Summer Scripture Verse Mapping Episode 2 - Salt That Still Has Savor | Matthew 5:13

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Show Notes:

Summary

In this summer Scripture Verse Mapping episode, we slow down with Matthew 5:13:

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?”

This verse comes right after the Beatitudes, so it does not stand alone. Jesus has just been describing the kind of people His disciples are becoming on the inside, and now He begins showing what that should look like in the world.

Salt may seem simple, but in Jesus’ day it had value and purpose. It preserved, it flavored, and it changed what it touched. So when Jesus calls His disciples “the salt of the earth,” He is speaking identity and purpose.

Salt does not have to be loud to be useful. It does not announce itself. It simply does what it was created to do.

In the same way, discipleship does not always have to look big, public, or impressive to matter. Sometimes being salt looks like bringing peace into a tense conversation, telling the truth gently, staying kind when you want to snap, encouraging someone who feels forgotten, or living your faith without making a big production out of it.

But Jesus also gives a warning: salt can lose its savor.

That warning invites us to ask where our faith may have become diluted by fear, bitterness, distraction, pride, people-pleasing, exhaustion, or the desire to fit in.

This is not about shame. It is about paying attention.

Because this verse is not only about being present. It is about being purposeful.

Key Topics

• Why Matthew 5:13 comes right after the Beatitudes

• What salt meant in the ancient world

• Why “Ye are” matters

• What it means for salt to lose its savor

• How faith can become diluted

• Why discipleship does not have to be loud to be powerful

• How to be salt right where you already are ...

Takeaways

• Matthew 5:13 is not just a cute “salt of the earth” phrase — it is about identity and purpose.

• Salt works quietly, but it still changes what it touches.

• Losing savor is a warning about becoming diluted, distracted, or disconnected from Christ.

• You do not have to be impressive to be effective; you just have to stay true to what Christ called you to be.

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Transcript:

Stephanie (00:00)

Don't let your faith become so diluted that it no longer touches the world around you, right? Don't let disappointment steal your savor. Don't let fear steal your witness. Don't let bitterness steal your tenderness. Don't let exhaustion steal your light. Don't

Let the desire to fit in make you forget who Jesus already said you are. Okay?

Stephanie (00:38)

Hi Friend, welcome back to Glory and Grit, where faith meets real life. I'm your host, Stephanie, and I'm really happy you're here with me today. Now, before we get started, just a little reminder: this is one of our summer scripture verse mapping episodes,

So it's going to be a little different, a lot different from our regular Glory and Grit episodes. we're not doing a full guest conversation or a regular season topic today. We're taking one verse, we're slowing it down, and looking at the meaning, the context, the timing, and how it applies to us in real life today. Okay? Now, season two will start the first Sunday.

In August, but during July we're spending a few weeks just walking through scriptures together. So are you ready? Alright, let's dive in.

Stephanie (01:43)

the scripture that we're talking about today is going to be Matthew 5:13. And this is where Jesus says, Ye are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth.

Good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of men. All right, so let's break that down. Now

This verse is part of the Sermon on the Mount. And this is where Jesus is just taught the Beatitudes. And we're not going to go over the Beatitudes. If you can't remember, then you're welcome to go back and read Matthew 5 3 through 12. What we want is

Stephanie (02:41)

Matthew 5.13 doesn't just come out of nowhere. It comes right after the Beatitudes. So Jesus has just been talking about the kind of people his disciples are becoming on the inside.

And then he moves into what that should look like in the world.

So this isn't just a random cute little salt comment that you put on your tea towel and hang in your kitchen, right? He's moving from identity to purpose.

Stephanie (03:25)

Now, Jesus is at the Sea of Galilee, and

During this day and age, that's a major fishing hub area. And salt, of course, was one of the most important resources for local fishermen. It helped them preserve their catch and also helped them to be able to transport and trade with other people. Now, by the time we get to first 13.

When he says, ye are the salt of the earth. He's not just saying some cute little phrase that you put on your tea towel and hang up in your kitchen, okay? He is actually referring to identity and purpose.

And we're gonna talk about it. Okay. So he starts off immediately with ye are. Notice he doesn't say, well, you know, one day you might become the salt of the earth. Or he doesn't say, try really hard and maybe you'll qualify. Or once you get yourself together, then you can be useful.

He doesn't say any of that. He starts off with ye are. And that matters again because he's beginning to talk about identity. Okay. Now, I'm telling you, after these two weeks, from now on, I'm gonna be paying closer attention to anything in the scripture that starts with ye are. Because I know I need to know that. All right, so with the Beatitudes.

He gave them who they are. And in the next verse, he tells them what they're supposed to do, right? So we're going to talk about it. And I think sometimes that kind of gets skipped over because we'll hear a scripture and then we'll immediately start thinking in terms of, ooh, I better write that down and go through my little checklist of things. You know, what do I need to do? How do I need to improve? Where am I failing?

Okay, and yes, a disciples, discipleship rather, does call for us to grow, but really this verse begins with identity. My identity, your identity.

So Jesus is telling his disciples that you're meant to carry something into the world. You're meant to be affective at whatever you touch, and you're meant to make a difference in this world. So what does salt mean? At least what did salt mean back then?

it back then it was raw salt from the water. It hadn't been filtered out or anything. So we're not talking about that blue box with the little girl carrying the umbrella and the salt box backwards while she's wasting all of the salt on the way home. Her mom's gonna be so mad. But

This is a unrefined salt with the impurities from the water. So it's not been filtered out and nothing's been added to to help it like iodide. It's pure raw salt. Now

Why was salt so important back then? Some of the uses for salt was one preserves, because of course they didn't have refrigerators or a cooler or dry back then. So to prevent decay or to preserve the freshness in food, they would use salt. There were religious rituals where they used salt when they were making covenants and sacrifices in the scriptures.

It was a of course we even we know this, it's a enhancer for the flavor of our foods. it was also said to to soothe or at least back then it was to soothe. I don't think I know anybody who puts salt on anything to soothe today, but it's just that I don't know it could be, but I don't know.

Valuable minerals and sources of nutrients. So salt was known as an agent of preserving and an agent of flavoring. So it changed everything it touched. Another thing about salt is it loses its flavor. Once it does that, it's not good for anything. And it can't be resalted.

So when Jesus says, ye are the salt of the earth, he's saying that his people are supposed to have a preserving influence in the world. Right?

So, and it's not like he wants you to be all puffed up and spouting, look at me. I'm righteous. I'm more righteous than you. So you should listen to me. Kind of influence. Not that kind of influence. We're talking about a more faithful influence. And if you ever notice, salt is not this very it's not loud. Like there's some flavors you eat and it's like, whoa.

Salt's not loud. It, you know, it doesn't stand up at the pot lugg at an house, hey beautiful people, I'm here to season the casserole, you know? So we don't have to be loud and out there, you know. When you when you eat a dish, you can definitely notice when it has salt in it, but you immediately notice

when the salt's missing, right? So salt doesn't have to announce itself to make a difference. It just has to be who it is, right? Remember that. And that part hits me because sometimes I think we believe influence has to be a big matter. Like, you know, 1.2 million likes on TikTok.

To feel like it's influential, right? But

We think if we're not preaching, if we're not posting, if we're not teaching, leading, or doing something that everybody can see, then maybe we aren't doing enough.

But salt works quietly. And again, it literally just is what it is and it does what it was created to do, right? And that's how faithful discipleship can be sometimes. quiet.

Steady preserving, strengthening, bringing in the flavor and the goodness into places that might otherwise feel empty or bitter or bland, right? Now, I love this quote from Annette Reader's website.

We are to be that flavoring agent to spread the gospel as Jesus' disciples did so that the flavorings of God's grace and love can be experienced. I love that.

Now what does that look like? Well, it looks like bringing peace into a tense conversation, telling the truth gently, staying kind when you want to snap somebody up, you know, encouraging someone who feels forgotten.

Living your faith without making a big production out of it. Those are some examples, right? There are many ways.

Now the next thing that Christ says, He's now given us a warning, right? He says, But if the salt have lost its savor, where with shall it be salted?

We're with this a lot to say. savor. What does that mean? Savor means the flavor, it's strength, it's saltiness, okay, it's usefulness. So you're savoring it.

So Jesus' analogy of the salt is to show us the importance of believers being a savor of the earth. Okay? So if the salt loses its savor, then it becomes what? Useless. Okay. Insipid,

it loses its characteristic of preserving virtue. And this is where we have to slow down a little.

Because pure salt doesn't really stop being salt. Now, in Jesus' day, salt could be mixed with other minerals and impurities. It could become contaminated. It could also be so diluted that it no longer served its original purpose.

Now it might still look like salt because it would be this powdery residuey type of stuff. So it might still look like salt, but it no longer worked like salt.

we were just discussing how it might still look like salt, but it's no longer working like salt when it loses its savor. So

That is where this first starts to ask us some questions. Like, am I still carrying the influence of Christ? Or have I become so mixed with fear, bitterness, distractions, pride, people pleasing, exhaustion that my faith has lost some of its savor?

Another question. Am I distinct in the way Jesus called me to be? or have I blended in so much that my discipleship is hard to recognize?

And I don't mean that in a shame-filled way. I don't think that Jesus is inviting us to panic here. I think he's inviting us to pay attention. Okay. Now, just know that because salt has lost its savor, it hasn't disappeared, right? Not exactly.

However, it's no longer a useful thing like it once had been, right? it can no longer do what it's meant to do. and that's the part that feels important.

This is not only about being present. It's about being purposeful. This is not only about being present. It's about being purposeful.

Okay, because we can go in a room and still not bring peace. We can know the gospel and still not live it with power. We can believe in Christ and still let our witness get watered down.

We can say we follow him and still allow the world, wounds, fear, or comfort to dilute what he placed in us.

So then Jesus says, Wherewith shall it be salted? In other words, if the thing that's supposed to bring saltiness loses its ability,

To bring saltiness. What is going to restore it? This is a serious question.

But the answer is it can't be resalted.

You can't put saltiness back into salt that's lost its savor. So if the disciples of Christ lose their distinctiveness, if we lose our covenant purpose, if we lose that preserving influence.

Then what happens to the places we were called to bless?

Again, it's not about being perfect, and thank goodness because some of us would be out before breakfast, but this is about staying connected to Christ so we don't lose what makes us his. Right? All right. Okay, then the verse ends with strong image.

It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of men.

Now that can sound a bit harsh, but it's really practical because if salt that's no longer useful for food or for preservation is being thrown into the paths on rooftops and roads.

then and people will walk all over it, right? So let's briefly talk about what some of those words mean. The word trodden means to be trampled or crushed. It's also a symbol for destruction. And under foot means on the ground, under your feet as you walk, right? so we certainly cannot be good agents if we're on the ground being trampled on. Right?

although we can see that it still exists, but it it's no longer being used for its intended purpose. And I think that that is an invitation in this verse do not lose your purpose.

That's a mic thumper. Do not lose your purpose.

Don't let your faith become so diluted that it no longer touches the world around you, right? Don't let disappointment steal your savor. Don't let fear steal your witness. Don't let bitterness steal your tenderness. Don't let exhaustion steal your light. Don't

Let the desire to fit in make you forget who Jesus already said you are. Okay?

Now, maybe this week the question isn't how can I do something huge for God? Maybe the question should simply be, where is God asking me to be salt right where I already am?

Mm.

Place, church calling, in my friendships, conversations, in the way that I respond when I'm tired, frustrated, hurt, or misunderstood. Because salt doesn't have to be impressive to be effective.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. It just has to stay true to what it is. Right? Because Jesus didn't say, Go become salt. He said, Ye are the salt of the earth.

Stephanie (21:08)

So the invitation is not to manufacture something fake, okay? The invitation is to return to what he already called us to be, right?

your host, Stephanie. Thank you so much for joining me today for our second verse of the summer. If this episode encouraged you, I'd love for you to share it with someone who may need the reminder too.

You can also find the companion page at gloryandgritpodcast.com. And and if you have a moment, liking the episode or leaving a review really helps the podcast to grow. And I'm truly appreciative for every bit of support. Until next time, my friend.

Keep looking for glory and keep walking with grit.

Bye now.