May, 2001

"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62

Last month’s Scripture relates to being a disciple; and this month’s scripture focuses on serving as a disciple. This verse has been misunderstood and therefore misquoted by many Christians. The word "the service" isn’t in the original Greek text. Therefore, it is easily misunderstood that the one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not "fit" in the kingdom of God (to be saved). That is far from the Truth! Not one is "fit" to be saved. It is absolutely the grace of God that you and I are saved. The word "fit" means to be willing and able to perform certain tasks. In this case, it refers to the service of a disciple in the kingdom of God. For this reason, NIV inserted the word "the service" so as to clarify this point. The meaning of the word "fit" and the context itself demand this interpretation. Good exegesis results in good theology, and good theology personifies good applications.

In order to fully understand this verse, we need to see the whole picture, which started from v.57. As Jesus and His disciples were traveling, a man approached them and wanted to follow Jesus, wherever He would go. Jesus turned him down by saying the path was too difficult for him to handle. In other words, Jesus knew this man wasn’t able. Not being able to perform certain tasks in the kingdom of God shouldn’t be understood as any less Christian than others who had the ability.

God would not ask you to do anything unless He knows you’re able. Let’s continue to look at this story. Then Jesus looked at another man near by and invited him to follow. But this man flatly turned it down by giving Jesus a seemingly good excuse—to go and bury his father, who may not even had been dead yet. For this person, the affairs of family had a higher priority than the affairs of God. The point here is that if you are able, you shouldn’t be distracted by lesser loyalties.

The third person is kind of interesting. Jesus didn’t ask him to follow. He took the initiative, but with reservation. "I would like to do it, but . . ." He wanted to; he knew it was a good thing. He also saw he was able, but he wanted to delay for better timing. Then Jesus said, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit {for service} in the kingdom of God." The conclusion is that if you are able and willing, there is no reason to delay. Just like a soldier who is in a battlefield, he can’t be distracted by anything, including his family.