Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Matthew · About this commentary
Salt and Light
Matthew 5:13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men. · WEB
Two images of a community that cannot be hidden and is useless if it blends in — and one purpose for the visibility.
"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted?" Matthew 5:13.
Both statements are indicative before they are imperative. He does not say become salt; he says you are — the beatitudes have just described these people, and now their effect is named. Salt in that world preserved meat and seasoned food, and in either use it works by being different from what it is put into. A salt that has become indistinguishable from its surroundings has not failed at being noticeable; it has failed at being salt.
The pure mineral cannot in fact lose its savour, which is part of the force of the image: the failure described is an absurdity, and the community that manages it is good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.
"You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can't be hidden" Matthew 5:14.
The second image says the opposite kind of thing. Salt warns against blending in; light says concealment is not really available. A town on a ridge with its lamps lit is visible for miles whether or not it intends to be, and a lamp put under a basket is not modest but pointless.
The title is worth noticing. Later in this Gospel's companion volume Jesus says I am the light of the world John 8:12, and here the same phrase is handed to the disciples. Derived light and original light are not in competition; a community shines because something has been lit in it.
"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven" Matthew 5:16.
The purpose clause settles what would otherwise be a contradiction with the next chapter, which forbids doing good deeds to be seen Matthew 6:1. The difference is where the attention lands. Works done so that people look at you are the thing chapter six condemns; works done so that people look past you to your Father are the thing chapter five commands. Same visibility, opposite direction.
settled What this mark means