"The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head": My favorite verse

My favorite verse in the Bible is Matthew 8:20:

Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

I am moved every time I hear this verse, and the more I understand about it, the more I’m humbled and moved. Most Christians would select a verse referring to the cross. For me, those verses are beyond my understanding: I cannot imagine what it was like for the Son of Man to suffer so badly and to be abandoned by the Father. But when I read Matthew 8:20 and hear that Jesus had nowhere to lay his head, I can see it, enter into it, feel it. Jesus was homeless! Have you ever experienced homelessness or ongoing hunger? My Savior endured homelessness for my sake. Has your sleep been disrupted over a few days? Or have you slept in a place where you just couldn’t sleep? Ever miss your bed, your comfy bed? Ever been stuck out in the cold night for a long time? To think, even birds had a bed; foxes had a bed. But my Savior did not! He had left behind his home and his family. My heart is broken thinking about it. What sufferings and misery he went through for me!

            The way of the Savior was the way of suffering. Jesus said what he did, about having nowhere to lay his head, in response to a Pharisee/scribe who said he will follow Jesus wherever he goes. The Pharisees were lovers of money (Luke 16:14) and, no doubt, lovers of comfort. Jesus went preaching and was followed by crowds, and as a result could not enter cities (see Mark 1:45). No Motel 6! He brought a message of salvation and warning, just like Ezekiel’s son of man. Perhaps he occasionally came across souls willing to listen to his message and give him a bed (see Matt.10:11; Luke 10:38). His disciples held a small moneybox (John 12:6; 13:29). Even although certain women supported him and the disciples (Luke 8:1-3), they had just enough money to buy a few fish and some bread (see Matt.14:16-17; 15:34). He was genuinely poor (2 Cor.8:9)!

But his poverty was for us. Jesus’ own title for himself was “Son of Man”. Matthew 8:20 is the first time in Matthew that the title is mentioned. It was another name for Messiah (Matt.16:13-20). It takes us back to Psalm 8 and the reign of God’s “man” or “son of man” over his creation. It was the Davidic son who represented Israel and God’s kingdom over against his/their enemies. “Son of Man” also takes us to Daniel 7, and like Psalm 2, the “son of man” receives authority, represents Israel and God’s kingdom, and stands against God’s enemies. When you read Matthew, the “Son of Man” is the One who will come from heaven with his Father’s angels to judge everyone according to their deeds (Matt.16:13-20). The Son of Man is not, in other words, merely another term for man. It is the Messiah, the One from above, who came to earth. Jesus healed the blind and mute man, and the crowd exclaimed, “ “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” ” (Matt.12:23). His disciples saw him rebuke the winds and the waves and they cried out, “ “What kind of man is this…?” (Matt.8:27). He was no mere man. He was the man from heaven, the Son of Man. He came to earth with authority to forgive sins (Matt.9:6) and to bring sinners into his heavenly kingdom (Matt.13:41; 16:28). Thus, he was Moses’ Lord, the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt.12:28). Yet, this heavenly Son of Man, the glorious One, in order to save me, suffered for my sake (Matt.17:12). He identified with the despised (Matt.11:19) and was persecuted, crucified, and spent three nights in the grave (Matt. 12:40; 17:22; 20:18). He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, yet he humbled himself to become a servant for my sake and suffered unto death of the cross (Phil.2:5-11), “ “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” ” (Matt.20:28).

It makes me angry that the Charismatic Movement and the Health, Wealth, and Prosperity Movement teach financially prosperity. This is an inestimable evil! Our Lord was poor. He did not merely ‘identify’ with the poor and suffering- he was poor and he did suffered! Christian, burn those diseased clothes of materially prosperity, and adorn yourself with the rags of Christ’s humility. Live your life under the stars, in the cold night, with the Son of Man. This was the way of salvation and our spiritual enrichment through Christ (2 Cor.8:9). Hallelujah!