Matthew 8:20

For he, seeing the many signs, and many drawn after Him, thought to make a gain out of such miracles; wherefore also he was forward to follow Him. And whence is this manifest? From the answer which Christ makes, meeting not the question, as it stands verbally, but the temper shown in its meaning. For, "What?" saith He. "dost thou look to gather wealth by following me? Seest thou not then that I have not even a lodging, not even so much as the birds have?" For "the foxes," saith He, "have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." Now these were not the words of one turning Himself away, but of one who while putting to the proof his evil disposition, yet permitted him (if he were willing with such a prospect) to follow Him. And to convince thee of his wickedness, when he had heard these things, and had been proved, he did not say, "I am ready to follow Thee." And in many other places also Christ is clearly doing this; He doth not openly convict, but by His answer He manifests the purpose of them that are coming unto Him. Thus to him again that said, "Good Master," and had thought by such flattery to gain His favor, according to his purpose He made answer, saying, "Why callest thou me good? […]

Knowest thou not that the miracles, except we be sober, do even harm in many cases? Thus many of the Corinthians were severed one from another; thus many of the Romans were carried away with pride; thus was Simon cast out. Thus he, who at a certain time had a desire to follow Christ, was rejected, when he had been told, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests." For each of these, one aiming at the wealth, another at the glory, which the miracles bring, fell away and perished. But care of practice, and love of virtue, so far from generating such a desire, doth even take it away when it exists.

But the poor man, thou wilt say, is insulted by him that is rich. Again thou art declaring to me the praise of poverty. For who, I pray thee, is blessed, the insulter, or the insulted? It is manifest that it is the insulted person. But then, the one, covetousness, urges to insult the other; poverty persuades to endure. "But the poor man suffers hunger," thou wilt say. Paul also suffered hunger, and was in famine. "But he has no rest." Neither "had the Son of Man where to lay His head."

Every Christian who wishes to hide his sins is spiritually a fox. For just as the fox lives in a hidden place because of its deceit, so also the sinner conceals himself in dens, guarding silence because of his knowledge of his sins. Just as …

"And a certain scribe approached, and said unto Him, Master, I will follow Thee wheresoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His …

Augustine says that 'Christ became poor to such an extent that he does not have what the foxes have, because foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head; understand: Christ became poor so that we might imitate his poverty.' …

Concerning whom, Matthew 8: The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, on which Chrysostom says: "Why do you expect to gather riches following me? Do you not see that I do not have so much as a lodging, as much …

(Mor. xix. 1.) Otherwise; The fox is a crafty animal, lying hid in ditches and dens, and when it comes abroad never going in a straight path, but in crooked windings; birds raise themselves in the air. By the foxes then are meant the subtle and deceitful dæmons, by the birds the proud dæmons; as though He had said; Deceitful and proud dæmons have their abode in your heart; but my lowliness finds no rest in a proud spirit.

He continues, Foxes have holes... Jerome explains that God responds to the intention, as he often does. He wished to follow, but his eye was on gain. Against this the Lord stresses poverty: Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests; but …

Heretics confiding in their art are signified by the foxes, the evil spirits by the birds of the air, who have their holes and their nests, that is, their abodes in the heart of the Jewish people.

And Jesus saith unto him,.... Knowing his heart, and the carnal and worldly views with which he acted; the foxes have holes in the earth, where they hide themselves from danger, take their rest, and secure their whelps; and the birds of the air have nests, where they sit, lay, and hatch their eggs, and bring up their young; but the son of man has not where to lay his head, when he is weary, and wants rest and sleep, as he did at this time.

Now from this account of Christ's deep poverty, we observe, [1.] That it is strange in itself, that the Son of God, when he came into the world, should put himself into such a very low condition, as to want the convenience of a certain resting-place, which the meanest of the creatures have.

The foxes have holes, etc. - Reader! art thou a poor man? and dost thou fear God? Then, what comfort must thou derive from the thought, that thou so nearly resemblest the Lord Jesus! But how unlike is the rich man, who is the votary of pleasure and slave of sin, to this heavenly pattern! Son of man - A Hebrew phrase, expressive of humiliation and debasement; and, on that account, applied emphatically to himself, by the meek and lowly Jesus.

In the first part of these verses we see a striking example of our Lord’s wisdom in dealing with those who professed a willingness to be his disciples. The passage throws so much light on a subject frequently misunderstood in these days, that it deserves more than ordinary attention. A certain scribe offers to follow our Lord whithersoever he goes. It was a remarkable offer when we consider the class to which the man belonged, and the time at which it was made. But the offer receives a remarkable answer. It is not directly accepted nor yet flatly rejected. Our Lord only makes the solemn reply, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has not where to lay his head.” Another follower of our Lord next comes forward, and asks to be allowed to bury his father before going any further in the path of a disciple. The request seems, at first sight, a natural and lawful one. But it draws from our Lord’s lips a reply no less solemn than that already referred to: “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.” There is something deeply impressive in both these sayings. They ought to be well weighed by all professing Christians. They teach us plainly that people who show a desire to come forward and profess themselves true disciples of Christ should be warned plainly to count the cost before they begin. Are they prepared to endure hardship? Are they ready to carry the cross? If not, they are not yet fit to begin. They teach us plainly that there are times when a Christian must literally give up all for Christ’s sake, and when even such duties as attending to a parent’s funeral must be left to be performed by others. Such duties some will always be ready to attend to; and at no time can they be put in comparison with the greater duty of preaching the Gospel, and doing Christ’s work in the world.

I. We have no time for any preface, tonight, so we shall go at once to our first point which is that here is SOMETHING VERY HOPEFUL. A certain scribe said unto Jesus, "Master, I will follow You wherever You go." Note, first, that this was a very respectful speech. The scribe addressed the Lord as, "Master." "Master, I will follow You wherever You go." It was not a flippant speech. There was no absence of reverence.

I. We have no time for any preface, tonight, so we shall go at once to our first point which is that here is SOMETHING VERY HOPEFUL. A certain scribe said unto Jesus, "Master, I will follow You wherever You go." Note, first, that this was a very respectful speech. The scribe addressed the Lord as, "Master." "Master, I will follow You wherever You go." It was not a flippant speech. There was no absence of reverence. He evidently looked up to the great Miracle-Worker who had been healing the sick in the streets on that long evening, and he called Him, "Master." Jesus said, on another occasion, "You call Me, Master and Lord, and you say well; for so I am," and this scribe began his religious confession well, whatever that confession may have turned out to be, by addressing Christ as Lord. I do not like those professed converts who are irreverent and I think that they condemn themselves out of their own mouth when they begin to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ as if He were some common Person of their acquaintance—and as if faith and repentance and all that appertains to godliness were a thing to be joked about. That will not do. There is something hopeful about this scribe in that he speaks in respectful and reverent tones to the Lord Jesus. There is still more hopefulness in the fact that his words are very enthusiastic. They go upon wheels and the axles of the wheels are hot with speed—"Master, I will follow You wherever You go." His utterance is earnest, it is hearty, it is enthusiastic! And from a scribe, too, a man of pens and ink, a calm, quiet letter-man. To see him on fire is something really remarkable! I do not like those converts who have no enthusiasm.

We often hear of Jesus of Nazareth as a wandering teacher; and there is a vital truth in that view in so far as it emphasises an attitude towards luxury and convention which most respectable people would still regard as that of a vagabond. It …