Many people don't realize it, but the so called sermon on the mount, or Luke's sermon on the plain, contains more than just the so called beatitudes. Jesus is not done sermonizing. We will continue to compare the sermons in Matthew and Luke.
*Matthew 5:13 calls the disciples (or the jews?) the "salt of the earth." But if salt loses its saltiness, it isn't good for anything and needs to be thrown out and trampled by men.
*Luke does not say this in his comparable sermon. However, he does say something very similar much later, in Luke 14:34-35. There, it is in the context of the cost of being disciple of Jesus. The author says, "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil, nor the manure pile; it is thrown out."
*Mark 9:50 also says something very similar in a very different context. After talking about it being better to remove body parts than to be cast into hell where the fire is not quenched, the author says, "Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other."
Can salt lose its saltiness? Well, yes and no. Answer in link. Does this metaphor make any sense in its various contexts? To me, it seems to make the most sense in the Matthew context. The other two instances seem very random and disconnected to the context. Also, salt has never been good for soil. Does Luke not know that? What does it mean to be salted with fire? I think Mark was mixing his metaphors. The only other mention of salt in the New Testament is Colossians 4:6 where Paul says, "Let your speech be gracious and seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." This actually makes sense, because salt is a flavor enhancer. Matthew's salty verse seems to be referring to that as well.
*Next in the sermon as recorded in Matthew 5:14-16 is a continuation of Matthew's theme of the disciples being an enhancement to the world. He tells them they are the "light of the world." They need to let their light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven. "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl, instead they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house."
*Luke 8:16 has a similar verse, but it is not in the comparable sermon. It comes after the parable of the sower and says, "No one lights a lamp and hides it under a jar, or puts its under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open." we can see that the reason for the lamp is very different in Luke's passage. The concept of divine hiddenness is given by Jesus earlier in the chapter, when he tells the disciples secrets of the kingdom are given to them, but he talks about the kingdom to everyone else in parables to keep them in the dark, so to speak. "Though seeing, they may not see; though hearing they may not understand." That doesn't seem quite sporting of Jesus.
More to come.
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