I am a Jesus pusher!!! Jesus says, “But if the salt loses its flavor (moraino)” (Matthew 5:13). A translation would be: “But if the salt is foolish, stupid, or silly.” The question for translators is “how do you translate what Jesus is intending.” The translator allowed the translation to be influenced by the application of the parable or metaphor of salt. They translated it “loses its flavor.” But what if this disturbs the imagery to which Jesus refers? After all, Jesus is not speaking about salt but is referring to disciples. In the opening statement of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, He clearly congratulates us for being Kingdom people. We are helpless individuals who are united with Him; He sources us. Now we influence our world something like salt and light do!
If Jesus sourcing us causes us to lose our sense of helplessness, we become fools. If we cease to “mourn” (Matthew 5:4), we become morons, silly, stupid, and foolish. If we for one moment rely on our own effort or self-sourcing, we have moved from the Kingdom of Heaven, to the category of a “pea-brain, idiot, blockhead (view the list in previous study). Jesus calls us to influence our world, but only in the framework of His sourcing. Any thought of self-performance, self-control, or self-production would be ludicrous. Only Jesus makes sense! Let us focus on the person of Jesus. We must embrace Him in a deeper way. Let us open our lives to be captured by Him in a new way. We must be submerged in His nature. I am a Jesus pusher!!!