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He taught them many things in parables

The Salt of the Earth (Mt 5:13; Mk 9:49.50)

Published since 04. Sep. 2025
Bible passages:
Mt 5:13; Mk 9:49.50
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“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord weaves a series of short parables into His teachings. Immediately after the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, we encounter the first double parable of the New Testament: the parable of the “salt of the earth” and that of the “light of the world.” We will first examine these two parables individually, and then compare them one after the other to show what connects them and how they differ.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing, but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13).

In the first twelve verses of the chapter, the Lord Jesus shows the character of those who belong to the kingdom of heaven. We will see in detail what constitutes this kingdom later when we come to the parables of the kingdom of heaven in chapter 13. For the moment, it may be sufficient to note that by the “kingdom of heaven”, we are to understand neither heaven itself nor the assembly (or church) of God, but that realm on earth where the King, Jesus Christ, who was rejected by the Jews and is now in heaven, is acknowledged. If, then, the Beatitudes show the character traits appropriate to the kingdom of heaven, the Lord now describes the position of His disciples on earth during the time of His absence.

What Does “Salt” Mean?

First, He says, "You are the salt of the earth." The "you" in the original text is strongly emphasized: "You - you alone - are the salt of the earth." Allow me to repeat: the Lord is speaking of His disciples, those who profess Him as the rightful King of this kingdom. This confession can also be or become false, as the postscript suggests. However, the Lord initially assumes it is genuine, so He says, “You are…” This is always the perspective of Scripture when it comes to professing Christianity on earth. We should take this perspective to heart, make it our own, and not always immediately think of an unbeliever when we hear of a “confessor”.

Now, the Lord Jesus does not say that they should be the salt of the earth, but that they are. He is not speaking in the form of an admonition but is stating the truth. This kind of instruction always encourages faith. The undeniable fact that they are the salt of the earth does, however, reinforce the admonishing element in such statements. For example, Jesus says in John 10:27 that His sheep would follow Him. That is what characterizes His sheep: they follow the Good Shepherd. If they do not (fundamentally) do this, they do not belong to His sheep. But what an admonition lies in this statement when we consider how little we live up to this absolute truth in our daily lives! When we return to Matthew 5, we learn from the Lord's mouth what characterizes the position of His disciples here on earth: they are the salt of the earth.

Salt already played an important role in the Old Testament. Every sacrifice had to be salted with salt (Leviticus 2:13), not only the grain offering but also the sacrifices (Ezekiel 43:24), and even the holy incense (Exodus 30:35). The performance of the temple service was indeed unthinkable without salt (Ezra 6:9; 7:22). Furthermore, it served to confirm contracts and alliances, making them symbolically permanent and lasting (Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5). The prophet Elisha cured the bad water of Jericho by throwing salt into the source of the water (2 Kings 2:19-22). “Salt” represents the sustaining principle that counteracts corruption or putrefaction. It symbolizes God’s rights and righteous principles in His dealings with men. It was not by chance that God's judgment on Lot's wife took the form of her being turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26).

Salt prevents corruption, while leaven causes it. That is why leaven was never allowed in the sacrifices, while salt was an indispensable part of every sacrifice. This gives us the key to the symbolic meaning of "salt": It prevents corruption and gives permanence to what is good. While it cannot restore or heal what is already corrupted, it can preserve what remains intact.

So, how are the Lord's disciples "salting" the earth? How do they uphold the rights of God in a world that recognizes neither Him nor His claims? How do they counteract the moral corruption among people? Quite simply, by living in the fear of God and righteousness. The Holy Spirit preserves them from all that is unclean and produces holiness and devotion to God in their hearts. Thus, they have put on the "armor of light" (Romans 13:12), the “armor of righteousness for the right and left hand” (2 Corinthians 6:7). Certainly, when it is appropriate, they will also bear witness against evil by their words.

This does not mean, however, that they should expose and scourge people's sins at every opportunity or openly campaign against the injustice and immorality that increasingly dominate the world. Rather, a life lived in the fear of God will speak a silent but effective language, and then: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11). True Christians have nothing to do with the social, union, and political conflicts of the world. They are strangers here, without citizenship, and are not part of the world. If they do get involved in these disputes, however, they are like the man about whom Scripture says: “He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears” (Proverbs 26:17). Cruel “bite wounds” will be the result, as someone once aptly said.

Are we sufficiently aware, friends, that we have been left here to represent the principles of God's righteousness on earth? The people around us observe us more than we think. If they see practical holiness in us and that we are guided by divine principles in our lives, they will be impressed in some way without wanting to admit it to themselves. In any case, the spread of evil will be resisted to some extent and in some sense. It is the effect of the “salt” that extends to others.

We see a similar thought in 2 Thessalonians 2. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work, “only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). As long as the Holy Spirit is on the earth in the Church, the rampant development of lawlessness is held in check until its climax, the appearance of the Antichrist. However, with the Rapture of the Church, the situation will change radically in an instant. Then the Holy Spirit and with Him the Church will be "taken out of the way" – how telling this expression is! And then lawlessness and violence will seize the earth with frightening force and speed.

Why Salt of the “Earth”?

It is noteworthy that the Lord Jesus first speaks of His disciples as the salt of the earth and then as the light of the world. The change in expression from "earth" to "world" cannot be unintentional; it cannot be coincidental. Apparently, the Lord intended to express a different thought with "earth" than with "world." In such connections, "World" refers to all people, as seen in the well-known passage from John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” He loved neither the universe nor the system of the world, but the people in the world.

However, "earth" seems to imply an area in which a certain order prevails in both a moral and religious sense. This moral order is the result of God's actions and work. God has not left Himself without testimony in the realm described by "earth." He has revealed Himself there to a certain extent; He has given blessings and entrusted them to the responsibility of man. "Earth" thus denotes an area of divine prerogatives and, consequently, of human responsibility. We can also say that “earth” is the area of a religious confession to God.

It makes understanding this expression easier if we note that “earth” could just as well be translated as “land.” In fact, in Old Testament times, the land of Israel was this area of privilege and responsibility. It was in this area that the disciples were to begin their witness as “salt of the earth.”

Today, “earth” probably means Christendom. Here, God has revealed Himself far more comprehensively than in Israel, and as the blessings increase, so does the measure of responsibility. It is essential for the Lord's disciples in our time to recognize that this is the area where they are to work as "salt": the Christian world. It cannot be overlooked that Christendom has corrupted itself. It will continue to deviate further until Christ and divine truth are completely abandoned. This will then be the apostasy. It does not surprise us, then, when we see in the last book of the Bible how the judgment of God will fall precisely on this "earth" – on apostate Christendom. Revelation clearly distinguishes between the "great multitude" from every nation, tribe, people, and language (Revelation 7:9), that is, the Gentiles, and the “earth,” which will be subject to the righteous judgment of God. But today is still a time of grace, and the Lord will help us, as the “salt of the earth,” to counteract the moral and religious corruption around us – for the good and salvation of many people!

Salted with Fire and Salt

Before we address the question of salt becoming unsalted, we would like to examine the Gospel of Mark, as it contains words of the Lord that are missing in Matthew.

“For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another” (Mark 9:49-50).

Here, the Lord's disciples are not described as the salt of the earth. Rather, they should have the sanctifying principle within themselves and cultivate it, and in this way, be at peace with one another. When we judge ourselves before God, our willingness to bear and forgive the faults of others increases. So, if we have salt within us, it leads to peace with others. Have we considered this connection enough?

But what does the Lord Jesus mean when He says that everyone will be salted with fire and every sacrifice salted with salt? “Fire” symbolizes God's testing and retribution, and “everyone” refers to every human being. Every human being, therefore, because he is a sinner by nature, will have to come into some kind of contact with the fire of divine judgment. Suppose a person rejects the grace of God in Christ and discards the person and the work of Christ. In that case, he will finally find his place in the “lake of fire,” “which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 20:15; 21:8). God is a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). The believer, however, submits to the searching judgment of God, examining and judging himself. He grasps in faith that the fire of God's judgment has fallen on another in his place. And so he comes into contact with fire only indirectly, namely in the sacrifice of Christ. In fact, the Lord Jesus – in our place – was perfectly “salted with fire” when He suffered for us and our sins during the three hours of darkness on the cross.

In my opinion, the next sentence also primarily points to His perfect sacrifice: “And every sacrifice shall be seasoned with salt.” The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is of eternal constancy. It happened once and for all, and thereby, God has forever (or uninterruptedly) perfected those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:10, 14). Wonderful grace! This is further enhanced by the fact that believers, too, may now present their bodies as “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1). The results of a holy, God-dedicated life will, as we have seen, not remain without effect on our surroundings. We will find them again in heaven. They, too, will outlast this poor earth and everything visible to God's eternal glory.

Salt without flavor

The Lord Jesus concludes the short parable with a solemn warning: “But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing, but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13).

Can salt become bland, flavorless, or unsalted? Not by itself. Salt (sodium chloride) is a solid chemical compound that does not disintegrate in nature. That is why many interpreters have assumed that the Lord wants to point out an absurdity here. But that would contradict the main idea of a parable and also be unworthy of the Lord. Does He need to resort to absurd comparisons to explain His thoughts? That is hard to imagine.

The inhabitants of Palestine have always been accustomed to obtaining salt by evaporating the water of the Dead Sea. However, this salt contained not only pure table salt but also numerous impurities, including lime, magnesium, and plant residues. When moisture came into contact with this "salt", the table salt was washed out, leaving mainly the other ingredients. Such "salt" was completely unusable for food preparation; it was scattered on paths and flat house roofs to harden the soil. So people literally “trampled” the worthless “salt”. This is obviously the process the Lord is alluding to in the parable – a process with which His listeners were completely familiar.

Is the Lord Jesus saying believers will eventually be lost if they do not fulfill their destiny? No, that is not what this parable is about at all. It is about discipleship and an area of confession here on earth. With these words, the Lord prepares His disciples for the fact that there would come a time when there would be those among them who, although they would outwardly profess Christianity, would inwardly renounce it and deny its power. We are reminded of the description of the people in the “last days” in which we live: “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). Indeed, Christianity is characterized by great weakness and indifference to God's interests. It has lost its "saltiness" and has become a hollow thing for many people, regarded with more contempt than Jews or pagans. Christianity presents itself as so weak and miserable today that there is reason to fear that it will create more unbelievers than all the books of unbelieving mockers and critics.

The Lord Jesus also indicates something serious: the irreversibility of development. Once Christ and the truth of God have been abandoned, there is no way to stop the downward trend. Of course, God, in His grace, still works here and there, works in individuals, calls out, and saves. But the masses of professing Christians cannot and will not be restored. They will continue to grow in godlessness and will finally meet the judgment they deserve.

The Book of Revelation reveals the final phase of Christ-less Christianity through the image of Babylon, the "harlot". Even before the judgment of God strikes them, what the Lord Jesus predicted in this parable will come true: this system will meet with contempt and hostility from people. “And he said to me, ‘The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire”(Revelation 17:15-16).

Let us summarize the teaching of our parable once again. The words of the Lord in Mark and Matthew complement each other. If the disciples have salt in themselves, they are also the salt of the earth. However, if Christians give up their practical holiness and their devotion to God, that is, if they lose their character as "salt", then they are completely worthless to the world. They may be committed to fighting against the misery in this world; they may try in some other way to prove useful in the world, but if they have no salt in themselves, then they are good for nothing more than to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Whatever clever people may object to and say, this is the view of God.

May the Lord help us in these last solemn days to have salt in ourselves so that we may condemn everything in ourselves that might stand in the way of the clarity and purity of our testimony before the world! Our example, our lives, will do more than any words.

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