‘You are the salt of the earth’ (Mt 5:13): A metaphor about salvation, ethics, and identity formation in the Sermon on the Mount

Abstract

This article analyses the metaphor ‘you are the salt of the earth’ in Matthew 5:13 through of the metapor theory, reading it innovatively in terms of ‘tenor’ and ‘vehicle’. The true metaphor has not yet been sufficiently foregrounded in previous research. Against the background of Old Testament references to salt, the article explores their modes of reception. The reference to the covenant of salt, as well as the portrayal of salt as a seasoning that enhances the profile of food, or as a cleansing agent that brings about a change that purifies the consumer internally and distinguishes them from others. In Matthew 5:13a, the Matthean narrator combines ancient Jesus traditions with a saying from the source Q, thereby creating a tension that corresponds to the overarching tension of the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon juxtaposes the promise of salvation with the demand for a life corresponding with that salvation, and sanctions failure to do so with judgement (Mt 7:13–29). The directly addressing character of the metaphor exerts a transformative effect: the addressees are changed through the metaphor itself – they are now salt, the spice of the earth. Thus, they are made into a distinctive group in a direct, transformative way. The promise of salvation embedded in this identity-transforming metaphor from Jesus’s proclamation of the kingdom of God becomes a challenge in daily life. The members of the Matthean community or communities addressed, are therefore called to live according to their promise of salvation. This corresponds to the programme of the Sermon on the Mount. The transformation of those addressed by Jesus’s promise of salvation leads to a transformation of their actions in daily life and, consequently, to a transformation of the world itself in accordance with the salvation granted by God.
Contribution: Forming a community corresponds to constructing a distinguishing identity. Anyone who fails to live according to their belonging to the group is excluded from it. The word ‘salt’ thus delineates both the group’s inner space and its external boundary. It establishes a distinctive identity shaped by the salt metaphor – an identity that must also be actively formed and preserved.