Matthew 8:20

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 head. 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 HEAD. Few as there were of the scribes who attached themselves to Jesus, it would appear, from his calling Him 'Teacher' Didaskale (G1320), that this one was a "disciple" in that looser sense of the word in which it is applied to the crowds who flocked after Him, with more or less conviction that His claims were well founded. But from the answer which he received we are led to infer that there was more of transient emotion-of temporary impulse-than of intelligent principle in the speech. The preaching of Christ had riveted and charmed him; his heart had swelled; his enthusiasm had been kinkl...

20._Foxes have holes. _The Son of God describes by these words what was his condition while he lived on the earth, but, at the same time, informs his disciples what sort of life they must be prepared to expect. And yet it is strange that Christ should say, that he had not a foot of earth on which he could _lay his head, _while there were many godly and benevolent persons, who would willingly receive him into their houses. But this was spoken, it ought to be observed, as a warning to the scribe, not to expect an abundant and rich hire, as if he had a wealthy master, while the master himself receives a precarious subsistence in borrowed houses....

18-22 One of the scribes was too hasty in promising; he proffers himself to be a close follower of Christ. He seems to be very resolute. Many resolutions for religion are produced by sudden conviction, and taken up without due consideration; these come to nothing. When this scribe offered to follow Christ, one would think he should have been encouraged; one scribe might do more credit and service than twelve fishermen; but Christ saw his heart, and answered to its thoughts, and therein teaches all how to come to Christ. His resolve seems to have been from a worldly, covetous principle; but Christ had not a place to lay his head on, and if he follows him, he must not expect to fare better than he fared. We have reason to think this scribe went away. Another was too slow. Delay in doing is as bad on the one hand, as hastiness in resolving is on the other. He asked leave to attend his fath...

Verse Matthew 8:20. _THE FOXES HAVE HOLES_, c.] 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. Besides, it seems here to be used to point out the incarnation of the Son of God, according to the predictions of the prophets, Psalms 8:5; Daniel 7:13. And as our Lord was now showing forth his eternal

AND A CERTAIN SCRIBE CAME ... - It is not improbable that this man had seen the miracles of Jesus, and had formed an expectation that by following him he would obtain some considerable worldly advantage. Christ, in reply to his professed purpose to follow him, proclaimed his own poverty, and dashed the hopes of the avaricious scribe. The very foxes and birds, says he, have places of repose and shelter, but the Son of man has no home and no pillow. He is a stranger in his own world - a wanderer and an outcast from the homes of people. Compare John 1:11. SON OF MAN - This means, evidently, Jesus himself. No title is more frequently given to the Saviour than this, and yet there is much difficulty in explaining it. The word “son” is used in a great variety of significations. See the notes at...

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 8:1 MESSIAH'S WORK AS COMPLEMENTARY TO HIS TEACHING. We return in this section to matter which resembles that of Mark and Luke, and undoubtedly belongs to the Framework (_vide _Introduction). St. Matthew has given a lengthy summary of the teaching of the Christ, and he now supplements it by a summary of his daily work. He is not concerned with the chronological connexion of the incidents here narrated, for this is evidently to him a matter of but secondary importance. He only desires to bring out different aspects of the Lord's life. Thus he notices— 1. Christ's miracles of healing, and the secret of his ability to perform them (verses 1-17). 2. The personal t

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. So that though he was Lord of all, as being the mighty God; yet as "the son of man", a phrase, expressive both of the truth and meanness of his human nature, the most despicable of creatures in the earth and air, were richer than he. This he said, to convince the Scribe of his mistake; who expected much worldly grandeur and wealth, by becoming his disciple. When Christ styles himself "the son of man", it is no contradiction to his being God; nor any...

Matthew 8:1. _When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him,_ Great multitudes often count for nothing; it is here or there one who is the notable individual. There may be a great company come up outwardly to worship, but it is the soul that comes into contact with Christ that is the most worthy of observation. There is no «Behold!» when the great multitudes are mentioned by Matthew; but there is a «Behold!» before the record of the leper coming to Christ: «Behold, there came a leper and worshipped him.» Let us all be of the leper's mind, let us worship Christ. Surely we may do so, if only out of gratitude for having escaped from so dire a disease; but, inasmuch as, spiritually, by nature that disease is upon us, we have good reason to come to Jesus as the «leper came, and worshipped him,»-...

SON OF MAN (_ See Scofield) - (Ezekiel 2:1). _ Our Lord thus designates Himself about eighty times. It is His racial name as the representative Man, in the sense of (1 Corinthians 15:45) as Son of David is distinctly his Jewish name, and Son of God His divine name. Our Lord constantly uses this term as implying that his mission (for example); (Matthew 11:19); (Luke 19:10). His death and resurrection (for example); (Matthew 12:40); ...

6. THE KING MANIFESTED BY SIGNS OF DIVINE POWER. Chapter s 8-9. CHAPTER 8 1. The Healing of the Leper. (Matthew 8:1 .) 2. The Healing of the Centurion's Servant. (Matthew 8:5 .) 3. The Healing of Peter's Wife's Mother.(Matthew 8:14 .) 4. The Healing of All. (Matthew 8:16 .) 5. The Self-seeking Scribe and the Test of True Discipleship.(Matthew 8:18 .) 6. His Power over Nature. (Matthew 8:23 .) 7. His Power over the Demons. ...