Proclamation:
“Jesus
replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service
in the kingdom of God.’” Luke 9:62 (NIV)
Explanation:
These
words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the
physician and frequent travelling companion of the Apostle Paul. Luke begins this chapter by recounting when
Jesus sent His twelve disciples out to the surrounding towns to proclaim the
gospel, heal the sick, and to cast out demons. (Luke 9:1-6) Luke also reports that Jesus fed five
thousand men, not counting the women and children who were also in the crowd,
with two small fish and five barley loaves of bread. (Luke 9:10-17) He said that then Jesus predicted His death
twice. (Luke 9:21-27 and 43-45) Luke
then presents the transfiguration of Jesus and the appearance of Moses and
Elijah with Him. (Luke 9:28-36) Later
Jesus healed a demon possessed boy who the disciples could not heal. (Luke
9:37-43) Luke end this chapter by
explaining the cost that men bear for following Jesus. (Luke 9:57-62)
Application:
Nothing
on earth is more important than following Jesus, The Christ. That includes taking care of and burying a
family member (Luke 9:59-61) or delaying following Him to go and say goodbye to
your family. (Luke 9:61-62) The Apostle
Paul made it clear that he feels nothing is more important than following
Christ. (Philippians 3:13-14) Once we
have committed to following Him, we cannot look back on our past life and long
for any of it. After being warned not to
look back, (Genesis 19:17) looking back and longing for what she left behind is
what cost Lot’s wife her life. (Genesis 19:26)
Wanting things from our past life after committing to follow Christ
makes us unfit for service. (Luke 9:62) Our
worldly concerns should not interfere with our heavenly focus. However, there are some Bible scholars (like
John Gill) who think that this last section refers to preachers and their
ministry.
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