Jesus concludes his teaching to the large crowds that followed him. He had been expounding on his claim, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (27). His concluding remark is, “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.”
Salt has a large number of positive uses. It is used as a food preservative, to improve and empasize food’s taste, and to give food a distinctive taste. It is also used to clean, sanitize, deodorize, and heal. Similarly, when a person follows Jesus and takes up his personal cross, then the Holy Spirit enters that person, and they change. With the Spirit inside, the converted soul becomes a positive influence on those around them. They have the characteristics of salt.
However, if a believer walks away from Jesus and their cross they lose their saltiness. They lose their peace within and without. They become argumentative and bitter. They become stubborn fools who have rejected God and reject others. They negatively affect those around them. Jesus asks, “How can they be made salty again?” If they go from being a good influence to repulsing others, can their errors be corrected?
