Salt & Light

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Metaphors of salt/light and the city on a hill press us to consider the ways we are different from the kingdom of the world, helping us see the danger of neglecting our calling in the kingdom of God. Nolland says, “The various explanations offered for how ancient (impure) salt may have lost its saltiness are probably beside the point. The point is that it would be bizarre and unnatural for salt to lose its saltiness: if other foodstuffs are or become insipid, they can be salted into palatability, but this won’t work for the salt itself! The corresponding image of unnaturalness for light is to hide the light of a lamp. … In the biblical tradition Jerusalem is a city with a wider significance, a significance which was expected to be eschatologically enhanced (Is. 2:2–4; Mi. 4:1–3). But it is almost certainly a mistake to find a specific link to Jerusalem here. The interest is in the ridiculous image of trying to hide a city which is built for prominence, not in any particular city as such” (John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: W. B. Eerdmans, 2005], 213–14, Logos). Show more