Luke 9:62

62. Put his hand to the plough The eastern plough is made of two poles, one of which serves for the horizontal beam drawn by the oxen; and the other, crossing it, serves as a share, being sharpened at the lower end, to penetrate the ground, and as a handle at the upper end, upon which the ploughman grasps with one hand, while with the other he holds, the long goad with which he pricks and spurs his team forward. He must place his whole weight upon the share, in order to force it into the soil, otherwise no furrow will be produced. The Saviour uses the term hand in the singular, because the plough is held with but a single hand. And the inclination of the whole body utterly forbids the looking back so as to prevent the devotion of the entire man, with all his force, to the onward work. Such is the image by which the Christian’s zeal, not only as a minister, but as a private man, is pictured by Christ himself. The spiritual ploughman who applies not hand, body, and eye to the work, will make no furrow, will sow no seed, will gather no harvest. He is not fit for the kingdom of God. It is not merely that he may not turn back or withdraw his hand. There must be no back glances of his eye, no turning of his head, but the forward throw of the man with all his might. It was by such a winnowing that our Lord selected his Seventy. How hardly did even they fulfil the high office.