How can Luke 9:61 be connected to the call of Elisha in 1 Kings 19? Setting the Scene • Luke 9 records three would-be followers meeting Jesus on His way to Jerusalem. • Verse 61: “Still another said, ‘I will follow You, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.’ ” • Jesus answers in verse 62 with an agricultural image that recalls plowing—language that immediately invites comparison with Elisha, the plowman of 1 Kings 19. Looking Back: Elisha’s Farewell • “Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, ‘Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.’ • ‘Go on back,’ Elijah replied, ‘for what have I done to you?’ • So Elisha... slaughtered the oxen and burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat... Then he set out to follow Elijah and serve him.” Key Parallels • Both scenes feature an invitation to follow a God-appointed leader. • Both respondents request time to say farewell to family. • Both revolve around the image of plowing: Elisha literally behind twelve yokes of oxen; Jesus speaks figuratively of the disciple’s hand on the plow. Critical Contrasts • Elisha’s brief delay ends with radical severance—burning his plow and oxen ensures no return (cf. Luke 5:11). • The man in Luke offers no evidence of decisive break; Jesus detects a heart still tethered to home. • Elijah allows Elisha’s request because Elisha’s subsequent action shows full commitment. Jesus, reading motives, warns that any backward glance while plowing proves unfitness (Luke 9:62). What Jesus Clarifies • Urgency: The kingdom call, now personified in Jesus, surpasses even Elijah’s prophetic summons (Hebrews 1:1-2). • Undivided allegiance: “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). • Single-minded focus: “Forgetting what is behind… pressing on” (Philippians 3:13-14), unlike Lot’s wife who “looked back” (Genesis 19:26). Lessons for Disciples Today • Initial willingness is not enough; wholehearted, irreversible surrender is required. • Sentimental ties, however legitimate, must not override obedience when Christ calls (Luke 14:26). • Like Elisha, eliminate escape routes—burn the plows of compromise. • Keep eyes forward: “Let us run with endurance… fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-2). |
    |