Salt and Light

The teaching of Christ in these verses represents a development in the Sermon on the Mount. The prior verses identify the citizens of the kingdom from the viewpoint of their blessedness. Their blessedness was described in various ways, according to the characteristics that identified them. Now that we know these citizens and their blessedness, theLord Jesus Christ compares them to two things: salt and light. He states, "Ye are the salt of the earth," and, "Ye are the light of the world." Yet,...