Salt

In the previous study, I said that the chapter had concluded on a certain note, but there was actually one statement left. It is the statement about salt that we are all so familiar with. Those of us whose lives have in some way been touched by church or sermons or the odd Bible verse have at some point been made aware that “salt is good.” Verses 49 and 50 of Mark 9 cover this statement, of which I would ask additional attention from the reader.

Let me first offer the statement in its entirety. Mark 9:49-50, “For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.”

It must be first seen that a comparison is at play in this statement. The comparison is between salt and fire. It must be seen that the comment is based in a specific understanding of Jewish ceremonial practice. A temple sacrifice, as it was offered to God, was salted with salt. That is, the parts that were kept had salt placed on them. We know salt as both a seasoning and a preservative.

When we look at salt as a preservative, we note in the temple sacrifices that the sacrifice was a 'meal for God' that was shared with his servants the priests. The meat could not possibly be consumed all at once; there were simply too many sacrifices. Therefore, the meat had to last without spoilage. A good thing must be preserved and not allowed to be lost. In this regard, salt may be seen as symbolic of redemption.

When we view salt in the sense of seasoning, we understand that salt makes the sacrifice not only palatable but acceptable in the ceremonial sense of faithful compliance to the laws of God. If all obligations have been met, if all parameters are in place, if a man has assured his conscience before God that things are right, the sacrifice is acceptable. Those of us who live lives of sacrifice rather than license already have an intimate awareness of salt.

The comparison might read like this, 'Just as sacrifices are salted with salt, so every life must be salted with fire.' It behooves us to possess a higher understanding of what Christ meant when he said “fire.” We don't have far to go to get the facts. We need only resort to the old testament to find the fire we seek. The symbolic use of the word fire is prevalent in the old testament.

Exodus 3:2 gives us the very first symbolic use of the word fire, “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush: and he looked and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” In short, 'fire' equals 'God.'

In this sense, symbolic fire is quite real in the lives of men. The second old testament instance of this symbolic, though very real, fire is found in Exodus 13:21, “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light . . .” Fire equals God.

A third instance is found in Exodus 24:17, “And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.” The presence of God in the lives of men was seen with actual eyes, the glory of the real God was witnessed with real eyes. God equals devouring fire. The people so associated God with fire that since God rested on the Sabbath, fire was not now allowed to burn in any home during the Sabbath. Exodus 35:3.

So many are the associations of fire to God that even the Christian faith fully accepted it as found in Hebrews 12:29, “For our God is a consuming fire.”

So, if everyone is to be salted with fire, and that fire is God, two facts present themselves. Fact one is that no life goes unsalted by God. All lives are included in the concept of 'every one' – those who believe in God, those who do not, those who believe in another god: whether it be Allah, Buddha or whatever. People who believe in a higher force, or nature, or in themselves: no one is exempt from the salting of fire.

Fact two is that this single additive, like salt, is what makes a life acceptable and palatable to God. I ask then, are you salted with fire? And, is there a fire that has lost its fire? In other words, are you salted with a salt that just doesn't cut it? If we are looking at a salt that has lost its saltness, then, by comparison, we are looking at a fire that has gone out. We are looking at a life that was salted with God – and then lost God: the only thing that ever made it acceptable. Certainly, Allah makes no life acceptable, Buddha makes no life acceptable. The same can be said for every god that is not really God. The same can be said for nature, science, non-belief or belief in the will of man – these just do not cut it.

One must understand the importance of salt to get the reference that Jesus makes in these verses. Salt was so important that people made salt covenants. The word salary has its origin in people being paid in salt. It is also important to see the fact that every relationship between God and man has always been a covenant. That is, God's love is his agreement, his word.

Every agreement between God and man has been a peace treaty in which both sides proclaim what they will give and what they expect in return. I say peace treaty because mankind has fought God from the beginning. Now, we might jump out in the ocean to save a drowning man, but the time comes when we tire of him fighting our attempts to save him – the time comes when we simply have to wrap an arm around his throat and forcefully drag him in.

When Jesus told his disciples to have salt in themselves, he meant the fire of God. Have God in yourselves. Have in yourselves the one thing that makes you acceptable. That, as I maintain, is the mind of God, which Christ exemplified. Nor can we wrangle among ourselves over any detail of faith, but we must place between us a salt covenant. We must come to an accord that plainly states what we are willing to give and we will reasonably accept in return.