“No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

First, Jesus purposely said to the person who expressed his intention to follow him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” This expressed that following him is not an enjoyable matter, and may even leads to difficult situations. Whether the man finally followed Jesus or not was not recorded in details in the Gospel.

However, when another man said to Jesus, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury the dead.”

Jesus’ reply gave the impression of lack of sympathy. Jesus knows people by their hearts. Jesus knew that his request was just making excuses because according to the custom of those days, the dead would be buried on the same day.

Another person said that he had to say farewell to his family. Jesus told him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

If following Jesus is most important, isn’t it obvious that all other matters become less important?