SALT AND LIGHT: A CANONICAL READING OF MATTHEW 5:13-16 AND ISAIAH 42:6.

While many contemporary readings of Matthew 5:13-16 unintentionally relegate this passage and its symbolism of salt and light to the realm of Christian cliché, greater meaning can be found when interpreters recognize Isaiah 42:6 (cf. 49:6, 8) as the primary text behind Jesus's teaching on salt and light in Matthew 5:13-16, which functions as a gateway to bring the larger context of Isaiah 40-66 to bear on the Sermon on the Mount via the literary phenomenon metalepsis. Specifically, when Jesus uses the symbol of salt, he intends to connote the idea of covenant; and when Jesus uses the symbol of light, he uses it after the prophet Isaiah. Ultimately, when Jesus declares his disciples to be salt and light, he alludes to Isaiah 42:6 in order to reveal both the identity and mission of his disciples. That is, his disciples are to be the new covenant people who shine brightly and herald the eschatological reconciliation of all mankind to Yahweh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]