Question and Answer
What is Jesus communicating when He says, “But if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?”
Understanding the cultural and historical context of Jesus’ words will clarify what He means. In ancient Israel, salt came mainly from the Dead Sea, or more accurately, the Sea of Salt. The Salt Sea is so rich in salt and other minerals that you can literally float in it. I have been to the Salt Sea in Israel several times. Today, salt refineries are located in the region of the Salt Sea, but in Jesus’ time salt refineries were nonexistent. In the first century, salt taken from the Salt Sea was mixed with other chemicals. Over time, the salt left or drained away from the mixture, and all that remained were minerals without salt. The leftover minerals were consequently useless, fit only to be discarded.
Salt without saltiness is useless. Jesus is saying that, when we do not function as salt in our personal and corporate lives, we are not useful; we are not serving the function for which He left us on Earth.
BY Dr. Winfred O. Neely
Dr. Winfred Neely is Vice President and Dean of Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School. An ordained minister, Winfred has served churches across the city of Chicago, the near west suburbs, and Senegal, West Africa. He is the author of How to Overcome Worry (Moody Publishers) and a contributor to the Moody Bible Commentary and Moody Handbook of Preaching. Winfred and his wife Stephne have been married for forty years and have four adult children and nine grandchildren.