Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Matthew 8:20 (CSB)
A scribe, an expert in God’s law, had just promised to follow Jesus anywhere. Jesus did not say yes or no. Jesus told the scribe what following Him would cost. Following Jesus is not the comfortable life some people expect.
Even a fox has a den and a bird has a nest, but Jesus had no home of His own. He stayed in His friends’ homes, like Peter’s house in Capernaum, but Jesus, who is God the Son, gave up a settled life to do the work His Father sent Him to do. “Son of Man” was the name Jesus used most for Himself, and it comes from Daniel 7, a prophecy in the Old Testament, where the Son of Man is given a kingdom that will never end.
Following Jesus can cost us something: comfort, a friendship, our plans, or what people think of us. We ought to follow Him anyway, knowing the cost ahead of time, and be honest about it when we tell others about Him.
Jesus gave up far more for us. The Bible says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Grace means His kindness that we do not deserve, and He showed it by dying on the cross for our sins and rising again.