And Jesus said unto him,.... The copulative "and", is left out in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions:no man having put his hand to the plough; or "ploughshare", as reads the Syriac version; or "plough handle", as the Persic; referring, as Beza thinks, to the business of Elisha, in 1Ki 19:19And looking back; behind him; for the ploughman ought to look before him, on his plough, and the ground he is ploughing, or he is not fit to be a ploughman; nor will he make proper furrows, or do his work well; and so he that enters upon the ministerial work, and looks back, and engages himself in the affairs of the world, sets his heart on them, and spends his time in them,is not fit for the kingdom of God: that is, to preach the kingdom of God, as in Lu 9:60.
He cannot serve God and mammon, his own interest, and the interest of Christ; he cannot rightly perform the work of the ministry, whilst his thoughts and time are taken up in the affairs of the world.