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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 5:13 - 5:13
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_5:13
13"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men."
Mat_5:13 "You are the salt of the earth" Because of the extreme value of salt in the ancient world (1) for healing and cleansing; (2) for preserving food; (3) for flavoring food; and (4) for sustaining moisture in humans in very dry climates, salt was a prized possession. It was often used to pay soldiers'wages. Christians are called the "salt of the earth" because of their penetrating and preserving power in a lost world. "You" is plural and emphatic like Mat_5:14. Believers are salt (cf. Mar_9:50). It is not an option. The only choice is what kind of salt will they be. Salt can become adulterated and useless (cf. Luk_14:34-35). Lost people are watching.
▣ "if salt has become tasteless" This is a third class conditional sentence which meant potential action. Literally salt cannot lose its strength but when mixed with impurities the salt can leach away and, thereby, the salt content is diluted. Christians can lose and/or damage their testimonies!
The term "tasteless" was normally used in the sense of "foolish" (cf. Rom_1:27; 1Co_1:20).
▣ "It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men" Salt that was unusable as a preservative or flavor enhancer was absolutely useless. It was thrown on the footpaths or roof tops to form a hard top seal. Salt taken from the Dead Sea had many impurities. The people in this part of the world were accustomed to unusable salt.