Have you ever accidentally left out salt when cooking something? Most recipes don’t call for much salt, but you do notice its absence. I n Mark 9:50, Jesus uses the imagery of salt as he summons you to walk in fellowship with him.
You will be salted with fire. Appreciate the imagery of sacrifice. Mark 9:33–50 covers a breadth of topics: Jesus deals with the self-centered conversation of his disciples (verses 33–37), corrects John’s rebuke of a man who had been casting out demons in Jesus’ name (verses 38–41), warns against causing to sin (verses 42–48), and concludes with comments about salt (verses 49 –50). Yet the vocabulary, makes connections among the sayings: “in my name” is repeated, “one of these little ones” in verse 42 looks back to “one of these little children” in verse 37, “it were better for him” links verse 42 with the “it is better for you” repeated in the following verses, and the fire of hell in verse 48 sets the stage for the sacrificial fire of verse 49, and verses 49 and 50 both deal with salt. And, as we will see, not just the vocabulary, but the concepts, are related in a passage which is bookended by the concepts of being at peace with one another. Everyone will be salted with fire, verse 49. Is Jesus talking about the fire of hell in the previous verse, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched? But, he says that everyone will be salted with fire, and not everyone endures the judgment of hell. The warning of the preceding verses is strong, but the point is that the person who heeds the warning will not be cast into hell. Rather, Jesus’ words recall the references in the Old Testament to salt as part of sacrifice. It is commanded as part of the grain offerings in Leviticus 2:13, but reference is also made to salt in all your offerings. It is identified as the salt of the covenant, Leviticus 2:13, or as a covenant of salt, Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5. Salt, perhaps representing permanence, is an element in the burnt offerings of the temple in Ezekiel’s vision, 43:24, and in the incense of Exodus 30:35. In the context of summoning his disciples and us to sacrificial obedience, Jesus speaks of everyone being salted with fire, a concept that Paul expands on in Romans 12:1, 2. Just as the Old Testament sacrifices used the fire of judgment, but contained on the altar, rather falling in judgment on the worshiper, so Jesus reminds you that to live as a follower of him involves exposure to, but ultimately deliverance from, the fire of judgment. He is the ultimate sacrifice in your place. He is calling his disciples and you to rest, not on your own efforts, but on him. To follow the Savior, who is on his way to the cross, can involve costly sacrifice. Jesus calls you to more than giving up things–he wants you to consider yourself a sacrificial offering.
“And no one in Scripture speaks of it [eternal punishment in hell] more often and at greater length than our Lord Jesus Christ, whose depth of human feeling and compassion no one can deny and who was he meekest and most humble of human beings. It is the greatest love that threatens the most severe punishments. Over and against the blessedness of eternal life that he acquired for his own stands the disaster of eternal ruin that he announces to the wicked. In the Old Testament both were veiled in shadows and presented in imagery. But in the New Testament it is Chrit who opens a vista both into the depths of outer darkness and into the dwellings of eternal light.”
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4, p. 109
As one who follows Jesus, live in fellowship with your God. The concept of the salt of the covenant reminds you both of God’s utter faithfulness to you and of your calling to walk, to live your daily life in fellowship with him. The emphasis on the covenant, rediscovered in the Protestant Reformation, especially in the branch that grew out of Geneva, safeguards salvation as God-centered. We are followers of Christ, not first of all because of who we are or even because of choices we have made, but because God has graciously reached down and has forgiven our sins. Every sacrifice offered on the altar reminded the sinner that the substitute animal on the altar was undergoing the judgment he deserved. Let the Reformation remind you to trust Christ alone, not your own works. The God who redeems you also summons you to walk in fellowship with him. Both formal worship and a life of obedient fellowship are a response to the grace of God in the Messiah. That divides the world into two camps: those who are part of the kingdom, and those who are not. Thus Jesus corrects John’s effort to stop a man from casting out evil spirits, verses 38–40. Apparently this man, though not “one of us” in the sense that he was part of the inner 12, was one who trust in Christ, and acted in his name (in contrast with a superstitious use of Christ’s name). This man seems to have been acting out of stronger faith than what had been displayed by the disciples earlier in the chapter. In contrast with the exclusivisim and guarding of territory by the disciples, Jesus points out that even a small act done in his name and for his sake marks the doer as part of his kingdom.
Because you belong to God’s kingdom, be salt! Do battle with sin. Jesus warns against tolerating sin, verses 42–48. He begins by emphasizing the judgment that God visits on those who harm or lead astray his little ones. He includes children, but also all of those who trust him (and thus are like children, see verses 36, 37). Death would be better than facing God’s judgment (and the graphic description of drowning may reflect judgment carried out by Romans on rebellious Galileans). Jesus continues by dramatically warning against the danger of allowing sin to continue in your life. The hands, feet, and eyes, are concrete representations of the person who uses these members to sin. Although the language of Jesus is hyperbole (he is not advocating self-mutilation–blinding yourself in one eye won’t necessarily prevent using the other for lust), don’t let that detract from the force of what Jesus is saying. Your life, your eternal life, is much more important than your hand, foot, or eye–or any other part of you which you might use for sinful purposes. The wages of sin is still death, and we all need to hear that warning. Jesus uses the stern language of the closing verse of Isaiah (66:24) to warn that God’s eternal punishment falls on the disobedient. Jesus is warning the disciples and us that we must do battle against sin. Toleration of sin, compromise with it, leads to fatal consequences. Several years ago Aron Ralston, then 27, used his pocket knife to amputate his arm when trapped by a falling boulder while climbing in a slit canyon in Utah. He made the grim choice because his life depended on it. You may not, you must not allow your hand to strike out in anger, to reach out to steal or to click on a questionable website. Don’t let your foot take you someplace that causes you to sin. Guard your eyes, lest they lead you into covetousness or lust. And Jesus is concerned, not just about our physical bodies, but also about what goes on in our minds and hearts. Give up, surrender, anything that stands between you and your God, anything that competes for the central place that belongs to the Savior. Stop finding reasons to tolerate just that little bit of compromise in your life. The Reformation was accused of removing the motivation for Christians, who believe in God’s free grace, to lead holy lives. But the God who justifies also works by his Spirit in the lives of those who belong to him. Sanctification, no less than justification, is the result of God’s gracious activity, and is no less part of God’s great saving work. Be salt! In his call to a salty life, Jesus summons you to a life permeated by his grace, lived throughout to his glory. Saltless salt is a contradiction — and so is a believer in whom God’s Spirit is not graciously working.
“Either sin must die, or we must die. If… we be ruled by sin, we shall inevitably be ruined by it; if we must keep our two hands, and two eyes, and two feet, we must with them be cast into hell.”
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, at Mark 9:42–48
Live in peace. This section begins with Jesus questioning his disciples about their conversation, verse 33. Jesus had again spoken of his death and resurrection, and the disciples dared not ask him about it. Picture Jesus leading the group, and none daring to walk beside him and ask for elaboration. Instead they are in a pack behind, probably whispering. Peter, you were just up there on the mountain with him, you ask him what he meant. Me, don’t you remember that he called me Satan last time I raised the topic — no, one of you ask him. That kind of conversation morphed into a discussion (to which the disciples kept being drawn back) as to which of them was the greatest. In that context Jesus takes a very young child in his arms, a child without influence or standing, and reminds his disciples that the welcome they give to the weak and helpless like this child is the welcome they give to both him — and to the one who sent him. The Suffering Servant summons you to be a servant if you are following him. Ask yourself, if how you receive those with no visible importance or standing is the measure of your discipleship, what kind of disciple are you? Jesus returns to that topic as he concludes this section in verse 50. To be salty is not to use rough language, but is something that is visible in living at peace with one another. That’s genuine, excellent salt that flavors your whole life.
The Lord who is the ultimate sacrifice of the covenant summons you to be the salt of the covenant, offering yourself in obedient, peaceful service to him.