Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 67:2 (Jun 2024)
Article: Salt And Light: A Canonical Reading Of Matthew 5:13–16 And Isaiah 42:6
Author: Colin J. Smothers

JETS 67:2 (June 2024) p. 239

Salt And Light: A Canonical Reading Of Matthew 5:13–16 And Isaiah 42:6

Colin J. Smothers*

* Colin J. Smothers is an adjunct professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: While many contemporary readings of Matthew 5:13–16 unintentionally relegate this passage and its symbolism of salt and light to the realm of Christian cliché, greater meaning can be found when interpreters recognize Isaiah 42:6 (cf. 49:6, 8) as the primary text behind Jesus’s teaching on salt and light in Matthew 5:13–16, which functions as a gateway to bring the larger context of Isaiah 40–66 to bear on the Sermon on the Mount via the literary phenomenon metalepsis. Specifically, when Jesus uses the symbol of salt, he intends to connote the idea of covenant; and when Jesus uses the symbol of light, he uses it after the prophet Isaiah. Ultimately, when Jesus declares his disciples to be salt and light, he alludes to Isaiah 42:6 in order to reveal both the identity and mission of his disciples. That is, his disciples are to be the new covenant people who shine brightly and herald the eschatological reconciliation of all mankind to Yahweh.

Key words: salt and light, salt of the earth, light of the world, new covenant people of God, Sermon on the Mount, metalepsis, Matthew 5, Isaiah 42

In Matthew 5:13–16, Jesus tells his disciples they are the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” This declaration holds a prominent place in the Sermon on the Mount, as it follows close on the heels of the Beatitudes and immediately precedes Jesus’s consequential teaching on his relationship with the law. Because of its prominence, this pericope should be retrieved from the realm of Christian cliché and reinstated to a position in Christian theology that reflects its noteworthy location in the Sermon.

Often when this passage is cited or explained, scholars invoke the physical properties of salt and light to describe how the disciples of Jesus are to be salty and illuminating in the world. I want to suggest this reading may be too shallow. Instead, I believe this passage holds greater meaning that is revealed through a canonical reading of the symbols of salt and light in the Old Testament.