Luke 9:62 - Your Interpretation?

dmhforJesus · May 7, 2008

Luke 9:62 says "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

PLEASE FOR THIS THREAD POST YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THIS SCRIPTURE

JUST TO GET THE THREAD STARTED AND FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES...............

In my personal opinion this means that if any man/woman gets saved (having put his hand to the plough) and then backslides (and looking back) will not enter into heaven (No man.....is fit for the kingdom of God)

This is just my humble opinion and I was interested in how others interpret this scripture.

Yitzchak · May 7, 2008

59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

In the context , it seems to be speaking about the almost converted. Those who want to follow God but only when it does not prevent them from the other things that they want to do also.
In farming , when you put your hand to the plow , it becomes your whole focus. If you look back behind you , you will plough a crooked path.

dmhforJesus · May 7, 2008

Yitzchak said:
In the context , it seems to be speaking about the almost converted. Those who want to follow God but only when it does not prevent them from the other things that they want to do also.
In farming , when you put your hand to the plow , it becomes your whole focus. If you look back behind you , you will plough a crooked path.

I think the latter is more to the point here - it is meant to be taken the same as it would be if it were really referring to farming in MHO

plus how are you ALMOST converted? is that like being almost pregnant? hehehe

mrhappy3 · May 7, 2008

I see it as being NOT FIT, out of shape, sloppy, lazy, indifferent.........someone who needs to get back on the treadmill..........but not lost .....

Yitzchak · May 7, 2008

I think the latter is more to the point here - it is meant to be taken the same as it would be if it were really referring to farming in MHO

I believe that what you are saying is correct.

dmhforJesus · May 7, 2008

mrhappy3 said:
I see it as being NOT FIT, out of shape, sloppy, lazy, indifferent.........someone who needs to get back on the treadmill..........but not lost .....

interesting - altough I would think if you are NOT FIT then you wont be allowed in - if you are NOT FIT for the country club then there is NO ENTRANCE - if you are NOT FIT for your smaller jeans then there is NO ENTRY

ShammahBenJudah · May 7, 2008

dmhforJesus said:
Luke 9:62 says "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

In my personal opinion this means that if any man/woman gets saved (having put his hand to the plough) and then backslides (and looking back) will not enter into heaven (No man.....is fit for the kingdom of God)

This is just my humble opinion and I was interested in how others interpret this scripture.

If you're talking about full blown apostasy, then there's some weight to this interpretation. But if you're talking about the average Christian struggling in his walk with the Lord, I think its a bit of a stretch.

Using Peter as an example, after his denial of Christ, he was hellbound. And we know things didn't turn out that way.

If I were to draw application for the believer who is struggling, I would suggest that it means you can't plow forward when you're looking backward...you'll do more harm than good.

Br0kenSunshyne · May 7, 2008

I thought it was talking about working......

Yekcidmij · May 7, 2008

dmhforJesus said:
Luke 9:62 says "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

In my personal opinion this means that if any man/woman gets saved (having put his hand to the plough) and then backslides (and looking back) will not enter into heaven (No man.....is fit for the kingdom of God)

This is just my humble opinion and I was interested in how others interpret this scripture.

I think this whole passage was a Messianic claim. Jesus is telling them to leave whatever notions they had about the promised Messiah and "Kingdom of God" and trust in His way.

Luke 9:57 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 9:58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 9:59 Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 9:60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 9:61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” 9:62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

I think Jesus was taking a jab at Herod in 9:58 due to this:

Luke 13:31 At that time, some Pharisees came up and said to Jesus, “Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.” 13:32 But he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Look, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work.

So I think that passage from Luke 9 is Jesus saying He is the true King, indeed the Messiah, and that they need to stop with their wrongheaded ideas about Messiah and Kingdom of God and follow Him. He even radically tells them He is more imporatant than their family. Jesus is purposely taking their worldview, turning it upside down, and shaking it. He is calling a new Israel into existence around Himself where traditional family ties are not what makes you a member. This would have struck a chord with people who thought family blood automatically made you a member.

It's evident from the verses before that Jesus has Messianic intentions. Luke 9 has Messiah written all over it:

9:51 Now when the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set out resolutely to go to Jerusalem. 9:52 He sent messengers on ahead of him. As they went along, they entered a Samaritan village to make things ready in advance for him, 9:53 but the villagers refused to welcome him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem. 9:54 Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 9:55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 9:56 and they went on to another village.

What was Messiah expected to do? Get enthroned as King, defeat Israel's enemies, build/rebuild/cleanse the Temple so God's Glory would return to it. So if someone wanted to become the Messiah, how might they go about this? Well, probably go to Jerusalem, become King, defeat some enemies, and deal with the Temple.

That is exactly what we find Jesus in the process of doing in Luke 9. The Samaritans want nothing to do with it. The disciples understand that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to present Himself as Messiah. They still thought force was they way it would be done as they want fire called from heaven, like Elijah in 1 Kings, in order to defeat the Messiah's detractors. Of course that wasn't Jesus' intention.

But this is the context we find Jesus in at the end of Luke. He is claiming to be Messiah, telling the people to forget their traditional notions of Kingdom of God and Messiah and follow His way.

Luke 9:60 may also be a cryptic prophecy of AD 70 as well.

dmhforJesus · May 7, 2008

ShammahBenJudah said:
If you're talking about full blown apostasy, then there's some weight to this interpretation. But if you're talking about the average Christian struggling in his walk with the Lord, I think its a bit of a stretch.

Okay full blown apostasy as opposed to apostasy? Apostasy is the formal abandonment of one's religion, so full blown or otherwise yes! That is how I take it (backsliding) - but I take this to mean just that - he is referring to a time "after SALVATION"

Using Peter as an example, after his denial of Christ, he was hellbound. And we know things didn't turn out that way.

If I were to draw application for the believer who is struggling, I would suggest that it means you can't plow forward when you're looking backward...you'll do more harm than good.

No I am not referring to a struggling believer (a struggling believer to me is still that "a believer" - I believe it to mean that someone who gets saved, but then later, through apostasy can lose their salvation. MHO

pinetree · May 7, 2008

I think that many who fear being backslidden are not back slidden at all...If teachers imparted grace to them,they would know that.

David says ,if he made his bed in Hell (no that we should) God was still with him. And we all remember the prodical son..

We are kept in Grace!

We are sealed with the Holy Ghost,till the day of redemtion!

No one shall snatch us out of his hands!

Do people really think they are being kept by their own power? Thank you Jesus!

dmhforJesus · May 7, 2008

pinetree said:
I think that many who fear being backslidden are not back slidden at all...If teachers imparted grace to them,they would know that.

David says ,if he made his bed in Hell (no that we should) God was still with him. And we all remember the prodical son..

We are kept in Grace!

We are sealed with the Holy Ghost,till the day of redemtion!

No one shall snatch us out of his hands!

Do people really think they are being kept by their own power? Thank you Jesus!

I am not sure that I understand what your interpretation of Luke 9:62 is which is what this thread was about.

mrhappy3 · May 7, 2008

I believe those TRULY born of the Spirit...will never lose their Salvation.

dmhforJesus · May 7, 2008

mrhappy3 said:
I believe those TRULY born of the Spirit...will never lose their Salvation.

In a perfect world I would agree with you but.............you aint in Kansas anymore Dorothy

I was saved as a teenager and I stayed on fire for God for many years - then I got away for about 7 years and I AM BACK WOOOHOOOOO PRAISE GOD !!!

If I had died in those 7 years I KNOW I would be in hell today. Praise God he let me live through those 7 years and I am now back where I should never have left to start with

pinetree · May 7, 2008

dmhforJesus said:
I am not sure that I understand what your interpretation of Luke 9:62 is which is what this thread was about.

the point of the thread is backsliding..no?

dmhforJesus · May 7, 2008

Nope - the point of the thread is individual interpretation of Luke 9:62 - backsliding may be your interpretation if you like but the focus is this particular scripture and YOUR interpretation.

pinetree · May 7, 2008

mrhappy3 said:
I believe those TRULY born of the Spirit...will never lose their Salvation.

Amen! we are kept by grace! trusting not in ourselves,but God who raises the dead!

pinetree · May 7, 2008

dmhforJesus said:
Luke 9:62 says "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

In my personal opinion this means that if any man/woman gets saved (having put his hand to the plough) and then backslides (and looking back) will not enter into heaven (No man.....is fit for the kingdom of God)

This is just my humble opinion and I was interested in how others interpret this scripture.

see..you brought up backsliding in your op!?

mrhappy3 · May 7, 2008

dmhforJesus said:
In a perfect world I would agree with you but.............you aint in Kansas anymore Dorothy

I was saved as a teenager and I stayed on fire for God for many years - then I got away for about 7 years and I AM BACK WOOOHOOOOO PRAISE GOD !!!

If I had died in those 7 years I KNOW I would be in hell today. Praise God he let me live through those 7 years and I am now back where I should never have left to start with

Hey, I love the wizard of Oz !

What I want to know is.....how does the fire burn so bright and then go out so suddenly ???

Besides that, you will never know how much grace the good Lord would have shown you.

pinetree · May 7, 2008

mrhappy3 said:
Hey, I love the wizard of Oz !

What I want to know is.....how does the fire burn so bright and then go out so suddenly ???

Besides that, you will never know how much grace the good Lord would have shown you.

amen again,she is still in the lord isnt she,yes!

what kept her..grace!

some just think they are running the show..hehe

Luke 9:62 - Your Interpretation?

Living EVERYDAY for God !!!

יצחק

Living EVERYDAY for God !!!

Well-Known Member

יצחק

Living EVERYDAY for God !!!

Son of Zion

Now known as GrapeGirl

Presbyterian, Polymath

Living EVERYDAY for God !!!

Well-Known Member

Living EVERYDAY for God !!!

Well-Known Member

Living EVERYDAY for God !!!

Well-Known Member

Living EVERYDAY for God !!!

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency