The word good in V. 34 means useful. In those days, salt was a preservative. They put salt on things to keep it from putrefying. But if salt does not contain the proper ingredients, what is it good for? Jesus talks about salt and light in Matt 5:13-16. He says, "You are the salt of the earth." At this point and time in experiencing the fullness of God, He says, YOU ARE the salt of the earth. And then He says, "YOU ARE the light of the world." Salt was used for two things. It was used as a preservative. They used it to preserve food, especially meat and vegetables. They also used it for purification. In 2 Kings 2:19-23, salt was used to purify bad water.
But to know why He used the term salt, we need to understand that God made a covenant of salt with Israel ( Numbers 18:19), which God said would be upon David and his descendants. Paul in Romans Chapter 11 said all of the Jews of the Kingdom. In Matt 5:14-16, Jesus says you are salt and you are light. He went on to say that you can't take a light and put it under a bushel.
What He is saying is you can't snuff out the light of the Lord. The light amongst the Jews was the Messiah. You are salt. Christ in you is the light, and Christ in you is the purification and the preservative for the people around you and especially in your life.
The command is let your light so shine. Did you ever sing that song "This little light of mine, not going to let anybody blow it out? It can't be blown out. Nobody can blow it out. The command itself, (let your light so shine) kind of sounds like an invitation. But literally, it is "Shine your light," which is a command of God. Shine your light! I don't have to worry about going out to my car to find the light because the Lord said for me to shine it. Israel was said to be the light of the world. Isaiah 42:6, Isaiah 49:6, and Isaiah 60:3 says that the Jews were to be the salt and the light of the world.
The word good in V. 34 means useful. In those days, salt was a preservative. They put salt on things to keep it from putrefying. But if salt does not contain the proper ingredients, what is it good for? Jesus talks about salt and light in Matt 5:13-16. He says, "You are the salt of the earth." At this point and time in experiencing the fullness of God, He says, YOU ARE the salt of the earth. And then He says, "YOU ARE the light of the world." Salt was used for two things. It was used as a preservative. They used it to preserve food, especially meat and vegetables. They also used it for purification. In 2 Kings 2:19-23, salt was used to purify bad water.
But to know why He used the term salt, we need to understand that God made a covenant of salt with Israel ( Numbers 18:19), which God said would be upon David and his descendants. Paul in Romans Chapter 11 said all of the Jews of the Kingdom. In Matt 5:14-16, Jesus says you are salt and you are light. He went on to say that you can't take a light and put it under a bushel.
What He is saying is you can't snuff out the light of the Lord. The light amongst the Jews was the Messiah. You are salt. Christ in you is the light, and Christ in you is the purification and the preservative for the people around you and especially in your life.
The command is let your light so shine. Did you ever sing that song "This little light of mine, not going to let anybody blow it out? It can't be blown out. Nobody can blow it out. The command itself, (let your light so shine) kind of sounds like an invitation. But literally, it is "Shine your light," which is a command of God. Shine your light! I don't have to worry about going out to my car to find the light because the Lord said for me to shine it. Israel was said to be the light of the world. Isaiah 42:6, Isaiah 49:6, and Isaiah 60:3 says that the Jews were to be the salt and the light of the world.
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