And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
A certain scribe offers to go with Jesus wherever He goes, speaking with earnest and apparently sincere willingness to become His disciple. The speaker is Judas Iscariot, who seeks a place among the disciples in hope of gaining high position when the coming kingdom is established. His mind, darkened by avarice and love of the world, takes Christ's teaching to mean that His followers will be enriched with worldly treasure, station, and wealth. Jesus answers by declaring His own poverty and homelessness in contrast with the foxes and the birds, cutting off all expectation of temporal gain and showing that true following requires self-denial with no prospect of earthly reward.
Context and Speaker
Matthew 8:19 belongs to the moment when Jesus dismisses the multitude and takes ship with His disciples for the other side of the sea. That farther shore was a desert compared with the shore being left, and the crossing removed them from the dwellings of men in hope of finding rest from fatigue. He was wearied from long and arduous labors. Even as they were moving off, a number of boats loaded with people followed Him because they were desirous of learning more concerning the doctrine He taught.
The declaration to follow whithersoever He went was an earnest and apparently sincere offer to become a disciple. Earnestness of profession did not by itself establish sincerity of commitment. The speaker was Judas Iscariot, who sought a place among the disciples in hopes of gaining high position in the coming kingdom.
The offer was made while Jesus was preparing the twelve for ordination, and it was a great profession of devotion covering a selfish motive to obtain temporal advantage through connection with Christ. Judas had acknowledged executive ability and influence, so the disciples commended him highly and wanted him among them and were surprised at the cool reception. Jesus neither warmly received him nor repulsed him, but read his heart and knew even then the part he would act in betrayal and execution. He still received him to connect him with Himself so he could learn the divine mission, gain moral strength to overcome defects of character, experience entire change of heart, and ensure salvation, which was possible through Christ's help, and to avoid leading the favorably disposed disciples to question His wisdom, thus placing selfish and avaricious Judas in the most favorable position to develop mind and heart for a place in the kingdom of heaven. Judas instead chose a course covering him with everlasting infamy and lasting disgrace.
Cost of Following Jesus
Following Jesus may mean sharing a life without a settled home, marked by hardship, rejection, and deprivation. Though He was heaven's King, even the Son of man had nowhere to lay His head, chose poverty and toil and lived humbly without worldly comfort, and depended on His followers' generosity. The offer to follow wherever He went was driven only by selfish interest and hope of worldly wealth and status, in the same spirit as Judas. Having heard Him set forth truth as jewels of far greater value than hidden treasure, his mind darkened by avarice and love of the world took this to mean He would enrich His followers with worldly treasure, and he hoped He would soon establish an earthly kingdom that would bring wealth, station, and high position to His disciples; only blindness by avarice and love of the world could so misread His words.
Jesus answers by declaring His own poverty and homelessness and contrasting Himself with the foxes and the birds, underscoring His poverty and humiliation. The reply cuts off any worldly expectation of status and rebukes the wish to follow Him for earthly reward, exposing that following Him offered no promise of temporal gain. The scribe wanted honor, riches, and the world with Christ, but when rebuked by Christ's poverty and humiliation he turns back crest-fallen, because following without the prospect of earthly reward requires a faith he cannot endure. The verse means that true following requires self-denial and willingness to follow with no prospect of earthly reward. It exposes all who would gladly accept truth and glorify His name if discipleship brought position and wealth, yet refuse when it means joining the poor and humble under His banner.
Christ's reply reveals the life of self-denial God gave the world in His only begotten Son. Christ took His position in the world 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. A Christian must be Christlike in that same self-denial and must comply with the conditions to have the heavenly power for it. The verse is applied as a lesson not to be discouraged by trials and opposition, which are part of the Christian life, but to share Christ's sufferings faithfully in hope of sharing His glory. The verse stands in a chapter that shows how Christ united the ministry of the Word with medical missionary work, revealing the methods of the great Healer to be studied and followed by laboring as He labored.
A certain scribe offers to go with Jesus wherever He goes, speaking with earnest and apparently sincere willingness to become His disciple. The speaker is Judas Iscariot, who seeks a place among the disciples in hope of gaining high position when the coming kingdom is established. His mind, darkened by avarice and love of the world, takes Christ's teaching to mean that His followers will be enriched with worldly treasure, station, and wealth. Jesus answers by declaring His own poverty and homelessness in contrast with the foxes and the birds, cutting off all expectation of temporal gain and showing that true following requires self-denial with no prospect of earthly reward.
Context and Speaker
Matthew 8:19 belongs to the moment when Jesus dismisses the multitude and takes ship with His disciples for the other side of the sea. That farther shore was a desert compared with the shore being left, and the crossing removed them from the dwellings of men in hope of finding rest from fatigue. He was wearied from long and arduous labors. Even as they were moving off, a number of boats loaded with people followed Him because they were desirous of learning more concerning the doctrine He taught.
The declaration to follow whithersoever He went was an earnest and apparently sincere offer to become a disciple. Earnestness of profession did not by itself establish sincerity of commitment. The speaker was Judas Iscariot, who sought a place among the disciples in hopes of gaining high position in the coming kingdom.
The offer was made while Jesus was preparing the twelve for ordination, and it was a great profession of devotion covering a selfish motive to obtain temporal advantage through connection with Christ. Judas had acknowledged executive ability and influence, so the disciples commended him highly and wanted him among them and were surprised at the cool reception. Jesus neither warmly received him nor repulsed him, but read his heart and knew even then the part he would act in betrayal and execution. He still received him to connect him with Himself so he could learn the divine mission, gain moral strength to overcome defects of character, experience entire change of heart, and ensure salvation, which was possible through Christ's help, and to avoid leading the favorably disposed disciples to question His wisdom, thus placing selfish and avaricious Judas in the most favorable position to develop mind and heart for a place in the kingdom of heaven. Judas instead chose a course covering him with everlasting infamy and lasting disgrace.
Cost of Following Jesus
Following Jesus may mean sharing a life without a settled home, marked by hardship, rejection, and deprivation. Though He was heaven's King, even the Son of man had nowhere to lay His head, chose poverty and toil and lived humbly without worldly comfort, and depended on His followers' generosity. The offer to follow wherever He went was driven only by selfish interest and hope of worldly wealth and status, in the same spirit as Judas. Having heard Him set forth truth as jewels of far greater value than hidden treasure, his mind darkened by avarice and love of the world took this to mean He would enrich His followers with worldly treasure, and he hoped He would soon establish an earthly kingdom that would bring wealth, station, and high position to His disciples; only blindness by avarice and love of the world could so misread His words.
Jesus answers by declaring His own poverty and homelessness and contrasting Himself with the foxes and the birds, underscoring His poverty and humiliation. The reply cuts off any worldly expectation of status and rebukes the wish to follow Him for earthly reward, exposing that following Him offered no promise of temporal gain. The scribe wanted honor, riches, and the world with Christ, but when rebuked by Christ's poverty and humiliation he turns back crest-fallen, because following without the prospect of earthly reward requires a faith he cannot endure. The verse means that true following requires self-denial and willingness to follow with no prospect of earthly reward. It exposes all who would gladly accept truth and glorify His name if discipleship brought position and wealth, yet refuse when it means joining the poor and humble under His banner.
Christ's reply reveals the life of self-denial God gave the world in His only begotten Son. Christ took His position in the world 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. A Christian must be Christlike in that same self-denial and must comply with the conditions to have the heavenly power for it. The verse is applied as a lesson not to be discouraged by trials and opposition, which are part of the Christian life, but to share Christ's sufferings faithfully in hope of sharing His glory. The verse stands in a chapter that shows how Christ united the ministry of the Word with medical missionary work, revealing the methods of the great Healer to be studied and followed by laboring as He labored.