Luke 9:57
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
Luke 9:57 belongs to Christ's teaching about following Him and records what happened as they went in the way, when a man promised to follow Him whithersoever He went. The man who offered to follow was a scribe whose offer was driven by selfish interest and hope for worldly wealth and high status, because he had misunderstood Christ's teaching about treasure as a promise of riches and expected Jesus to establish an earthly kingdom in which followers would prosper. He is also identified as Judas, professing complete willingness to follow Jesus wherever He went and seeking to join His disciples, while seeking earthly and temporal advantage rather than giving himself to Christ's mission in true devotion. He is also described as a disciple who loved Christ's teaching and offered to follow Him anywhere.
Christ answered by revealing His poverty and self-denial, that foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head, with less earthly home than animals. That poverty began when He laid aside His kingly crown and royal robe, His golden crown and royal robes, in the heavenly courts to come to this world as a man, a poor man, a child of humanity, a little child and laborer, living a life of poverty and self-denial though the world was His and He owned nothing in it. On earth He had no home and often had only the ground to rest on at night, spending night after night in prayer for His flock that God would give them strength to obey and sleeping on the ground without a mattress. He took His position among the poorest in the very humblest poverty with a poor mother and the poor family of Joseph so the poorest could never say He did not know the temptations of poverty, living without a home so that day by day His humanity could reach other humanity and win souls to Himself.
His reply exposed what that following requires and that following Him offered no promise of material or earthly gain. Following Him therefore calls for hearts in full harmony with Him and an informed understanding of His work and what He does for those who follow Him, remembering His words, wanting heaven at the cost of all things and eternal life, and being prepared for trials and persecution. It calls followers to be Christlike in self-denial and to comply with the conditions for receiving heavenly power, giving up the vanities and follies of this world, regarding earthly possessions as a gift of God to be used to advance His honor, conforming their lives to His life. It calls them to learn from His life and labors and struggles with temptation how to become partakers of the divine nature and overcome the corruption in the world through lust, letting the Word of God guide in simplicity, and walking in His footsteps in daily communion with heavenly agencies, following His methods wholeheartedly and humbling self instead of complaining about hardship. Walking thus brings a supply of divine grace such as sustained Christ in every circumstance and leaves no excuse for half-hearted service or an uncertain witness.
His holy, self-denying example calls believers to a religion that works with power in the family and reforms the home, with every man and woman doing their given work to form character upon His divine likeness and to bring soul after soul to Christ. It calls them not to turn away from the unconverted but to labor for them in self-sacrifice and earnest effort and to give an example in harmony with Christ to a world to be saved. Jesus nevertheless received the professed follower and allowed him to join the disciples, giving him an unusually favorable opportunity to learn Christ's mission, gain moral strength, change his heart and character, and be saved, but he chose instead a course that brought him infamy and lasting infamy.