Being Salt: Mark 9:38-50

One of the interesting metaphors I find in Jesus’ teaching has to do with salt. In several places in the gospels, Jesus uses salt to describe a truth He wanted His followers to understand. In one of the most concentrated uses of the word salt, Mark describes one of Jesus’ ideas using this word six times in two verses.

Following Jesus’ warnings about stumbling in one’s faith, Mark gives us one of Jesus’ big ideas. He tells us Jesus concludes by saying, “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (v. 49-50)

In these two verses, the word salt is used as a noun, a verb, and as an adjective. This set of two verses also includes three somewhat unique ideas.

• “Everyone will be salted with fire.” (v. 49)

  This phrase makes me think that fire will be sprinkled on (or added to) everyone, because that is how salt is used today. However, before refrigeration, some things (such as meat) were dipped in and covered with salt as a way to keep it from spoiling. In many ways, this statement may mean that we will all experience God’s fire at some point in our lives. It may purify us in the present, or it may consume us at the judgment.

• “Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again?” (v. 50a)

  The second phrase describes how salt is inherently useful because of what it is and because of what it does. Salt’s value comes from being salty. If salt ever lost its saltiness, it will have also lost its value. This phrase concludes with the question, how can unsalty salt be made salty again? This is a question I don’t know the answer to, but one that deserves our attention if we are represented by salt in these phrases.

• “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (v. 50b)

  This third phrase is interesting, and I think it describes how salt reacts to other things. Salt is found as an ingredient in almost everything, and salt can be added to most everything. However, salt must be added in the right quantities for it to not to ruin what it was added to. If we have salt inside of ourselves, this phrase may mean that we should interact with others, but also be discerning with how vocal we are with our faith. Too much salt will cause problems, and if salt is a symbol for our faith, than we should carry our faith inside of ourselves rather than letting it be dependent on others.

Overall, salt is an important metaphor when describing our spiritual lives, and it is one that has many different applications.