Matthew 8:18-20

Challenging Professed Followers

8:18 Now when Jesus saw a large crowd ¹  around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the lake. ²  8:19 Then ³  an expert in the law ⁴  came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵  8:20 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky ⁶  have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ⁷ 

[8:18]  ¹ tc ‡ Codex B and some Sahidic mss read simply ὄχλον (oclon, “crowd”), the reading that NA²⁷ follows; the first hand of א, as well as ˹ and a few others, has ὄχλους (oclous, “crowds”); other witnesses read πολὺν ὄχλον (polun oclon, “a large crowd”). But the reading most likely to be original seems to be πολλούς ὄχλους (pollou" oclou"). It is found in א² C L Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 Ï lat; it is judged to be superior on internal grounds (the possibility of accidental omission of πολλούς/πολύν in isolated witnesses) and, to a lesser extent, external grounds (geographically widespread, various texttypes). For reasons of English style, however, this phrase has been translated as “a large crowd.”

[8:18]  ² tn The phrase “of the lake” is not in the Greek text but is clearly implied; it has been supplied here for clarity.

[8:19]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then.”

[8:19]  ⁴ tn Or “a scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[8:19]  ⁵ sn The statement I will follow you wherever you go is an offer to follow Jesus as a disciple, no matter what the cost.

[8:20]  ⁵ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[8:20]  ⁶ sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).