Another
also said, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say good-bye to those who are at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.”
Luke 9:61-62
Luke 9 [60.] But Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s Kingdom.”
Luke 9 [61.] Another also said, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say good-bye to those who are at my house.”
Luke 9 [62.] But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.”
Luke 10 [1.] Now after these things, the Lord also appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two ahead of him into every city and place, where he was about to come. Then he said to them, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest. Go your ways. Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, nor wallet, nor sandals. Greet no one on the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don’t go from house to house. Into whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat the things that are set before you. Heal the sick who are therein, and tell them, ‘God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’ But into whatever city you enter, and they don’t receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’ I tell you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
Meaning:
Jesus has set his face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). On the road Luke records three short meetings with would-be followers. The first offered to follow him anywhere and was told that “the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:57-58). The second was called but wanted first to bury his father (Luke 9:59-60). The third, in these verses, volunteers but adds a condition. Matthew records the first two conversations (Matthew 8:19-20; Matthew 8:21-22); only Luke has this third one.
- “I want to follow you, Lord, but first”
The man is willing, and he calls Jesus “Lord.” His request sounds modest and kind: he only wants to say good-bye to his family. Yet the little word “first” reveals the problem. Like the man before him (“allow me first to go and bury my father”), he puts something else ahead of Jesus. A farewell visit could easily become a long delay, and family ties could pull him back from the road to Jerusalem.
- The echo of Elijah and Elisha
His request recalls the call of Elisha. Elijah found Elisha plowing with twelve yoke of oxen and threw his mantle over him. Elisha said, “Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Elijah let him go back, and Elisha made a clean break: he killed his oxen, cooked their flesh with the oxen’s equipment, fed the people, and “went after Elijah, and served him” (1 Kings 19:19-21). Jesus’ answer is stricter than Elijah’s. Following him is more urgent than following any prophet, because God’s Kingdom has arrived in him.
- “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back”
Jesus uses a picture every farmer in Galilee understood. A plowman had to keep his eyes on a fixed point ahead to cut a straight furrow. If he kept glancing back, the furrow would wander and the work would be spoiled. In the same way, a disciple who keeps looking back to the life he left cannot serve the Kingdom well. Jesus later warns, “Remember Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:32), who looked back toward the city she was leaving. Paul describes the right attitude: “Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal” (Philippians 3:13).
- “Is fit for God’s Kingdom”
Jesus is not condemning love for family. Elsewhere he upholds the commandment, “Honor your father and your mother” (Luke 18:20). His point is priority. In Luke 14 he says that anyone who wants to build a tower must first count the cost, and he concludes, “So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). Being “fit” means being suited and useful for the work of God’s Kingdom, with an undivided heart. Luke does not tell us how the man responded; the question is left open for every reader.
The Significance of Luke 9:61-62
- Wholehearted discipleship
Many people are willing to follow Jesus “later” or “after” something else is settled. Jesus calls for a decision that puts him first now, not when it is convenient.
- Not looking back
Old habits, comforts and relationships can draw believers away from their calling. Jesus encourages his followers to keep their eyes on him and the work ahead, trusting that whatever they leave for his sake is not lost (Luke 18:29-30).
Cross-References:
1 Kings 19:20: "Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." Elisha’s request to Elijah.
Luke 9:59-60: "Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s Kingdom." The urgency of the call.
Philippians 3:13: "Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before" Paul’s forward focus.
Luke 14:33: "So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple." The cost of following.
Conclusion: In Luke 9:61-62 a man offers to follow Jesus but first wants to say good-bye to his household. Jesus answers with the picture of a plowman: no one who puts his hand to the plow and keeps looking back is fit for God’s Kingdom. Following Jesus calls for wholehearted, forward-looking commitment that puts him before every other claim.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible