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Background
Luke’s letter and the discourse so far...
The previous discussions:
The great banquet
The tower and the army
Salt in the ancient world
The uses of salt— Flavoring, Medicine, Moisture, Preservatives, Animal feed, Religious, Contracts, Currency
Procuring salt
Flavoring
Medicine
Salt in Israel… Especially the dead sea
Salt leeching
Moisture
Jesus used salt in teaching on several occasions
Preservatives
Animal feed
14:34
Religious
“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?
34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This phrase is a popular one in Jesus’ teachings and has resulted in some suggestion that he is quoting a popular proverb… Also, there has been loads of speculation as to why he would say this. How on earth can salt lose it’s saltiness. It isn’t possible for today’s salt, which is pure.
Contracts
Ancient rabbis mocked Jesus’ use of the metaphor.
Currency
How salt could lost it’s saltiness...
Unsavory and fool are the same word in hebrew…
What does the phrase mean in this context…
It is primarily concerned with the taste of salt. How it adds to the enjoyment of bland food.
The guests invited to the great banquet said no… they did so because they were more concerned about the world and what was in front of them than they were about the matters of the kingdom of heaven. This would be one instance of losing saltiness. They lost their flavor and humiliate the banquet holder. They are useless to him. Such is the case with anyone who is invited into the kingdom, but abandons the calling because cares of the world are too great.
Giving up on following Christ, specifically the rigors of discipleship is a huge deal. It is a situation where they cannot be restored of their own effort. Only Christ can make them right.
There are several variations of this teaching that are worth noting:
The sermon on the mount in — “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”
For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Abandoning the job we have undertaken is the big issue here.
14:35
It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
It is more than useless, it is a liability. It can’t be spread on soil, lest it make it impossible for the land to be cultivated in the future. It’s no good for the manure pile because it would ruin the fertilizer. The Matthew variant would apply to using it for traction on wet pathways. The manure reference could’ve been pointing to the use of manure as a fuel. Salt would sometimes be mixed to adjust it’s burning properties.
It might be compared to … hot nor cold… unpleasant to the taste...
Believers are salt. It is not an option. The only choice is what kind of salt will they be. Salt can become adulterated and useless. Lost people are watching.
Let him who has ears… a statement that points to the Holy Spirit at work in the listeners.
One commentary drew a parallel to
The author of Hebrews is exhorting the reader in this passage… encouraging them to persevere and not to abandon the faith...
Believers are salt. It is not an option. The only choice is what kind of salt will they be. Salt can become adulterated and useless. Lost people are watching.
Some is lost in the translation because there is a tense change.
4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
The emphasized section is in the present tense. The important thing here is that as long as we are crucifying Christ again and abusing the w
7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
Here we see an interesting parallel to the salt idea. It has become useless and must be destroyed.
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.