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When the Lord began His mission of teaching, He went up on the mountain and His disciples surrounded Him. Jesus then began to instruct them and the people. At the point in the sermon on the Mount from which the text is taken, the Son of God calls those He is talking to, the salt of the earth and the light of the world. To these designations one attaches certain characteristics which one would then expect to see in the character and deeds of those who follow the Lord.

Salt, used for preserving food and giving it taste, was an integral part of every offering brought in the time of the old covenant. Leviticus 2:13 “And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt”. It served to ‘sanctify’ the offering of the Israelites and symbolized the eternal covenant with God. The light created by God makes all forms of life possible. In another sense, however, light is a condition in which God reveals Himself, for God Himself is light. 1 John 1:5 “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” To man this light is incomprehensible and inaccessible, 1 Timothy 6:16 “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”

And yet the Son of God calls sinful man: salt of the earth and light of the world. To this is attached a high and holy task. Being connected to the living altar, Christ, ensures that every living child of God possesses the inner strength to live as a true Christian. If we keep the word of God as found in Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

When the life of a child of God is shaped and moulded by the gospel of Jesus Christ, then His example shines as light which brightens the darkness of this world with goodness and friendliness.

When disciples of Christ lose the connection with the word of God, then it is as salt that has lost its savour; it is useless. Being too far removed from the altar of the Lord (which can happen even regularly attending the divine services!) causes on to gradually slip back into a condition of darkness. At the close of the Sermon on the Mount the audience had experienced something great: they had heard someone who had taught them with authority. To date the word of the Lord has lost none of its spice or illuminating power; let us continue to make the most of it. Then the whole world – a metaphor for mankind – will see our good works and praise our Father which is in heaven.