservative and added flavor to food. To keep this meditation to a three-minute read, we’ll continue our thoughts about believers in Christ being the salt of the earth tomorrow.
This meditation is from a more complete study found at the following link: https://www.groupbiblestudy.com/engsermon/2.-salt-and-light
The YouTube video teaching is at the following link: https://youtu.be/8oOycx-QgAM