And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever 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 head.

Matthew 8:19-20

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 Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Luke 9:57-58

Three different men are going to come to Jesus in this scene. The first man is a scribe coming to Jesus presumptuously. The second man Jesus calls into the ministry but he is reluctant to follow. The third will be a man that seems to want the same call to the ministry as the second but he comes presumptuously as well. In this article, we will look at the scribe who comes to Jesus.

We cannot tell whether this man is truly a disciple of Jesus or not. It really doesn’t matter. However, we do often see that the loudest boasters and fastest professors are often the first to desert the cause!

Scribes were typically “well-to-do” and respected (or at least feared) by the general population among the Jews. This particular scribe comes to Jesus in a very bold way claiming what he is able to do. Jesus responds to him in a way that shows Jesus knows this man’s weaknesses and intentions.

Would a scribe be willing to give up position in the community and wealth? More importantly, are we willing to give up the trappings of this world in order to be a disciple of Jesus?

That is the true question.

Jesus says we must be willing to be homeless and poor in order to put Him first. Jesus did not say it was difficult to serve God while holding onto the world. He said we CANNOT serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). This does not mean that we are to sell all we have to follow Him, but we do need to be willing to do so. In order to be a true disciple, Jesus must come first in our lives.

C.H. Spurgeon has some excellent admonition for any who would seek to be a disciple of Christ. His words would sound meaningless to most today that claim to be Christian.

Can you follow the Son of man when there is no reward except himself, — not even a place for your head to rest upon, or a home wherein you may find comfort? Can you cleave to him when the lone mountain side shall be the place where he spends whole nights in prayer while the dews falls heavily upon him? Can you follow him then? “This is a test of love which makes many to be “found wanting.

Charles H. Spurgeon